"Behind me I feel her presence, my ancestress, my double, turning in midair under the chandelier, in her costume of stars and feathers, a bird stoppped in flight, a woman made into an angel, waiting to be found. By me this time. How could I have believed I was alone in here ? There were always two of us. Get it over, she says. I'm tired of this melodrama, I'm tired of keeping silent. There's no one you can protect, your life has value to no one. I want it finished" ( Atwood 293).
The character Offred in The Handmaid's Tale by Margret Atwood, was not the first handmaid to be part of the Commander's household. She instead was to be the change. The woman here is the handmaid before. She has lived through the oppression, felt what the society of Gilead has had to offer, and ended herself. She wants Offred to stand up for herself. There should be no more hiding in the shadows. No more conforming. Instead Offred should trust herself. Stand up for oppression. This handmaid knows that Gilead is a lost society. They are blind to the meaning of what they themselves preach. Their happiness is fake and the men cheat. She believes Offred will make a difference. In truth it is offreds mind that is trying to convey the idea that she means nothing to the world and to end the darkness that the people of the society are imposing upon her by making her a handmiad, but by using this "guardian angel" type figure the author is trying to show empowerment. Offred must succeed in being the change or have been a waste to society.
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