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Epilogue: The Thirteenth Symposium
Explanation and Analysis—Youth:
In the following excerpt from the epilogue, the speaking historian betrays himself as an unreliable narrator:
“Nicole” might seem too young, in years but also in experience, to have been assigned to the hazardous mission the two of them appear to have carried out so successfully, but she was no younger than many involved in resistance operations and spywork over the course of the centuries. Some historians have even argued that persons of that age are especially suitable for such escapades, as the young are idealistic, have an underdeveloped sense of their own mortality, and
are afflicted with an exaggerated thirst for justice.
The historian in question, likely an older man, speaks somewhat underhandedly about the role of the young in precipitating social change. Readers are meant to question this perspective—is an "exaggerated" thirst for justice all that exaggerated? Is not a thirst for justice important?
It is key to note here: the narrator implies that the escapees, women in an oppressive patriarchal society, are child-like and have an "underdeveloped sense" of personal morality. Even many years after the fall of Gilead, patriarchal mores infiltrate speech. While the historian critiques Gilead, he simultaneously engages in patriarchal, patronizing behavior toward women, proving that such ideas are a constant problem that requires active work to address.
