The Handmaid's Tale Characters Analysis
Offred - The protagonist of the novel is brainwashed and conditioned by a theocratic regime to fulfill the role of a breeder during a time when female fertility is greatly prized. She struggles to come to terms with life as a veritable slave to a nation that does not recognize women as equal human beings. Despite her horrid conditions, Offred does not succumb to suicide and falls in love with another servant of the household. At the end of the novel, her lover takes her away in a government van but she is unsure whether he is truly loyal to her.
Luke - Offred was married to Luke before the revolution and had a daughter with him. Her marriage to Luke is dissolved by the state of Gilead because he had divorced his previous wife to marry Offred. During the beginning of the revolution, Offred felt that Luke was secretly glad that women’s right to property had been abolished, but she never confronted him about it. Luke’s fate remains uncertain even at the end of the novel because Offred is separated from her child and husband when they are all caught attempting to escape into Canada.
Commander - Fred is the patriarch of the family to which Offred is sent for her first assignment after the Red Centre. Offred learns from another handmaid that Fred performed an extremely important role in the Gilead government. He illegally interacts with Offred and gives her little comforts to assuage his guilt. The climax of the novel occurs when the commander’s wife discovers that Offred has had secret meetings with her husband, just like the Handmaid who had lived in their house before she killed herself.
Serena Joy - The Commander’s wife occupies a coveted position in society, although she is a woman, her status accords her a life of comfort and relative freedom. She used to be a gospel singer but during the revolution, she became a celebrated speaker for Gilead. She is driven by the true belief that a woman’s place is the house, but she eventually comes to hate Handmaids. She resents Offred and cries after every Ceremony. She organizes for Offred to have sex with Nick because she believes that the commander is sterile.
Nick - He is a servant in the household of the Commander where Offred is posted and is suspected to be an employee of the Gilead secret spy network called the Eyes. He performs several discrete services for the Commander and his wife. He serves as the messenger between the Commander and Offred for their secret meetings and obeys Serena by sleeping with Offred. He eventually develops a romantic relationship with her and claims to be aligned with a secret underground resistance movement called Mayday.
