The Handmaid’s Tale (3): Feminist Historiographical Metafiction

General Questions What do you think about the important moments of this part– Jezebel’s, Salvaging and the endings? Do you find Offred a feminist? How is history used? What are the purposes of using official history? How is the filmic adaptation different from the novel?

“Feminist” Issues: Review and Additions Control and Complicity: Offred’s public performances; her accusing Janine at the Red Center; her liking to have sexual power (power of a dog bone) her personal involvement with the Commander (who is daddyish to her) e.g. chap 29 (new) Chap 33—at Prayerganza– her response to Janine’s baby (note—wallpaper) Chaps 42 & 43 Salvaging and Particicution – her changing responses Chap 45 --her sense of exemption and her submission to power (// when finding that none of the dead bodies is Luke’s)

“Feminist” Issues: Review and Additions 2. Rebellion: Offred’s connection with Ofglen chap 27 ( p. 217 220) Her prayer p. 251 Her getting a match chap 32 –p. 271 274 Moira at Jezebel

Metafictional Elements: Review Different meanings of story-telling and reconstruction The episode with the Commander The episode with Nick chap 40 Telling the story of Moira – to keep her alive p.317

Historiographical Metafiction Historiographic metafiction is one kind of postmodern novel which rejects projecting present beliefs and standards onto the past and asserts the specificity and particularity of the individual past event. It also suggests a distinction between “events” and “facts” that is one shared by many historians. Since the documents become signs of events, which the historian transmutes into facts, as in historiographic metafiction, the lesson here is that the past once existed, but that our historical knowledge of it is semiotically transmitted.

Historiographical Metafiction (2) Finally, Historiographic metafiction often points to the fact by using the paratextual conventions of historiography to both inscribe and undermine the authority and objectivity of historical sources and explanations. (122-123, Linda Hutcheon)

The Historical Notes 12th Symposeum of Gilead Studies in 2195. University of "Denay“("deny“; native group in The Northwest Territories); Canada criticized. Explains the source of the tale (30 something tapes), their inability to identify Offred, the Gilead’s ways of arresting women and possible reasons for infertility. Similarities between Pre-Gilead period and Gilead period: birth services; polygamy, totalitarianism (e.g. KGB) p. 386- 87 (see more here)

The Historical Notes Gender structure unchanged: Professor Pieixoto flirting with Crescent Moon –”enjoy” her “Underground Femaleroad” “The Underground Frailroad” 381 His distrust of the narrator. “Our job is not to censure, but to understand.” 383

Differences between the film and the novel Memory—escape scene, quiet The woman as still an object of gaze. e.g. after the 1st ceremony. Novel More thinking, remembering, narrating and feeling. e.g. after the 1st ceremony

Differences between the film and the novel (2) The ending: killed the commander, rescued by Nick Novel After the ceremony: self- nourishing; want to see, want to steal. pp. 125 – With Nick: different possibilities in chap 40. ambiguous ending “Neither of us say the word love. . . “ (347) “And so I step up, into the darkness within, or else light.” (378)