THE HANDMAID’S TALE

BY
MARGARET ATWOOD
CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Slide 1: Table of Contents

Slide 2-5: Synopsis of Chapter
Slide 6-8: Characters
Slide 9-10 : Themes
Slide 11-12: Global Issues
Slide 13-14: Stylistic Devices
Slide 15: Postmodernism
 Synopsis of Chapter
• The chapter starts off with Offred going
downstairs to the sitting room where,
according to her, Serena Joy will
“enthrone” herself.

Serena Joy
Offred

The Sitting Room

• She proceeds to describe the

sitting room as sophisticated
but gloomy and dejected
consisting of valuable
items/furniture, such as the
Chinese Rug, the paintings,
the oval mirror and the
Commander’s chair.
• While observing, Offred begins to question the “existence” of the
objects present in the room.

• As the mixture of various smells such as “lemon oil”, “fading

daffodils” and Serena Joy’s perfume, “Lily of the Valley”,
devours the sitting room, Offred starts to feel
indisposed. Concurrently, looking at the precious
items, she intends to steal a couple but refuses
to do so considering how risky it is.

• After some time, Cora and Rita enter the room

once the bell rings, indicating that the Ceremony
(TW: The “ritualized” act of rape for the sake of
conceiving children) is about to take place.
Both, Cora and Rita seem to despise it.
Lily of the Valley
(A Plant with an
aromatic scent)

Cora Rita
• Nick suddenly enters the room as well and seems to irritate Offred.

• After some time, Serena Joy, wearing

an elegant dress, comes downstairs
and has a peculiar interaction with
the individuals present in the sitting
room.

Nick

• Resting in her chair and smoking,

Serena Joy sitting on her chair
Serena turns the television on and
starts watching the news. Offred
describes this moment as “the one
good thing about these evenings, the
evenings of the Ceremony” because
that’s the only evening she (Offred)
gets to watch the news. The news
mainly discusses an ongoing war.
Serena, uninterested, turns the
television off.
• After the “television” session, Offred reveals that she has another
name, however, it isn’t used due to it being prohibited. Before sleeping,
she tends to ponder on the fact that her second name is still an actual
thing regardless of it being forbidden.

• Moving on, Offred pictures herself

Offred in her bedroom
sitting in a car with her daughter and
husband, Luke, apparently preparing
to go on a picnic. However, in
reality, they wanted
to cross the border
without informing
their daughter.

Luke (Offred’s
Husband) Offred’s
daughter
 Characters
• Offred
Is the narrator. Due to her being able to bear
children, Offred works as a Handmaid (a fertile
woman, impregnated by high ranking people
such as Commanders or Angels who are infertile)

• Serena Joy
Wife of The Commander. Due to her inability of
conceiving a child, Serena uses Offred to do so.
• Cora
A Martha (domestic help), employed by the Commander, in charge of
household cleaning and other chores.

• Rita
A Martha (domestic help), employed by the Commander, in charge of
household cleaning and other chores.
• Nick
A guardian (a personal soldier or
servant of Commanders). Nick
works as a gardener and chauffeur
for the Commander.

• Luke
Offred’s former husband.

• Offred’s daughter.
 Themes
• Arrogance/Pride:
The theme of arrogance/pride is present usually when Serena Joy is
mentioned in the text. Being the Commander’s Wife, she seems to
to disdain the ones belonging to
the lower levels of the hierarchy,
such as the Handmaids, as an
inferior rabble.
“Possibly she’ll put a hand on my
shoulder, to steady herself as if I’m
a piece of furniture. She’s done it
before”. (Pg.85, Para.2, Line 9-10)

• Depreciation:
Whenever the sitting room/the house’s
general atmosphere is being complimented
by her, Offred tends to point out
certain aspects that convey the message
that no matter how valuable/elegant an item
is, it’ll inevitably lose its intrinsic value with
the passage of time.
• Depreciation (continuation)
Offred uses objects such as flowers to describe the “decaying” house.
“There’s a dried flower arrangement on either end of the
mantelpiece…” (Pg.86, Para.2, Line 14-15)

• Discomfort:
Discomfort seems to be a really prevalent theme throughout Chapter
14. Be it just observing the house’s furniture, watching television or
simply pondering, Offred comes off as perturbed. It’s as if she’s a
caged bird suffering in captivity.
“My name isn’t Offred, I have
another name, which nobody uses
now because it’s forbidden. I tell
myself it doesn’t matter, your
name is like your telephone
number, useful only to others; but
what I tell myself is wrong, it does
matter”.
 Global Issues
• TW: Rape:
A ritual of the Republic of Gilead is
The Ceremony. In other words, it’s
the act of rape that consists of
Commanders or Angels (high ranking
men), their wives and Handmaids
trying to conceive children. This
repugnant act is despised by characters such as Rita and Cora. It
indirectly contracts the autonomy and free will women (residing in the
Republic) have.

• No Autonomy:
When Offred returns to her bedroom, she’s put in
a dilemma i.e. what her actual name is and it being
prohibited. Handmaids not only have major
responsibilities but also “lose” their actual name
and have no right to revert back to it.
• TW: Child Maltreatment:
When Offred is visualizing her husband, daughter and herself
illegally crossing the border, she believes that her daughter will lie to
the officials (at the border) and get them arrested. In order to prevent
this from happening, Offred plans on giving sleeping pills to her young
daughter. Such medications aren’t recommended for young children
(evidence of her being a child: she had stuffed toys and dolls with
herself).
 Stylistic Devices
• Standard Metaphor:
Is the comparison of two
dissimilar things. Offred
describes herself as a piece
of furniture Serena Joy uses
when balancing herself.
“Possibly she’ll put a hand
on my shoulder, to steady
herself as if I’m a piece of
furniture. She’s done it
before”.
(Pg.85, Para.2, Line 9-10)

• Imagery:
Is a literary device that triggers a reader’s
senses. Offred, when observing the sitting
room, describes the scent present in the room.
“The room smells of lemon oil, heavy cloth,
fading daffodils, the leftover smells of
cooking...” (Pg.86, Para.3, Line 18-19).
If she were to simply state the names of the objects,
the evidence wouldn’t be credible enough to
consider the scent as malodorous.
• Epistrophe/Epiphora:
Word repetition at the end of sentences, thus, highlighting their
meaning. “The Commander is the head of the household. The house is
what he holds. To have and to hold…”
This portrays the Commander as someone who’s autocratic, arrogant
and narcissistic. Using the term “hold” shows that the Commander is
the anchor of the household and without him, it’ll be non-existent.
 Postmodernism

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find any examples regarding

Postmodernism, but here’s a brief description.
Postmodernism encompasses the rejection of modern day
traditions/customs in a non linear, skeptical and ironic manner.
MADE BY: FAIZAN MUSTAFA