Offred

Offred is the narrator and main protagonist of the novel. Her real name is never revealed to the reader, and details of her identity are kept hidden throughout the text. Even the reader’s knowledge of her appearance is limited, with Offred sharing only the following personal details at the beginning of chapter 24: “I am thirty-three years old. I have brown hair. I stand five seven without shoes. I have trouble remembering what I used to look like. I have viable ovaries.” It is telling that her reproductive health status is considered as essential a characteristic as her age and height in a society where women’s roles are so reductive.