The Handmaid’s Tale

The Eyes are Gilead’s secret police and surveillance force. They represent the government’s constant watching, paranoia, and control over private life. Offred never knows who might secretly be an Eye. Nick’s wink frightens her because… read more

The novel's ending is deliberately ambiguous. Offred is taken away from the Commander’s house in a black van by men who appear to be Eyes, Gilead’s secret police, after Serena Joy discovers evidence that Offred… read more

The novel takes place in Cambridge, Massachusetts, under the dystopian Republic of Gilead, a theocratic government that has replaced the United States. Much of the action happens around what used to be Harvard University, whose… read more

The Handmaid’s Tale never definitively confirms that Offred gets pregnant. Serena Joy arranges for Offred to have sex with Nick because she suspects the Commander is sterile, and Offred soon begins an intense affair with… read more

In The Handmaid’s Tale, the Republic of Gilead is founded after a violent political coup destroys the United States government and allows a theocratic movement to seize power. Offred explains that the President and… read more

In The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred’s escape remains uncertain, but the novel strongly suggests that she probably does escape Gilead. At the end of the book, the Eyes arrive at the Commander’s house to arrest… read more

Mayday is the secret resistance movement working against the Republic of Gilead. It operates underground through coded language, hidden networks, and disguised members who try to help people escape or undermine the regime. Ofglen first… read more

Margaret Atwood blends speculative fiction, science fiction, and dystopian fiction in the novel. The Handmaid's Tale imagines a near-future society called Gilead, a theocratic regime that replaces the United States and strips women of their… read more

An “Unwoman” is a woman whom the Republic of Gilead considers useless, dangerous, or disobedient. Women can be labeled Unwomen for many reasons: being infertile, refusing to follow Gilead’s religious rules, being politically rebellious, identifying… read more

In The Handmaid’s Tale, Handmaids are chosen because they are still fertile women who have violated Gilead’s strict moral laws. After fertility rates collapse, the government treats fertile women as valuable state resources and… read more