Moira, as we’ve learned in these chapters, has lost some of that “swashbuckling” nature and “heroism” that Offred admires in her. I want to talk about exactly what Moira represents in this book and how her being in the worn down state that we see her in shows how truly far the Gilead has gotten.
Moira is a feminist. This is important, but even more important is how she shows it and how she claims to show it. She claims to show it by her “preference” for women. She actually shows it by her legitimate value for female relationships. Offred and Moira’s friendship, although shown predominantly through flashbacks either to the Red Center or the “before time” or even just Offred referencing Moira in some way, is arguably the most grounded and important relationship between any of the characters in the book. Where the Gilead claims to promote female solidarity and freedom (to an extent), Moira embodies actual female solidarity and liberation. Her being re-captured and forced to have sex with men as a prostitute somewhat dampens the daring escape she undertook only chapters before. I still think she maintains her female- solidarity focus as seen by her ability to form close relationships with other prostitutes at The Club, but there is undoubtedly something different about Moira in these chapters.
Good analysis. Moira is interesting and significant, for all the reasons you say. And your comments on female solidarity intrigue me because Atwood suggests how complex that idea may be. There is female solidarity that promotes female relationships and equality, and then there's also female solidarity that doesn't. That could be said of a lot of aspects of Gilead. A "uniform" that all the members of a group wear can unify the group and thus strengthen them -- but it can also mark them as inferior.
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