Offred

Offred is a fictional character and the narrator of Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale (1985). Set in the theocratic Republic of Gilead, formed from the former United States, the narrative follows a woman assigned to a Commander's household to bear children for the ruling elite. The story is told in the first person as she recollects her experiences under Gilead's reproductive and social controls and her attempts to maintain some sense of self within the regime.

Name and identity: 'Offred' is a patronymic signifying ownership ('Of Fred'—belonging to Fred, the Commander). The book withholds the character's true name; she is referred to primarily by the possessive form. She recalls a pre-Gilead life with a husband, Luke, and a daughter, but their fates are uncertain, a major source of memory and motive for resistance.

Role and experiences: As a Handmaid, Offred's daily routine includes ritualized duties, surveillance, and occasional clandestine acts of resistance. She forms bonds with other women, such as Ofglen; engages with the Commander and his Wife, Serena Joy, during the Ceremony; maintains a private sense of memory and hope, and records portions of her life in her mind or in a secret journal. The narrative centers on power dynamics, gender control, and the tension between obedience and personal agency.

Adaptations and analysis: Offred has been widely discussed as a symbol of oppression and resilience. In the novel she is portrayed as the central consciousness guiding the audience through Gilead's world. In the television adaptation, a version of the character appears as June Osborne; the show expands her backstory and employs the name Offred as her alias within Gilead. The character is commonly studied in discussions of memory, identity, and resistance in dystopian fiction.