The values of Gilead are grounded in the society “before”. As a result, the discourse of Gilead has already been constructed before it appeared but at the same time it is something new. It has been constructed in what Foucault calls “semi-silence”. Consequently the discourse of Gilead will contain features of the society “before” and vice versa and the interpretation of Offred’s narrative is therefore quite problematic. Offred’s story is dependent on the framework of Gilead discourse, but at the same time her narrative contains remnants of the society “before”. She moves between these two discourses. In other words, what she tells in her story depends both on the “truths” of Gilead and the society “before”. Furthermore, the boundaries of how
