Janine is one of the Handmaids who went through training with Offred back at the Red Centre. She had a traumatic past, having been gang-raped at the age of fourteen. She appears on the surface to be a true believer of Gilead’s values, and is generally compliant and obedient, but Offred believes that she is instead like “a puppy that’s been kicked too often” who has simply had her spirit broken by Gilead. Offred has mixed feelings for Janine; she feels hatred towards her due to her inclination to please and grovel to the Aunts, but also sympathy, as she understands Janine’s situation and feels pity for her misfortunes. The disintegration of Janine’s mental state throughout the novel is a representation of the way Gilead destroys people’s spirits, sanity, and wellbeing, yet is also something that Offred envies, wishing that she could also have an “easy out” like her. The reader also can’t help but feel pity for Janine as the Handmaid’s turn against her during the weekly Testifying, and later as they learn of her miscarriage and subsequent “unbaby.” Janine learns to blame herself for her misfortunes, a demonstration of the way Gilead victimises women for situations that they shouldn’t be held responsible for. Her character becomes a symbol and a reflection of the way many women in society today suffer from guilt and victim blaming after having experienced miscarriages or sexual assaults.
