The main character of this book is Offred, one of the faceless many of the new Republic of Gilead. Each day she is removed farther and farther from her true self, to a complete no one. Expected to feel nothing, think nothing, and want nothing, she is used only as an instrument to bear children. Throughout the book, the narrator often speaks with a numbed tone despite all the horrifying ordeals she has seen and experienced. Although her offhand comment to herself are presented in a slight bitter and humorous manner, she must learn to hide this from others in order to survive.
It seems that the more she tries to cover up her true self, the more she forgets about how life used to be for her. She finds it odd that she used to dress as the Japanese tourist used to dress; yet it was only three years prior that she had the freedom to do so. She even admits to herself that she has been erased from the memory of her daughter, and that to her little girl she doesn’t even exist anymore. To protect herself in her new world, she is forced to hide beneath a submissive, obedient, and mindless mask, yet more and more each day, the mask becomes her real face.
When revolution occurred in the United States, the narrator was not yet known as Offred. Only after they relinquished her job, family, and past, and she no longer had much of an identity left, did they finally remove her name. With a name comes a person’s identity, and even though everything else has been taken away from them, a person always has the well being of their individuality. However, with the removal of her name and the placement of one such as ‘Offred’, it can cause one to think of themselves as insignificance.
The significance of such as name as Offred (meaning ‘Of Fred’) further removes all the human aspect of having a name, and motivates others (and yourself) to think of yourself as property. “A machine to have babies”, that is what Offred is and that is how she is treated. She is no longer an educated women, who’s opinions matter, but just another useful peace of meat. Devoid of any love, and even hated by the Wives, their own lives become useless to themselves. Lacking many of the freedoms that were given to them in the past, the have become virtual sex objects.
They lie motionless and thoughtless on their backs to perform “The Ceremony”. And Offred even agrees that they are just used, and after the ceremony, she retreats to her room to “lie flat, like a buttered piece of toast”. All in all, the narrator is a fascinating character, whom we do not want to see get lost under the overwhelming odds. She realizes that she is no longer recognized as an individual anymore, but quietly rebels. However, the unfortunate reality is that she must choose between dying, or eventually assimilating into the quiet and compliant role of a handmaid.