In the "present", the main character now known as Offred is living under a new regime after the collapse and breakup of the United States which happened just a few years earlier.
But it could have happened generations ago; or so it seems in Cambridge, Massachusetts, home of the ruling elite of the new Republic of Gilead. They've stripped away so much of the culture and history that was there before and replaced it with the preferences of the new rulers.
It seems like odd mixture of influences cobbled together but becomes even more frightening as it begins to make a certain amount of sense in context. The obvious theme is a return to the Puritan period of (part of) America's past. But the Puritans, for all their faults, had some proto- democratic and egalitarian leanings.
But sorry, these don't fit the Republic of Gilead's needs, so on one level it's not Ye Olde New England at all, but a feudal atmosphere where the commoners serve on the estates of "great men." These Commanders of the Faithful don't put up with priests, however, because they speak for God as well as ruling the secular realm. An ominous secret police force called the Eyes are also a big deal and soldiers constantly patrol the streets giving off a Nazi or Stalinist vibe.
Women are of course singled out for the least power and worst treatment, especially if they didn't marry an important man (in which case, they can wear nice clothes, decorate, garden and drink their sorrows away). At least men can try to work their way up the military chain of command or have regular jobs, though they are forbidden to marry or reproduce without permission and can be sent to die in an ongoing war against the remnant of the USA.
"Marthas", the female domestic servants work nearly every waking hour. Handmaids are the ultimate example of reductionism. There has been a sterility plague and the few remaining unmarried fertile women are drafted into a state sponsored pseudo-religious order to bear children for whomever they get assigned to. They are blatantly thought of as walking wombs.
All of these roles are embodiments of typical stereotypes of women that have existed for thousands of years. There is even a color coded uniform for each one, though the Wives are allowed a little more variety in style.
I'm sorry to go to such lengths to describe Gilead, but my point is that for the main character, its immersive atmosphere and largely successful erasure of the recent past makes it quite a task to hold onto her sense of self and reality.
The flashbacks to her last few years before everything changed are painful because they're all she has left of her husband (presumed dead and marriage dissolved by Gilead in any case because she was his second wife), daughter (taken away and given to a "deserving" childless couple) and best friend who was recruited as a Handmaid, too, after the revolution but who disappeared after displaying too much rebellious behavior.
So much of the story is her struggle to stay mentally alive and to be prepared to fight back when and if the time comes. Her internal dialogue is everything from sorrow to mockery of her new masters.
By the end of the pilot, she is ready to privately reclaim her real name-- June--and swear to find her daughter, Hannah.
But it could have happened generations ago; or so it seems in Cambridge, Massachusetts, home of the ruling elite of the new Republic of Gilead. They've stripped away so much of the culture and history that was there before and replaced it with the preferences of the new rulers.
It seems like odd mixture of influences cobbled together but becomes even more frightening as it begins to make a certain amount of sense in context. The obvious theme is a return to the Puritan period of (part of) America's past. But the Puritans, for all their faults, had some proto- democratic and egalitarian leanings.
But sorry, these don't fit the Republic of Gilead's needs, so on one level it's not Ye Olde New England at all, but a feudal atmosphere where the commoners serve on the estates of "great men." These Commanders of the Faithful don't put up with priests, however, because they speak for God as well as ruling the secular realm. An ominous secret police force called the Eyes are also a big deal and soldiers constantly patrol the streets giving off a Nazi or Stalinist vibe.
Women are of course singled out for the least power and worst treatment, especially if they didn't marry an important man (in which case, they can wear nice clothes, decorate, garden and drink their sorrows away). At least men can try to work their way up the military chain of command or have regular jobs, though they are forbidden to marry or reproduce without permission and can be sent to die in an ongoing war against the remnant of the USA.
"Marthas", the female domestic servants work nearly every waking hour. Handmaids are the ultimate example of reductionism. There has been a sterility plague and the few remaining unmarried fertile women are drafted into a state sponsored pseudo-religious order to bear children for whomever they get assigned to. They are blatantly thought of as walking wombs.
All of these roles are embodiments of typical stereotypes of women that have existed for thousands of years. There is even a color coded uniform for each one, though the Wives are allowed a little more variety in style.
I'm sorry to go to such lengths to describe Gilead, but my point is that for the main character, its immersive atmosphere and largely successful erasure of the recent past makes it quite a task to hold onto her sense of self and reality.
The flashbacks to her last few years before everything changed are painful because they're all she has left of her husband (presumed dead and marriage dissolved by Gilead in any case because she was his second wife), daughter (taken away and given to a "deserving" childless couple) and best friend who was recruited as a Handmaid, too, after the revolution but who disappeared after displaying too much rebellious behavior.
So much of the story is her struggle to stay mentally alive and to be prepared to fight back when and if the time comes. Her internal dialogue is everything from sorrow to mockery of her new masters.
By the end of the pilot, she is ready to privately reclaim her real name-- June--and swear to find her daughter, Hannah.