The Handmaid's Tale: Full Book Summary

General Overview

• Setting: Republic of Gilead, a theocratic state that replaces the United States.
• Main Character: Offred, a Handmaid tasked with bearing children for elite couples.
• Society: Totalitarian, with women’s freedoms severely restricted.
• Purpose of Handmaids: To address dangerously low reproduction rates by serving elite couples.

Key Plot Points

Offred's Life in Gilead

• Offred serves the Commander and his wife, Serena Joy.
• Ritualized sex is required between Offred and the Commander, with Serena Joy present.
• Offred's movements are strictly monitored by the Eyes, Gilead’s secret police.

Flashbacks to Before Gilead

• Offred had an affair with Luke, who left his wife and married her; they had a child.
• Gilead rose to power during a time of declining fertility rates due to pollution.
• Offred and Luke attempted to flee to Canada but were caught and separated.

Re-education and Indoctrination

• Offred’s marriage to Luke was voided; she was sent to the Rachel and Leah Re-education Center.
• Indoctrination was overseen by Aunt Lydia, who taught Gilead’s ideology.

Life as a Handmaid

• Routine consists of shopping trips, medical checks, and the Ceremony.
• Visits to the Wall outside Harvard University to see rebels’ bodies.
• Commander invites Offred for secret meetings involving forbidden activities like playing Scrabble.

Resistance and Rebellion

• Ofglen, another Handmaid, reveals her involvement in Mayday, a resistance movement.
• Offred develops a secret relationship with Nick, the Commander's chauffeur.

Key Developments

• Offred is encouraged by Serena Joy to conceive with Nick to ensure pregnancy.
• The Commander takes Offred to Jezebel’s, where she encounters Moira.

Climax and Resolution

• Offred's relationship with Nick intensifies, ignoring Mayday’s requests.
• Discoveries lead to a new Ofglen, who reveals the previous Ofglen’s suicide.
• Offred is taken by the Eyes, possibly Mayday members, leaving her fate unknown.

Epilogue

• Setting: 2195, years after Gilead’s fall.
• Form: Lecture by Professor Pieixoto about Gilead.
• Offred’s Fate: Uncertain; possible escape arranged by Nick mentioned.

Themes and Analysis

• Control and Power: The theocratic regime's control over women’s bodies.
• Identity and Freedom: The conflict between personal identity and societal roles.
• Resistance: Small acts of rebellion against an oppressive system.

Characters

• Offred: Protagonist, a Handmaid struggling under Gilead’s system.
• The Commander: Offred’s keeper, part of Gilead’s elite.
• Serena Joy: Commander’s wife, advocates for traditional values.
• Nick: The Commander's chauffeur and Offred’s secret lover.
• Moira: Offred’s independent friend, captured and resigned to life at Jezebel’s.
• Aunt Lydia: Enforcer of Gilead’s ideology at the Re-education Center.
• Ofglen: Fellow Handmaid, member of the resistance.

Conclusion

• Narrative Impact: Offred’s cassette tapes found in Maine, analyzed by future scholars.
• Open Ending: Offred’s ultimate fate is left ambiguous, highlighting the uncertainty of life in Gilead.