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The Handmaid’s Tale
Public book overview with generated synopsis from the full running summary.
58 chapters1985en
Summary•EnglishSynopsis
Quick synopsis of the book's plot, generated by our AI models.
June, known as Offred, is a Handmaid in the totalitarian regime of Gilead, forced to endure daily fertility rituals, strict supervision, and haunting memories of her husband Luke and their daughter. She learns to survive within the Commander’s household, navigating the cold hierarchy imposed by Serena Joy, Aunt Lydia, and Guardian Nick while forming tenuous bonds with fellow Handmaids such as Ofglen, Moira, and Cora, all underscored by brutal spectacles like public executions and the secret mantra “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.” Through small acts of defiance—smuggling butter, reading a hidden Bible, clandestine Scrabble games with the Commander, and a night at the underground club Jezebel’s—June clings to hope and builds fragile alliances, even as Ofglen disappears and Moira suffers severe punishment. The emergence of an impostor claiming to be Ofglen, a violent Particicution, and ever‑tightening surveillance drive June toward a desperate escape, but a whispered “Mayday” from Nick summons the Eyes, who storm the house and seize her. The story ends with June being escorted away in a black van, her fate left uncertain as scholars later analyze her diary, highlighting the persistence of resistance amid Gilead’s oppression.
Bibliographic Details
Details from the uploaded book file.
Primary Author
Margaret Atwood
Source Title
The Handmaid’s Tale
Publisher
ePubLibre
Language
en
Summary Language
English
Published Date
1985-01-01
Published Year
1985
Rights
Not available
Contributors
Margaret Atwood (Author)
Identifiers
No identifiers provided.
Description
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 years 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…
Chapter Summary Pages
Chapter 2: Chapter One
Chapter 3: Chapter Two
Chapter 4: Chapter Three
Chapter 5: Chapter Four
Chapter 6: Chapter Five
Chapter 7: Chapter Six
Chapter 8: Chapter Seven
Chapter 9: IV - Waiting Room
Chapter 10: Chapter Eight
Chapter 11: Chapter Nine
Chapter 12: Chapter Ten
Chapter 13: Chapter Eleven
Chapter 14: Chapter Twelve
Chapter 15: Chapter Thirteen
Chapter 16: VI - Household
Chapter 17: Chapter Fourteen
Chapter 18: Chapter Fifteen
Chapter 19: Chapter Sixteen
Chapter 20: Chapter Seventeen
Chapter 21: VII - Night
Chapter 22: Chapter Eighteen
Chapter 23: VIII - Birth Day
Chapter 24: Chapter Nineteen
Chapter 25: Chapter Twenty
Chapter 26: Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter 27: Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter 28: Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter 29: IX - Night
Chapter 30: Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter 31: X - Soul Scrolls
Chapter 32: Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter 33: Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter 34: Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter 35: Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter 36: Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter 37: XI - Night
Chapter 38: Chapter Thirty
Chapter 39: XII - Jezebel’s
Chapter 40: Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter 41: Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter 42: Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter 43: Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter 44: Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter 45: Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter 46: Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter 47: Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter 48: Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter 49: XIII - Night
Chapter 50: Chapter Forty
Chapter 51: Chapter Forty-One
Chapter 52: Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter 53: Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter 54: Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter 55: Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter 56: XV - Night
Chapter 57: Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter 58: Historical Notes
Characters
Character directory for this processed book.
Almafemale
One of the Handmaids who shares her name
Angelsneutral
Guards stationed outside the fenced football field
Aunt Elizabethfemale
Patrols dormitory with electric cattle prod
Aunt Sarafemale
Patrols dormitory with electric cattle prod
Doloresfemale
One of the Handmaids who shares her name
Janinefemale
One of the Handmaids who shares her name Janine appears pregnant at the market, reveals she was at the Red Centre with June
Junefemale
One of the Handmaids who shares her name
Moirafemale
One of the Handmaids who shares her name
Aunt Lydiafemale
Aunt Lydia is cited as a guiding authority, comparing the Handmaids' lives to army discipline and describing the bell‑measured time.
Corafemale
Cora is another Handmaid who discusses the Colonies, the Unwomen, and daily hardships with Rita, revealing the limited social network among the women.
Ritafemale
Rita is the Martha who works in the kitchen, bakes bread, wears a dull‑green dress with a bib apron, and hands June three market tokens.
Serena Joyfemale
First appearance of the Commander’s Wife, identified as Serena Joy
Nickmale
Household Guardian who washes the Commander’s car, low status, not issued a woman, lives over the garage, known by June from Rita and Cora, smokes and whistles.
Ofglenfemale
June’s new Handmaid partner for two weeks, slightly plumper, brown eyes, wears red gloves, walks with short steps, shares covert conversation about the war.
Interpreterneutral
Interpreter in blue suit with red tie, asks tourists for permission to photograph the Handmaids and asks if they are happy
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