Examine the Character of Offred and Consider her Role as the Heroine of the Novel.

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Examine the Character of Offred and Consider her Role as the Heroine of the Novel.

A heroine could be defined as a woman of outstanding courage and endurance, who is greatly admired or worthy of being admired. Essentially, she must be a person of outstanding qualities. We have been asked to investigate Offred's character and evaluate how she conforms to the role of the heroine in the novel.

Throughout 'The Handmaids Tale', the idea of feminism is strongly linked with the role of the heroine. Primarily because Gilead is a patriarchal society, therefore Offred is fighting for women against men. 'The Handmaids Tale' is a woman's autobiographical narrative that challenges the absolute authority of Gilead and its male-orientated rules, highlighting the significance of story telling as an act of resistance against oppression. It is Offred's narrative voice transcribed into text that situates her as an individual woman, grounded in place and time, whose identity transcends that of her Handmaid's role.

One of Offred's qualities that depict her as a heroine is her rebellion against Gilead and so consequently, her desire to stand up for what is right. She insists on voicing her own