Handmaid tale Blog #3: Who holds the power?

Ross Schonberg

Ms. Gubanich

English

April 29, 2016

Who holds the power?

In the book, Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood, we read about Offred’s and the commander’s “new arrangement”. In this part of the story we see that Offred and the Commander have a new and interesting bond. This delves more into Offred’s psyche, as she is trying to understand who really has power and control in this relationship that she has with the Commander. There is more to this relationship than meets the eye and to Offred, there is always that wonder of what the structure of power is in this relationship.

First, earlier in the story we learn that the commander wants to meet with Offred. Offred has no idea what the meeting about, or why it’s even happening, but she is scared for it, since she is unsure of what is to come, she is also not allowed to go into the commander’s room. Offred comes into the commander’s room and there are “books and books and books, right out in plain view, no locks, no box”(Atwood 137), so she is already shocked when she comes into the room, because all of the things in his room are not allowed in this new society. So as offred is coming into the room, she sits down, with the commander opposite of her. He says to Offred that “You must find this very strange,”, because she really is confused. After that the commander asks Offred if she would like to play Scrabble with him, which is not allowed. It is clear that offred is enjoying this very much, and after that when they are getting ready to finish up the night, the commander says to Offred “I want you to kiss me” (Atwood 139). In the beginning of their secret relationship, it seems that the commander has power over her, because he is getting her to open up with him, even though she wanted to “put my arms around him and slip the lever out from the sleeve and drive the sharp end into him suddenly between the ribs” (Atwood 140), so her emotions are mixed and she is unsure of how she really feels.

As their relationship continues, we see that he is treating Offred kindly and they feel more equal since the commander finds sex impersonal. Although the power has been evened out more, it will always be that the commander has more power, since he could just end it with Offred whenever he feels like, and have her sent away. We learn throughout the meeting between the two of them that the power on either side has been put in a state of equality as their bond progresses there is probably less tension, as they get more comfortable with each other. The stereotypes of a typical man and woman meeting are put into play here. In the new society Offred, the handmaid, is a servant to the commander and doesn’t get treated with any respect, but when the two of them meet in private, the commander is very polite and respectful, by offering a seat, when she is usually supposed to stand, and when she takes her seat, he pulls the chair out for her. So in a society that doesn’t care for women of her level, the commander is still a gentleman and treats other with respect.

In conclusion, only time will tell how the power is distributed in the secret relationship, but it seems that they both like the direction it is heading. This bond between the two of them is very interesting, it gives us more insight into the commander, and how he is not just the ruler of the house, but rather, a person who might also miss the olden days, since he still enjoys to play scrabble. So even though, in this relationship, the commander is the one in charge socially, it is still blurry as to who really has the power and control.