Universidad Central de Venezuela

Facultad de Humanidades y Educación

Escuela de Idiomas Modernos

Departamento de Inglés

Inglés II

The contrast between Offred and Serena Joy

Arianna Rivas

Before focusing on Offred and Serena Joy it is good to know a little about
the story in which such characters are set: The Handmaid's Tale, presents a
dystopian future in which people have lost all their individual rights, especially
fertile women (the maids) who are subjected to a system of slavery.

At the beginning of the story we can see how Offred (she remembers her real
name but never reveals it) a maid. One day, she is sent to the commander's house
where she meets Serena Joy, the commander's wife, who cannot beget children.
Offred is a physically healthy person, when she arrives at the commander's house
she is greeted by the commander's wife, when she turns around inviting the maid
to come in, Offred observes how the wife limps in and the truth is that the wife has
arthritis in her left foot, which when they get to the room she rests it on a cushion
and then takes a cigarette and smokes it giving us to understand that she was not
completely healthy.

This reminds me of when Offred enters the commander’s wife’s garden which is
large and beautiful. Offred remembers the Commander’s wife kneeling on a
cushion, and beside her a basket with a pair of scissors and pieces of twine to hold
the flowers. A Guardian detailed to the Commander does the heavy digging; the
Commander’s Wife directs, pointing with her stick. Many of the Wives have such
gardens, it’s something for them to order and maintain and care for.

And this lat brings me to my next and final point and that is that both characters are
unhappy in this tale. Offred as a maid went through a lot of mistreatment and
cruelty and Serena although she will not go through the same physically and has
been an advocate for traditional government values is bitter about the outcome. His
tragic destiny is formulated from his own, ironic name. There is no serenity or joy in
her life. Not only because she and her husband have not become parents by
natural means, but above all because the success of her political program has not
only led to the destruction of many people's lives but her own way of life.