Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Grew Up… religious. Serena was raised in a very traditional sect that preached a return to Biblical ways, where women stayed in the house and men controlled the outside world. Serena was a televangelist in the “old world” before the rise of Gilead.
Living… in a new nation called Gilead, founded on the principles of the Old Testament and enforced by military power and the threat of toxic waste surrounding the cities.
Profession… wife. Under Gilead’s laws, women are restricted to the home. While Serena is married to the Commander, a powerful man in Gilead’s new hierarchy, she still isn’t allowed to keep her old position as a public figure.
Interests… knitting endless scarves with children on them. She’s not allowed to do much else other than keep house – she’s not even allowed to sing the gospel songs she used to be popular for.
Relationship Status… married to the Commander, but forced to be present for “The Ceremony,” in which her husband has sex with a Handmaiden. All sex is supposed to be procreative in Gilead, and Serena has been declared sterile, so the couple must attempt to have children in a somewhat… roundabout fashion.
Challenge… living with getting what you asked for. Though Serena preached that women should live as housewives, now that Gilead makes it mandatory, she isn’t enjoying herself very much. It makes it worse that the Handmaiden, Offred, is living in her house, constantly reminding Serena of her infertility and powerlessness.
Personality… selfish and frustrated. Serena hates the circumstances of her life, but she takes it out on others rather than accepting partial blame. She also has a cunning side, able to find out information that she shouldn’t have access to, and use it to manipulate people. She takes some small pleasure in using what power she has.
Get to Know her in...
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This 1990 film adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel brings to the screen the painful struggles of Offred in the repressive Republic of Gilead. The all-star cast includes Natasha Richardson as Offred, Faye Dunaway as Serena Joy, Robert Duvall as The Commander, and Elizabeth McGovern as Moira.
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Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the days before, when she lived and made love with her husband Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now?.
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Overnight, Offred's husband, daughter, and her job as a librarian were ripped away. Because of chemical pollution, only about 1% of women can become pregnant. Since Offred is one of the fertile women, she has been kidnapped to conceive a baby for a high-ranking official in Gilead. She would try to escape, but every day she sees hanged corpses of those who committed even minor infractions. For now, she is putting on a compliant face until she can find a way out.
