I like the way Atwood is so descriptive that she describes the scent of the room when Janine is having a baby. I don’t get the part when Offred says that she feels so tired that she seems to feel the same pain Janine is going through. Offred isn’t giving birth to a child at that moment. She’s just chanting and not doing too much physical work. I was wondering why Offred emphasizes the unity of the Handmaids two times like this in pgs125 and 126:
Pg 125: “We grip each other’s hands, we are no longer single.”
Pg 126: “We smile too, we are one smile, tears run down our cheeks, we are so happy.”
I think the story of Moira gives Offred hope to someday try to escape Gilead like Moira did. It really shows how important rank is in the society when Moira simply puts on Aunt Elizabeth’s clothes to appear as an aunt. That way she can easily escape Gilead. Offred mentioned that Moira was a loose woman after that which probably meant that she could bend the rules of Gilead without getting caught and feel like a woman from the past. Where would Moira go?
I thought it was really weird for the commander to ask Offred to give him a kiss just for the game, after he had seemed indifferent in the Ceremony with Offred and the Wife. I think the Commander offered to play scrabble to show how much he liked Offred because reading is illegal in Gilead. I think she liked kissing the Commander because she mentioned that it was a reconstruction. The Commander didn’t like it though, he wanted her to mean it. She seems to be getting more comfortable in Gilead with the birth and the kiss.
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In my opinion, I think Offred might mean that she can relate to Janine's pain because she's given birth to her daughter before too. I have a feeling that all mothers can relate to each other in that way. As for the togetherness of the Handmaids, it might just be that they too feel a connection because they're all alike, dressed like, perform the same roles in the society, etc. I think the hierarchy in Gilead is very important too; no one dares to offend those who are higher than him/herself. Although we found out where Moira went later on the book, I originally thought Moira escaped and fled the country to Canada. As for the kissing part, I felt that it was awkward, but not really as awkward as the description as the Ceremony. Personally, I wouldn't go so far as to think she likes kissing the Commander. I think she's just afraid of the consequences if she doesn't follow his orders...
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