The Handmaid's Tale Chapter 1 Summary

The narrator, Offred, describes how she and other handmaids slept inside a gymnasium in the new nation of Gilead. There are two Aunt, Sara and Elizabeth, who has cattle prods around their waist in order to put fear into the handmaids. The women are not allowed to speak with one another so they must resort to lip reading when the aunts are not looking. The handmaids were allowed two walks a day around the former football field. While the women are walking , the guards stand with their backs towards the women. Offred hope that some day one of the guards would turn around and see her body so they can possibly make a deal. As the chapter change, the scenery changed along with. Now the narrator discuss about her room which has fitted curtains, a pillow, a framed picture, and braided rug. …show more content…
She then collect the tokens which were used as currency to do her shopping with. Offred does her shopping with her handmaid friend named Ofglen. During their shopping trip, Offred and Ofglen spotted a pregnant woman who seem to be showing off. After their shopping trip and before they headed back home, Ofglen wanted to visit the church which has a wall of bodies displayed for everyone too see. These bodies are meant to be an example for anyone who tried to rebel. Offred recounts her old life before Gilead and treasured the freedom she used to have. She remembered the first time she arrived at the Commander’s house. There were stains from long ago and she discovered a phrase written in latin that said “Faith”. In chapter 11, Offred stated that she went see her doctor yesterday. The doctor offered to impregnate Offred to help her out since most of the commanders were either too old or were sterile. Offred pondered this offer and decided to decline stating that it was too dangerous to