The handmaids tale - Character development and contribution to the text as a whole.

Character development and contribution to the text as a whole

Main characters in stories have the innate ability to steal the limelight from all other characters simply the plot is based around them. However, readers must be aware the without supporting characters, whether good or bad, a story could not develop into something meaningful. Supporting characters guide the plot, reveal themes, and most importantly contribute to characterization of main characters. One could argue that supporting characters are more important for the author to portray accurately as they are essential for the success of the main character and hence story. Comparing Roger Chillingworth from Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and the Commander from Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale will offer a succinct explanation of this question.

Introducing anyone into a story is difficult, as readers will immediately make judgments and assume first impressions are correct. Changing the depiction of a character halfway through the novel without any support from plot signifies a weak author. Chillingworth and the Commander are carefully intertwined into the novel in a similar fashion. The reader meets Chillingworth at Hester’s most vulnerable stage as she stands on the scaffold revealing her scarlet letter for the first time. His real character and relationship with Hester is not spoken about immediately, as the author wants Chillingworth to remain dark and mysterious. Hester’s reaction towards the “stranger” in the crowd holds the reader in suspense. He is also portrayed as mysterious because he is a newcomer to the town, his figure is disproportionate and his face is “a writhing horror”, and he arrives with the Native Americans. His words about Hester immediately signify that he holds no sympathy towards her, “she will be a living sermon against sin”. The language depicts him as an unkind and frightening character, which foreshadows his contribution to the lover’s misfortune, and embodies their sin along with Pearl. Only later when he interacts with Hester does the reader understand her reaction and the meaning of his gesture when he places his fingers over his lips. The Commander is also introduced in a suspenseful manner at the night of the Ceremony when he must read from the Bible. This is arguably Offred’s most vulnerable stage as she knows what horror is to follow. He is described as looking “like a Midwestern bank president”, and remains mysterious as has no interaction with Offred and is known to be the authoritative figure of the household. His name is never revealed either. The reader only witnesses his deceptive side many chapters later when he asks Offred to his office. Offred’s point of view constricts the reader and provides a bias. However, the Commander’s attempts at going against the society’s values of which he embodies reveals to the reader that he is a deceiving, ambiguous, and manipulative character. Still, Atwood waits to reveal his character just as Offred must wait. The suspense factor both authors place on the supporting male characters engages the reader’s attention, and foreshadows their important role to the development of theme and plot.