Amy Thomas

Ms. Dorn
IB English 3A
22 November 2015

(opening paragraph)
The Commander and his Wife, Serena Joy, have a relationship that does not include love
at all. They do not interact the same way a married couple would interact. They barely talk or
interact with each other, but yet neither implies that they want a divorce. The only time they
converse is when it is absolutely necessary: they speak in certain situations such as the
Ceremony. Usually, a couple within their first few years of marriage would talk about their day,
crack a few jokes, or at least chat just a little. However, that is not the case with the Commander
and Serena. One of the first things Serena says to Offred is: As for my husband, she said, hes
just that. My husband. I want that to be perfectly clear. Till death do us part. Its final (16). The
Commander is not her love companion, not even her friend; he is just her male partner. A
husband is known for being a wifes other half, her lover and sometimes even her best friend.
The Commander is none of those things to Serena. He spends absolutely no quality time with
her; he does not even share a bedroom with her. As Serena was helping Offred to the back door
to go meet with Nick, she says, The Commanders in his bedroom upstairs, she says. He
wont come down here this late, he never does (260). Serena specifies that the Commander is

in his bedroom, not our bedroom. The couples relationship is the exact opposite of what a
marriage should be. They are paired together not because of love but because of the law.
The relationship between the Commander and Offred definitely lacks love. Since Offred
is the Handmaid of the Commander, she is not supposed to interact with him in any way except
for during the Ceremony. During one of the ceremonies she narrates, what he is f***ing is the
lower part of my body. I do not say making love, because this is not what hes doing (94).
Offred ensures that the reader knows that the Commander is not having sex with her because he
loves her or just wants to have fun. She states, this is not recreation, even for the Commander.
This is serious business (95). Not even the Commander has enjoyment during the Ceremony
sex; what he is doing is apathetic which is why Offred says f***ing instead of just sex.
Later in the novel Offred and the Commander frequently meet secretly in his room and he even
takes her out to a club. Despite the rule-breaking favors he does for her, he still does not reveal
that he actually has feelings for Offred. He only took her to the club because he wanted to show
her off. Just before she goes to use the restroom at the club, he says to her, just show them your
tag, Itll be alright. Theyll know youre taken (240). In the hotel room, he also strokes her
body now, He stops at the foot, his fingers encircling the ankle, briefly, like a bracelet, where
the tattoo is, It means ownership (254). The Commander takes pleasure in the fact that
Offred belongs to him; he mentions her tag and encircles her tattoo to remind her that she still is
under his control. In the room, he wants to have sex with her, to see if they can enjoy sex the way
it used to be enjoyed, but because they do not actually love each other, there is no connection or
passion to allow them to feel true pleasure. The bond between Offred and the Commander is
strictly business and can be no more than that.

The relationship between Offred and Nick also lacks love. It is more so based on lust
rather than love. The first couple times Nick sees Offred, he winks at her and even speaks to her,
even though he is not allowed to interact with her in any way. He asks if she had a nice walk and
in response I nod, but do not answer with my voice. He isnt supposed to speak to me. Of
course some of them will try, said Aunt Lydia. All flesh is weak (45). Offred knows that
unnecessary communication is
During the household meeting in the sitting room, he deliberately touches her shoe. Then, he
finds her in the sitting room late at night and he puts his hand on my arm, pulls me against him,
his mouth on mine, Both of us shaking, how Id like to (98). Nick barely knows Offred and
the first thing he does after being alone with her for the first time is make out with her. One
might say that it was love at first sight but it would be more correct to say it was lust at first
sight. Not only is Nick lustful, Offred is too. She says that shed like to, as in shed like to do
something with Nick that could be mistaken as an act of love when really it is not love at all.
Because the two individuals have been resisting their desire to have genuine contact with another
human being, they easily give in and fall into each other thinking it is love that brought them
together. As Aunt Lydia said, All flesh is weak (45). Offred and Nick have a love-lacking
relationship, where love is mistaken for lust.