Offred

NOTE: This page is about the novel and film versions of the character. For the television series adaptation, see June Osborne.
Offred, known as Kate in the film adaptation, is the main protagonist of the novel duology.
She is a woman who was abducted in the early years of Gilead while trying to escape the country and forced to be a "Handmaid" due to her still being capable of bearing children. She records a series of tapes of her experience being a Handmaid for a Commander and his wife Serena Joy. Ultimately her goal is to find a way for her and her children to escape Gilead, although she goes back and forth on whether or not she thinks it is possible.
In the 1990 film adaptation she was portrayed by .
==Personality==
Offred's true personality is unknown, as the entire novel is retold through a series of tapes, so the way that she describes events and her thought process are likely different on the tapes than they were when she actually experienced said events first hand. That being said, the way Offred generally describes her experience as a Handmaid is rather odd, with her not necessarily being apathetic to her circumstances, but rather being quite calm and never showing any signs of having a breakdown until the very end of the story. It's unclear whether this calm attitude is truly a result of her losing her family and becoming apathetic, or if she really was just that resilient of an individual that not even being a Handmaid was enough to break her spirit.
Offred does seem to be in denial about her circumstances at times, such as when she claims that she was given a single dose of a drug that erased her memories, even though no such drug exists, meaning she is likely blocking out traumatic memories and claiming that it was the result of the drugs they gave her. Despite everything, she does think about finding a way to save her children and escape Gilead, she just doesn't think it is possible. She hasn't completely given up hope, forming a romantic relationship with a Guardian named Nick and becoming friends with a fellow Handmaid known as Ofglen. In fact the only time where Offred considers giving up is when Ofglen dies, although she is dissuaded from harming herself by Nick.
==Quotes==
==Trivia==
*Offred's name in the original novel is never revealed, although there is an unintentional clue in the text which led readers to believe her name was June. While this was not intended by the author, it is likely the reason why the character is named June in the television adaptation.
**It is possible that the textual clues that imply her name is Offred were intended by the character in-universe to throw Gilead off her trail if they found the tapes, as Offred admits that she is using pseudonyms for other characters in her retelling of events.
**The film adaptation completely ignored this aspect of the original story and explicitly named the character Kate.
*It is revealed in the sequel novel The Testaments that Offred did survive and escape Gilead, although it's never revealed if she was taken away and rescued by Mayday at the end of the original story or if instead it was the Eyes that came to collect her and she escaped during a subsequent unknown event.
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