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Chapters
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Contents
Chapters
Structure
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The Handmaid's Tale has 16 chapters.
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Chapters list
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Chapters16 items
Night
The novel opens with Offred and other Handmaids sleeping in a former gymnasium, now a holding facility. The space is guarded by armed women called Aunts, and the Handmaids communi…
Shopping
Offred describes her daily routine in the Commander's household, including her room, her restricted movements, and the rules governing her existence.
Night
In a brief night section, Offred lies in her room and thinks about her predecessor—the previous Handmaid assigned to this household.
Waiting Room
Offred waits in the sitting room of the Commander's house, observing the domestic hierarchy around her. She interacts briefly with Nick, the Commander's driver, and reflects on th…
Night
Another brief night interlude in which Offred thinks about her daughter, who was taken from her when the family tried to flee to Canada.
Household
Offred attends the household's daily prayer ritual, led by the Commander. The entire household—Commander, Wife, Marthas, and Handmaid—assembles for a reading from the Bible, which…
Night
In this night section, Offred tells herself stories to pass the time and maintain her sanity. She thinks about Luke and tries to construct different possible versions of what happ…
Birth Day
A Handmaid in another household goes into labor, and all the Handmaids in the district gather for the birth. The Wives also gather separately.
Night
Offred lies awake in her room, caught in a spiral of memory and longing. She thinks about her daughter, her former life with Luke, and the gradual erosion of women's rights that l…
Soul Scrolls
Offred and Ofglen walk past Soul Scrolls, a shop where machines print out prayers on behalf of the faithful, reducing religious devotion to a mechanical, hollow act.
Night
Offred processes the revelation about Mayday and her complicated feelings about Nick, the Commander's driver, with whom she has begun to feel an undeniable attraction.
Jezebel's
The Commander secretly takes Offred to Jezebel's, an underground club where women—many of them former professionals—are forced or coerced into serving as entertainers and sex work…
Night
After returning from Jezebel's, Offred is visited by Nick, and the two begin a sexual relationship that is entirely separate from the regime's prescribed Ceremony.
Salvaging
Offred attends a Salvaging, a public execution ceremony where Handmaids are required to participate in killing a man accused of rape.
Night
Offred learns from the new Ofglen that the original Ofglen hanged herself before she could be arrested, choosing death over interrogation and the potential betrayal of her network.
Historical Notes
Set at an academic conference in the year 2195, a male professor named Professor Pieixoto presents Offred's story as a historical document—a series of cassette tapes that were tra…
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