Reality Check

In the fourth quarter of the book, we learn that Offred feels a great relief when she hears that Ofglen commits suicide because Ofglen can no longer give her name to the Eyes while being tortured. For the first time, Offred feels that she has complete power over the authorities. She's feeling that she will do anything necessary to live like stop wanting control of her body, stop resisting the authorities, stop seeing Nick. From the porch, Serena calls to Offred. When Offred comes in, she holds out her winter cloak and the sequined outfit Offred wore to the club. She asks Offred how she could be so vulgar, and then tells Offred she is a hustler like the other Handmaid and will come to the same end. Nick stops whistling, but Offred does not look at him. She manages to remain calm and composed as she retreats to her room.

At the very end of the book, after her confrontation with Serena, Offred waits in her room. She feels peaceful. The night quickly comes and she wonders if she could use her hidden match and start a fire. She might die from smoke inhalation, although the fire would be reduced quickly. Or, she could hang herself in her room from the hooks in the closet, she thinks. Or she could wait for Serena and kill her when she opens the door to her room. Nothing seems to matter. In the early morning, she hears a van coming for her, and she regrets not doing something while she had the chance. As the black van pulls into the driveway, she sees the Eyes painted on its sides.

The van pulls in, and Nick opens the door of Offred’s room. Offred thinks he has betrayed her, but he whispers that she should go with the Eyes. He tells her they are in Mayday and have come to save her. Offred knows that he might be an Eye, because the Eyes probably know all about Mayday, but this is her last chance. She walks down the stairs to meet the men waiting for her. Serena demands to know Offred’s crime, and Offred realizes Serena was not the one to call these men. The men say they cannot tell her. The Commander demands to see a warrant, and the Eyes or the men from Mayday, and say that she is being arrested for “violation of state secrets.” As Serena curses her, Offred follows the Eyes to the van waiting outside.

"The Eyes of the Lord—or just the Eyes—are the secret police of the Gileadean regime. They spy on ordinary citizens, and when they detect signs of rebellion or dissent they abduct the culprits, torture them and hand them over to be killed by hanging or Particicution."