Panel Discussion #3 (Chapters 24-39 or pages 165-295)

He was not a monster, to her. Probably he had some endearing trait: he whistled,
offkey, in the shower, he had a yen for truffles, he called his dog Liebchen and made
it sit up for little pieces of raw steak. How easy it is to invent a humanity, for anyone
at all. What an available temptation.
In this quotation, from Chapter 2 4 , Offred remembers a documentary that she
watched about a woman who was the mistress of a Nazi death camp guard. She
recalls how the woman insisted that her lover was not a monster, and she
compares that womans situation to her own, as she spends her evenings with the
Commander and comes to almost like him. The Commander seems like a good
person: he is kind, friendly, genial, and even courtly to Offred. Yet he is also the agent
of her oppressionboth directly, as her Commander, and indirectly, through his role
in constructing the oppressive edifice of Gileadean society. Like the concentration
camp guard, he is not a monster, to her; yet he is still a monster. Offred suggests
that it is easy, when you know an evil person on a personal level, to invent a
humanity for them. It is a temptation, she says, meaning that no one wants to
believe that someone they know is a monster. But in the case of the Commander,
that temptation must be resisted. He may be kind and gentle, but he still bears
responsibility for the evil of Gilead.

egg as a symbol of handmaids

Panel Discussion #4 (Chapters 40-46 or pages 299-258)

Panel Discussion #3 (Chapters 24-39 or pages 165-295)

She did not believe he was a monster. He was a monster, to her.

Probably he had some endearing trait: he whistled, offkey, in the
shower, he had a yen for truffles, he called his dog Liebchen and
made it sit up for little pieces of raw steak. How easy it is to invent a
humanity, for anyone at all. What an available temptation. (Atwood,
168)

In this quotation, from Chapter 2 4 , Offred remembers a documentary that she

watched about a woman who was the mistress of a Nazi death camp guard. I felt
that this quote was very important because in it she recalls how the woman
insisted that her lover was not a monster, and she compares that womans
situation to her own, in many ways I think that this is a parallel to her own
circumstances, because the commander is very kind, friendly, and acts civil
towards Offred whenever theyre together, but he is the agent of her oppression,
both directly (because he is her commander) and indirectly (because he
contributed in constructing the oppressive patriarchal society of Gilead). Just like
the woman in the concentration camp, he is not a monster to her, but he is in
the grand scheme of things he really is. She says that its easy to invent a
humanity if you know an evil person on a personal level, meaning that its
difficult to believe that someone you know is a monster, but in the case of the
commander, that temptation must be resisted. Offred realizes that he may be
kind and gentle to her but he still bears the responsibility for the evil in the
society.
What do you guys think? Do you guys think its easier to empathize with an evil
person if you know them on a personal level? Do you think that Offred wants to
accept that the commander is enforcing the evil that she so opposes?

The eggs had broken on the floor, there was orange juice and
shattered glass. [] She went into the bathroom and flushed the
handful of egg, which could not be salvaged down the toilet
(Atwood 173-174)

I think that the egg is more than just a literal object in the novel; I think that it is a
symbol here while Offred is having breakfast. While on basic level It could symbolizes
fertility, rebirth, and procreation because the egg is the most desired thing in Gileads
society due to the lack of procreation. But I also think that the egg in her breakfast
and the fact that the eggs had broken on the floor could be a reference to her
difficulty with having children, perhaps her loss of willpower because the egg could
also be a metaphor for her wellbeing, I say this because in prior chapters, in chapter
19 she says "I think that this is what God must look like: an egg [...] To look at the
egg gives me intense pleasure" (pg,127) and also The minimalist life. Pleasure is an
egg. Blessings that can be counted, on the fingers of one hand. But possibly this is
how I am expected to react. If I have an egg, what more can I want?(19.15). I feel like
Offred sees the egg as a symbol to contain god and pleasure and the fact that the
eggs had broken on the floor could mean that she has lost her sense of happiness or
perhaps her belief in god or religion because the society is using religion as a means
to control the people . I also would like to bring up the fact that in Christianity, the
egg is a symbol for birth and rebirth, a lifeless object that leads to life, a symbol of
Christs resurrection.
What do you guys think, as a symbol what do you think the egg represents?