The Handmaid's Tale Chapters 9 - 11
Offred returns to her room, and considers the sudden change in her position. She doesn’t completely understand why the commander spent time with her in the evening but she is certain that she can play along with his desires. In return, she will certainly be able to ask for something, although she isn’t certain about what she wants from him. She is reminded of a documentary that she had watched about an officer in the holocaust, who had moved his mistress close to one of the concentration camps. The woman claimed that the officer had been a kind man and not a monster. Offred realizes that the woman needs to believe that truth for the sake of her sanity. She is overcome by a sudden desire for laughter and attempts to stifle the sound by climbing into her cupboard. In the wardrobe, she feels the tiny message that had been etched into the wood. Cora crashes her breakfast tray the following morning when she finds Cora lying in the cupboard. Offred realizes from Cora’s reaction that she had probably found the dead body of the previous Handmaid after she had killed herself.
Offred develops a relationship with the Commander, who continues to see her a few nights each week. He uses Nick to indicate to Offred whether they will be meeting in the evening or not. They meet only on the nights when Serena is distracted or away from the house. The Commander is almost fatherly in his treatment of Offred and even gives her magazines to read after a couple of nights. Offred asks him for some lotion, and he is surprised to learn of the Handmaid's use of butter as a moisturizer. Offred is frustrated that he does not better understand the challenges associated with her life, but he seems uncaring about her anger. She realizes that she enjoys her new role as his mistress because it gives her something to do with her time. The nature of the ceremony changes for her as well, since the commander is suddenly more human to her. She experiences guilt and jealousy for Serena Joy, and she is afraid that she will find out about the affair that she is having with the commander. The Commander tries to touch her face during the ceremony but she manages to surreptitiously stop him. During their next meeting, she warns him about acting any differently during the ceremony and he confesses that he finds the ceremony to be impersonal.
Offred and Ofglen reach a mutual understanding as they reveal to one another that they are not truly loyal to the regime. Ofglen explains that she is part of an underground resistance movement called Mayday, and the knowledge of resistance buoys her spirit. The Eyes abduct a citizen in the middle of the market for gender treachery, and Offred is reminded of the time when Moira had revealed that she was a lesbian. It had taken Offred some time to come to terms with that information, but they had found comfort in friendship once again.
She thinks back to the time of revolution when Gilead had assassinated the president, and committed a mass shooting at Congress. The blame had been placed on Islamic extremists, but the Gilead government had soon taken over. They began by shutting down sex shops, and then they outlawed women from owning property. At the time, Luke had divorced his wife, and they had a daughter together. Offred suddenly realizes that she is now Luke’s property, and although he assures her that he will always take care of her, she worries that he secretly prefers it this way. Luke had prevented her from participating in the protests claiming that it would be pointless. So Offred spent most of her time cooking around the house, and tried not to cry. She remembers how vocal her mother had been about women’s rights, and feels insufficient for accepting her conditions so easily. She is unable to trace her mother, who seems to have left behind nothing but a trashed apartment.
Offred feels relaxed in the commander’s presence now and has begun to associate him with a sense of safety. He asks her about what she would like to read, and she asks him to translate the Latin message that she had found in the cupboard. He laughs and reveals that it means “Don’t let the bastards grind you down.” He reveals that the previous handmaid had killed herself after Serena discovered that he was meeting her in private. Offred confronts him with the understanding that these evening meetings with him are his way of ensuring that Offred feels comfortable with her fate. She asks him to tell her everything that is going on so that she can figure out a way to be comfortable with her position.
In her room, she observes Nick crossing the dark garden, and they share glances for a moment. She feels the hunger between the both of them, but she chooses not to indulge it. She is reminded of the days leading up to their escape when Luke had killed the cat because they could not take it with them or leave it as it might draw attention to their departure. She wishes that she had helped him shoulder that burden. Offred prays wanderingly to God, and asks him to help her find a way to survive.
Analysis
Offred’s complacency deepens in this section of the novel, as she receives respite from the harshness of a Handmaid’s life through the Commander’s influence. Offred begins to experience a sense of comfort under his influence, and she does her best to shield her association with the commander from Serena for as long as she can. Furthermore, Offred’s flashback to the time of Gilead’s rise reveals that she had accepted the atrocities being worked her without conflict. She detected Luke’s true feelings about the new laws but chose not to confront him about them. However, this section also reveals that the control Gilead exerts over its citizens is far from complete. The presence of the Mayday resistance movement among the Handmaids indicates that other women are not quite as calm in accepting injustice. Additionally, Nick and Offred share a fierce secret desire for one another, that they eventually succumb to in the final section of the novel. Through this plot piece, the author develops the notion that human beings are creatures of love, and emotion, who cannot be controlled through passionless sex even though it may appear to satiate their biological desires on the surface.
