I am poked and prodded. The fingerretreats, enters otherwise, withdraws."Nothing wrong with you," the doctor says, as if to himself.
This is symbolic of rape, which is ironic because now Offred seeks hope in getting raped -- to be immorally penetrated is a sign of hope. Even when their society's aim was to grant women freedom from rape.
Even though his words are reassuring, his power and the underlying tone. of rape still hangs. This is ironic because Gilead should be free from rape, of sin. And yet Gilead is turning women into sin, out of desperation. A utopia becomes more of a living hell than any sinful world.