Hadnmaids Tale - Serena Joy as a symbol

      In The Handmaid's Tale by Margret Atwood, the character Serena Joy is an allusion to Tammy Fay Bakker.  Tammy Faye Bakker was a well known Evangelist who valued the wholesome old fashioned lifestyle. Serena Joy is the same way. She asks for a lifestyle rid of impurities, based on The Holy Word, and gets exactly that. However, instead of getting what she would thought would be a perfect life, she is thrust into a life full of misery. When comparing Serena Joy and Tammy Faye Bakker, there is the common element of an unfaithful husband. Mrs. Bakker's husband was caught in a multitude of sex scandals, while the Commander flits his time away with Jezebels. Although, there are handmaids it is best to think of them as an extension of the wives in this case, an extra working womb. 
       There are many Biblical allusions throughout the novel as well. Serena Joy and the other wives of Gilead all wear the color blue. They also are all mostly unable to have children and are instead the "mothers" of the handmaids. A woman from Biblical times that parallels with Serena Joy is Mary mother of Jesus. In the Catholic faith Mary is depicted as a woman wearing blue. She is also referred to as The Virgin Mary, a virgin being a woman who has not attempted to create a child . However, this is only a theory of a person who may be an explanation for some of the characteristics of Serena Joy. Another allusion that Serena Joy and the other wives may be connected to is the Biblical tale of Jacob, Rachel, and Leah. Rachel wanting a child to become Jacob's favorite wife, asks  for her husband to sleep with her maid while she watches. This is where "The Ceremony" originates from.The closest match to Serena Joy is Sarah the wife of Abraham, who offers her handmaid Hagar, in order for Abraham to bear a son. She then, however, becomes very jealous and angry with Hagar and has her thrown out into the desert. Sarah's attitude toward Hagar matches that of Serena Joy toward Offred almost exactly.     
       These are only a few explanations for Serena Joy and the wives. Serena Joy believes in old fashioned values that cause her life to be terribly unhappy. She goes through life watching her husband commit lecherous acts, yet  it is all her doing. The women become jealous and angry, spitefully smiling at one another. Looking at how frightfully ironic her life is connects her with those ironic people of reality who unintentionally spite themselves as well. She a symbol for the unhappiness a totalitarian society can bring, with her ungrateful attitude after receiving her wish.