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Offred became a handmaid due to the new authoritarian government in Gilead that reclassified women based on their fertility status.
Offred, the central character in Margaret Atwood's novel "The Handmaid's Tale," becomes a handmaid as a result of the dystopian society's oppressive regime known as Gilead. In this totalitarian state, fertile women are assigned the role of handmaids to bear children for elite couples who are unable to conceive. Offred, previously known as June, was a married woman with a daughter before the rise of Gilead. As the regime gained power and implemented strict social and religious control, June's rights and freedoms were gradually stripped away. Eventually, she was captured by the authorities, separated from her family, and trained as a handmaid. Her new identity as Offred signifies that she now belongs to a specific commander and is obligated to participate in the monthly "Ceremony," a ritualistic sexual encounter aimed at procreation. Through Offred's perspective, the novel explores the horrors of her transformation from a free woman to a subjugated handmaid in the oppressive world of Gilead.
How did Offred become a handmaid?. (2023, Jul 24). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/qa/literature/how-did-offred-become-a-handmaid
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