Early in the novel Atwood presents us with the division between ladies and women

The reader finds out that grace quite enjoys being a murderess this is highlighted by graces comment "Sometimes at night I whisper it over to my self: Murderess, murderess. It rustles, like taffeta skirt across the floor." It was not uncommon at the time for women to be murderesses, as the reader finds out when the governess's scrap book is brought to our attention. Scrapbooks are hobbies for ladies of the time. Miss Lydia and Miss Marianne "put all kinds of things into their albums, little scraps of cloth from their dress." The governess's is very different it has "all the famous criminals in it" The governess's scrap book is also an example of Victorian hypocrisy, whereby things are covered up by glossing over them in this case it is covered in fancy decoration.

It is also made clear that the governess only holds this position because of her husband "she would prefer the governor to be the governor of something other than a prison" in this matter she has no choice as her husband is only where he is because of his friends.

In pages 83-92 we see the opinion of women through Dr Jordan's eyes he firstly describes them as "weak-spined and jelly like by nature" which could be seen as an overall view taken by men. Dr Jordan then scientifically proves this idea wrong when making reference to his dissection and finding that "their spines were on the average no feebler". The next example of a woman being a victim of a male dominated society is Mrs Humphrey. Although she is married she is a failing middle class and in a difficult predicament "she'd been forced to let lodgings" Letting lodgings would be her only source of income. Mrs Humphrey is a very proud woman and is embarrassed that she's had to rent rooms to survive. We see how proud she is when Dr Jordan comments "she was not in the habit of discussing the state of men's personal belongings" there is also a hint of desperation in Mrs Humphrey especially when receiving the money from Dr Jordan "she'd had to restrain herself from snatching at it" This makes the reader feel sorry for her.

Graces mother and aunt are very much victims of a male dominated society, more so graces mother who "had married beneath her" Grace's aunt had used the situation to her advantage and married so she was well off. Grace's mother only married because she had to "my mother was very fortunate in that my father did agree to marry her" she had be grateful, because in society she would be frowned upon for being pregnant and not married

Perhaps the only character in the novel who is not a victim of a male dominated society is Dr Jordan's mother who "sees herself living in reduced circumstances" but in reality she is not in such a desperate situation as Mrs Humphrey. But is in fact reduced compared to how she used to live. She had also used the social situation to hear advantage she married for money "she traded her family name and connections for a heap of coins fresh from the mint"