The Significance of 'Night' Chapters in The Handmaid's Tale

Categories: The Handmaid’s Tale

The chapters in the Handmaids Tale are named after an event or a time that is relevant to Offreds situation as the story progresses. The sections called 'Night' are very important chapters in the novel because this signifies the time when Offred is alone and silent remembering her vivid memories of her past. It is only at night that Offred chooses to remember her past because she is by herself, quiet and in her own personal territory. She feels that this is the only time she is totally cut off from the oppressive society and regime that she is living in.

As a day ends and Offreds bedroom door closes, it is then that her mind wanders her sea of memories and feels at one with herself. Offreds mind holds precious memories of her past life and former self. They also give the reader information about her family background, her relationship with Luke and escaping over the border to get away from the rapidly changing society.

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The Night sections are extremely significant in the novel, not for just explaining Offreds past and current situations, they also show how oppressive the society in Gilead must be. For Offred to feel too on edge to remember her memories in the day time or when she and Offglen do daily walks to collect groceries, shows that Offreds mind is constantly buzzing with a fear of some sort or other of the current society. When Offred became a handmaid, she was stripped of her identity and everything that made her who she was, so for her only choosing to remember her memories at night, is displaying that she does not want to be robbed of her past in her head by the society that took everything else from her.

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Only when her bedroom door is shut it is safe that she cannot have her memories snatched from her.

The Night sections not only show the reader the type of society Gilead is, it also gives us a lot of information on Offreds personality. We know from reading the night chapters that Offred was and is quite a determined character deep down. We know that she is sensitive because when remembering her memories, she frequently has to stop telling the reader what happens next because she finds them too painful to remember. This also conveys to the reader that Offred may be slightly nostalgic about her past, but stops herself remembering too much.

It is only at night that we learn of Offreds affair with a married man named Luke and their daughter who is only and always referred to as 'Her'. Offred explains that she does this because she prefers to think that her child is dead and that it is less painful for her to remember her this way. The 'Night' sections tell Offreds tale up until she becomes a handmaid, so as well as the continuing story, whenever a 'Night' section appears in the novel, 'Offreds' tale is told.

We also learn about Offreds beginnings in the Red Centre and her best and much loved fearless friend Moira. We learn about Offreds peers and how Moira tries to escape and undermine the society they are stuck in. she succeeds. By Offred remembering Moira's tale at night, it comforts Offred with a message of hope that she may yet find her 'escape' and find Luke again. The 'Night' chapters are significant for bringing hope to Offred by remembering stories of escape and her husband and that it may be possible to escape.

In chapter eighteen Offred is thinking about Luke and thinking of the outside world. She questions herself whether Luke is still alive and if he is, does he know where she is and is he plotting their escape. Throughout this chapter, Offred continually repeats the word 'Believe'. She says- 'This is what I believe... I believe...Does Luke believe?' .By repeating the word 'believe', it almost begins to sound prayer like to the reader after a few paragraphs.

Margaret Atwood may have wanted to make chapter eighteens 'night' section to sound prayer like so convey to the reader that whilst Offred is in such deep thought about Luke and escaping, she is unaware that she sounds as though she is praying. Gilead does not allow reading and religion is a bit of a taboo as to who is allowed to read and believe what. This night section once again signifies how society has changed, how cut off Offred is from news of the outside world and how she can no longer pray out loud unless commanded to.

The 'Night' chapters occur regularly throughout the chapter. This is suggestive of the regularity of Offreds daily regime and gives the reader a strong sense of routine that the handmaids endure each day. The night chapters also symbolize the routine of Gilead's whole society and ruling- the ceremonies, the salvagings, the daily walks and prayvaganzas. Their routine is strict and the same.

The 'Night' sections are significant throughout the 'Handmaids tale'. They bring hope and sadness to Offred, sometimes at the same time. Her memories help her to stay strong and deal with her current situation whilst informing the reader of important characters that were dearly loved by Offred in her past. The 'Night' chapters tell Offreds tale and not the collective and generalized 'Handmaids tale'. This helps to make the story more personal and real to the reader by almost hearing straight from Offreds mind what she is feeling and how she has felt in her past. This is significant also to the reader because expression of personal feelings and even speaking is now so restricted in Offreds current society. Not only do the 'night' sections help us understand Offreds ordeals but they are essential to make the story flow smoothly because speech is not frequently used.

Updated: Nov 20, 2023
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The Significance of 'Night' Chapters in The Handmaid's Tale. (2020, Jun 02). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/handmaids-tale-essay

The Significance of 'Night' Chapters in The Handmaid's Tale essay
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