Power

Kyle Petras

5/3/16

Blog

Gubanich

      In the Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Attwood, Things have begun to go a bit astray. Offred, our main character, has new arrangements with the Commander. These arrangements include Offred visiting the Commander in his office. Since this is forbidden and very trick to do, Offred needs to do it at specific times. The whole point of this blog is to discuss who has the power. Since this is such a forbidden act, Offred and the Commander need to be very stealthy about their meetings.

      When Offred and the Commander meet for the first time, Offred begins to worry if she has done something or if she is going to be sent somewhere. In this instance, The Commander has the scepter or the power in this situation. He has complete control to do anything he wants. If Offred denies meeting with him, he can send her away, and it is illegal if there is any interaction between the two. When she arrives, she is asked to play a game of scrabble. Doing this recreational thing is illegal as well.

      When the two meet again, the power has shifted a bit. The commander reveals something and the reason why he is having her meet with him. With his wife, he is lonely. The only reason he is having her come into his office is to be more recreational. At this time, I feel the power has shifted more towards Offred because now, she can say that the Commander is doing these things. During these meetings, she asks for things in return. An example for this is lotion and an old magazine. This only occurs after she feels they have a better relationship. She doesn’t take anything with her because she fears that someone might find it.

      As the meetings progress, Offred begins to get more and more comfortable with the Commander. In the beginning, the commander had most of the power; he could have done anything, or could have been testing her. Now that time has gone past and this arrangement is more for the Commander’s enjoyment, Offred has gained more power.