AGuardian detailed to the Commander does the heavy digging; theCommander's Wife directs, pointing with her stick
The heavy lifting is done by the guardian -- the sowing is done by the Handmaid and the reaping done by the Commander's Wife. This is an artificial purpose for the Commander's wife that serves as a method of control to "satisfy" them, to give them all they could possibly want. She's infatuated with his boldness.
We learned to whisper almost without sound. In the semi-darkness wecould stretch out our arms, when the Aunts weren't looking, and touch eachother's hands across space. We learned to lip-read, our heads flat on the beds,turned sideways, watching each other's mouths. In this way we exchangednames, from bed to bed:
In some way, bonds and the exchanging of words/communication is what defines individuality. Individuals cannot be individuals without differentiation of the other.
They crave human interaction with an equal (intimacy) and this kind of gives the women power. Like huey said Gilead used the method of seperating women in order to oppress them.
This is a form of rebellion, subversion. This cannot be stamped out as shown in the "palimpset".
There must have been achandelier, once. They've removed anything you could tie a rope to
The inability to decide the fate of one's life (which can be similar to abortion) is a method of control
Park, A., & Velez, C. (2021). A mixed methods study of the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on American life. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/tjz32