Moira

To me, one of the most intriguing characters in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is a spunky, mysterious, rebellious lesbian named Moira. Moira is best friends with the narrator, Offred. Atwood reveals their relationship through Offred's flashbacks. In her memories, Moira is independent and rough around the edges: "Moira, sitting on the edge of my bed...one dangly earring, the gold fingernail she wore to be eccentric, a cigarette between her stubby yellow-ended fingers" (49-50). Even before the government takeover, Moira was offbeat and alluring.

Some of Atwood's most powerful descriptions are of Moira. One that particularly stood out to me was after Janine gives birth:
         "Moira was like an elevator with open sides. She made us dizzy. Already we were losing the taste          for freedom, already we were finding these walls secure. In the upper reaches of the atmosphere,            you'd come apart, you'd vaporize, there would be no pressure holding you together. Nevertheless,          Moira was our fantasy...In the light of Moira, the Aunts were less fearsome and more                              absurd." (172)
The language used in Moira's descriptions are markedly different from those in the rest of the novel. Atwood's language in this passage becomes ethereal with a ghost-like, mysterious quality through words such as "vaporize," "atmosphere," and "dizzy," illustrating Moira's absence and how the only piece of Moira that remains is an intangible memory. These passages show Moira as less of a person and more of a vague symbol of hope for Offred. As of yet, Moira's outcome is unknown, which provides the possibility that she escaped and is living a better life. However, because of the intangibility of these descriptions, Offred also feels a sense of doubt in Moira, that perhaps Moira was simply a dream or an exception. Additionally, the use of past tense at the end in describing Moira's effect of lightening their perspective on the Aunts gives the feeling that, without Moira, it's much more difficult for Offred to cope with her lack of control. Without Moira, Offred loses her "taste for freedom," and grows more comfortable with her restricted life.

This airy language isn't constant: in other passages about Moira, the language is heavy and forceful, and Atwood describes actions such as "dropping her denim jacket on the floor," "rummages in my purse," and "tosses the package" (73-74). These actions are grounding, and make Offred's memories of Moira feel recent and concrete.  These memories of Moira help her to hold onto a little piece of life before: Moira's tenacity for independence is forbidden and dangerous in Gilead, yet in a memory, they provide faith and comfort.

Offred's flashbacks also help Atwood to compare the past with the present. For instance, at one point, Offred peers out her window at the Commander, and ponders how she could spit or throw something at him. Clearly, this sort of action would not be tolerated in Gilead, and would lead to serious consequences. The following paragraph describes Moira and Offred in college casually dropping "water bombs" on boys from their dorm window (76). This structure emphasizes how Offred treated life with carelessness and took it for granted before the totalitarian government was installed, as in today's world, she's kept from the simplest of pleasures.