How does Atwood present the commander in the novel?

the surface an anger and repression of Gilead and they both wanted to break free but on the surface when they played scrabble with each other they are calm and to a certain extent sophisticated, between the characters there is certain amount of sexual and power play.       The commander tells Offred that he believes that the reason why the State of Gilead came into place was because there was 'an inability to feel' and in his words, 'we thought we could we could do better.' This shows a slight resentment by the commander who throughout the novel seems hard character to break down.  This can make the reader either feels sorry for the character or see him as cruel and Atwood has presented this very effectively so you feel mixed emotions about the character making it harder to break down the book and decipher the characters thoughts and feelings.       Offred has feelings for the commander despite the fact that she is forced to have sex with him in the ritual then he helped to create.  She says, 'Right now I almost like him' and 'I remind myself that he is not an unkind man, that under other circumstances I almost like him.'  It is strange that Offred feels so much for the Commander but I think that the reason for her desire and affections stems down to the point that she has no feelings to share with anybody anymore to such a harsh extent that she cannot decipher between Love and Loathing.  Offred finally shows the reader that she can decipher between the two when the commander treats Offred like a toy when he enjoys teasing her with the magazine 'he was amusing himself at my expense.  For he must have known how painful it was to me, to be reminded of former times.' The Commander is human but people can portray him as a monster depending on the reader, but he uses his power to get what he wants.  , 'He’s at the top and I mean the very top.’ some could consider him to be rapist, but whatever the reader makes of him, it is clear that he is neither all-good or all-bad, but a complex individual that Atwood has put in the story to help the reader feel different emotions while reading. He can be seen as selfish in the fact he risks Offreds life for his own companionship. Atwood presents him as physically weak and pathetic to show just how much the society has run him down and his power has been smashed. This lack of pride that he has created for himself due to his role in the creation of Gilead helps towards his overall mental downfall and using Offred for company can be seen to the reader as a mental cry of help by or a way of escape. Atwood portrays the Commander as a self – minded, oblivious creature using animal imagery such as, 'ears flared back' when Offred meets the commander for the first time as if they are going to combat.     Atwood has created the character as a commander as a hate/sympathy figure in the book and depending on the reader’s personality the commander will either take a place in the reader’s heart of be a figure of hatred.