The handmaid's tale summary

The first section begins with a description of the Red Center, which had been a high school gymnasium in the time before. Although no longer used for that function, the room still contains some hints of its former life—it smells of sweat, perfume, and chewing gum, and retains the lingering forms of sex, loneliness, and expectation.

Why was the handmaid's tale banned

The narrator, who is later known to us by the name Offred, remembers the feeling of yearning in high school. She and the women who sleep in the gymnasium yearn for the future as well. They sleep with army-issued blankets that still have the old name—U. Aunt Sara and Aunt Elizabeth patrol at night with electric cattle prods, but no guns. Even the Aunts cannot be trusted with guns.

Those are only for guards, who patrol the building but are not allowed inside. These guards—called Angels—stand outside with their backs to the building.

The handmaids tale chapter summary

The women learn to whisper at night without sound and to read lips. It is in this way that they are able to exchange their names: Alma. She notes that they have removed anything to which you could tie a rope, and that the picture frame on the wall contains no glass. Apart from these telling details, the room could be mistaken for a college guest room.

She thinks of how Aunt Lydia told her that her situation is not a prison but a privilege. The bell rings, and Offred leaves her room. She wears red gloves and a long red dress.