So far in The Handmaid’s Tale, the plot has definitely profited from the mystic of the past. While Atwood’s introduction sheds some light onto what happened in the book’s past to create a theocracy known as the Republic of Gilead in what was once the USA, Offred doesn’t have a lot of information regarding the past. I am interested in seeing if Offred will have any data for us, as the backstory seems to be significant in this seismic change.
Another aspect of the book that intrigues me is the aspect of time. Offred switches back and forth between her time with Luke and with other women, while also describing her duties as a Handmaid with women who now have the “of” prefix added to the patronymic names. It almost seems as if she lives in both worlds at the same time. This is very intriguing given the context of our class, as we explore issues of reality and time. What does it mean for Offred to exist in these different worlds, even if they are in her own head? I wonder if we should consider these constructions by Offred as distinct realities, or maybe they are just her longing for a time gone by, without the oppressive nature of Gilead. So much of the political story exists outside of Offred’s understanding; she hears about how the war is going well, and how many rebels have been defeated – but doesn’t know who they are, or how Ofglen came to know the information (19).
I think its really interesting that you talk about her memories a “other worlds” because I was thinking about the same thing too in my post. I think that the fact that memories can change every time we remember them is an important fact because it makes them more “augmented”. I also think that the fact that she spends so much time thinking / ‘living in the past’ makes this much like how the characters live within a set of certain events in The Invention of Morel