Handmaid's Tale Case Study: Mother Daughter Relationships

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Handmaid's Tale Case Study
Mother and their children have a strong bond that is rarely broken. In the novel, human relationships, as well as the role they play, are repeated throughout. The chapter begins with the dream where Offred is in a dream and is dreaming about her daughter, following her all around the house. “I dream that I get out of bed and walk across the room, not this room, and go out the door, not this door. I’m at home, one of my homes, and she’s running to meet me, in her small green nightgown with the sunflower on the front, her feet bare, and I pick her up and reel her arms and legs go around me and I begin to cry, because I know then that I’m not awake. I’m back in this bed, trying to wake up, and I wake up and sit on the edge of the bed…”(Atwood, 122). In the quoted exert above, there is a clear indication of how the mother-daughter relationship has been portrayed all over the book. Mothers have been portrayed as caring guardians to their daughters, who always want the best for them. Despite being hurdles all along with their relationships, the mothers have ensured that they are always thinking about their daughters. Atwood has used the mother-daughter relationships in this chapter to create a scenario where others are deep, real, passionate and have an all-consuming love clearly depicted in the character Offred.
It is evident that Offred and Commander are in the progressed relationship where they are relaxed in each other’s company, although they still meet in secret. “I visit the Commander two or three nights a week, always after dinner, but only when I get the signal. The signal is Nick. If he’s polishing the car when I set out for the shopping, or when I come back, and if his hat is on askew or not on at all, then I go. If he isn’t there or if he has his hat on straight, then I stay in my room in an ordinary way.”( Atwood, 178). They play leisure games like scrabble, and Offred is even given a chance to read secretly in his company (which she considers better than sex). Additionally, they are in a relaxed situation such that she asks the commander for a conversation rather than the forbidden book. Personal information is even shared between the two of ...