The Handmaid’s Tale Timeline

A revision timeline for teaching Atwood's novel

1. The Handmaid’s Tale A Timeline

2. Events before the beginning of the novel

3. Offred’s mother is involved in feminist demonstrations

4. Moira and Offred are friends at college

5. Offred marries Luke

6. Offred is no longer able to access her money

7. Offred loses her job as a librarian

8. Offred and Luke try to escape Gilead

9. Offred’s child is taken from her

10. Offred’s mother is sent to the colonies

11. Events that occur at the Red Centre

12. Moira is brought back to the Red Centre after a failed attempt to escape

13. Janine is derided by the other Handmaids

14. Moira escapes from the Red Centre

15. Moira is found and taken to Jezabel’s

16. Events that occur at the Commander’s house

17. Offred & Ofglen first look at bodies on the wall

18. Offred discovers the phrase ‘ nolite te bastardes carborundurum ’ written in her closet

19. Offred discovers that her predecessor killed herself

20. A doctor offers to try to make Offred pregnant

21. Offred takes part in the ceremony

22. Offred attends a Birth Day

23. The Commander and Offred play Scrabble for the first time

24. The Commander touches Offred’s face during the ceremony

25. Ofglen introduces Offred to the Mayday movement

26. Serena Joy shows Offred a picture of her child

27. Serena Joy suggests that Offred use Nick to get pregnant

28. Offred attends a Prayvaganza

29. The Commander takes Offred to Jezebel’s

30. Offred is Nick’s mistress

31. Offred falls in love with Nick

32. Offred attends a salvaging

33. Offred attends a particicution

34. Ofglen is replaced

35. The new Ofglen reveals that she is not part of the resistance movement

36. Serena Joy finds out about the relationship between Offred and her husband

37. Offred is taken to the Commander’s house in a black van

38. Offred’s story becomes part of a symposium on Gileadean Studies