Handmaid's Tale

MAN, in a feminist novel, is SATAN. He embodies all that is fear, evil, violent, hating, and oppression. More often than not, authors portray their protagonist?s male oppressor as a chauvinistic pig. They are cruel, evil and immoral. But behind this mask of macho manliness always lies a real human being that the reader must extrapolate. Every bruit has an inside that makes him such. In Atwood?s The Handmaid?s Tale, the Commander, …

…mockery in these words. The Commander is expressing his power to bend the rules and, in effect, underlines to Offred how powerless she is. Anything fancy the Commander might have, no matter how silly, must be followed. Furthermore, Offred?s false sense of freedom lies in the hands of the Commander. He brings her gifts, pictures, information, and hope. Now, he can use her under the pretense of help. The beast does not waste time.