Offred, Moira, and a False Dichotomy

Atwood is great at working with irony, as evidenced through the masterful prose she uses to characterize the many double standards women face in Gilead. But aside from that, one ironic element of foreshadowing that really interested me was when Offred (before going to the club with the Commander) thought that Moira would call her an “idiot” for doing so. And when Offred is actually at the club, Moira’s the one trying to convince Offred that this option would be better for her. In my mind, this almost symbolizes Moira being broken by Gilead; her listlessness is antithetical to her former self in a former world. 

Nonetheless, doing this is Moira’s method of survival that she has to engage in, which draws on the themes of supposed choice and “freedom from” as opposed to “freedom to” that Atwood frequently ties in throughout the novel. Moira has the illusion of choice in working at the club, just as Offred does. This is Moira’s only option in such a repressive society, and even if Offred wanted to work at the club with Moira, the Commander would find out and people at the house would take note of her disappearance. Ironically, neither character really has “freedom to” or “freedom from.” Both of them are playacting to engage in their respective societal roles; their lives are not dictated on their own terms. There is obviously no “freedom to” in Gilead. Similarly, both in terms of their marginalized social positions (and respective “occupations” that draw upon these social positions), Offred and Moira are unsafe. They don’t have freedom “from.” That’s what’s ironic about this novel to me—a false dichotomy of freedom that’s somehow used to justify the oppression of women.

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