Question #6: Endings

[[deleted user]]

What do you feel the "Historical Notes" at the book's end add to the reading of this novel? What does the book's last line, “Are there any questions?” mean to you?

[Maureen]

Just finished the book and that last line resonates. For me, it was ironic, as in 'Are there any answers?' I also thought the speaker's clever and patronizing use of language was frequently but subtly disparaging to women,

[Allison]

Maureen wrote: "Just finished the book and that last line resonates. For me, it was ironic, as in 'Are there any answers?' I also thought the speaker's clever and patronizing use of language was frequently but sub..."

Maureen, I agree about the symposium speaker being patronizing, etc. Was it a man speaking? I cannot remember as I read it so long ago, and the audio version I recently listened to was narrated by Claire Danes. I thought the line "are there any questions?" also a bit of an understatement -- had I been in that audience, I would have had many questions!

[Susan]

The Historical Notes is a clever ending. It gives us some answer of what happened after Offred was taken away in the black van, but not wrapped in a neat bow. It also indicated that such a way of likfe did not continue. I confess that I skimmed it ... I have a hard time with Atwood's obsession with detail (not just in this book) and the Historical Notes was this and more. That said, it read just like a dry academic session would sound.

I was also struck by the tone of the discussion ... are we always so self-righteous when we discuss the past - as if history isn't' the stories of so many human lives but a series of trends and accounts.

[Allison]

Susan wrote: "The Historical Notes is a clever ending. It gives us some answer of what happened after Offred was taken away in the black van, but not wrapped in a neat bow. It also indicated that such a way of l..."

Self-righteousness really pervades this novel, doesn't it? I found the comment by the symposium speaker about Offred being clearly an educated person -- if you can call a person educated, who had a college/university background at that time -- to be so blatantly self-righteous I wanted to shout out my objection.

[Susan]

I agree with the self-righteous tone of the conference speaker. I think she was indicated that her society was much more evolved than the one in Offred's time. Isn't that a typical belief - we all think we're living in times that are better than previous ones. Like Allison, I would have had lots of questions. I think this was a great way to end the book. Offred was an unreliable narrator, so many questions went unanswered.

[Maureen]

I'm pretty sure the closing remarks were made by a male prof who was working on a paper about Offred's (?) tapes. I agree with the above comments. We think we learn and yet here we are, smack in the middle of Trump-ian times.

[Ashley]

I love the historical notes, for the jolt they gave me at the end of the novel. We have been reading this intimate life story of Offred, and then we suddenly zoom out, and realize we are in fact part of a scholarly summit. A man has been reading the story, and we can no longer trust the authenticity of what we have read. I feel like my reader's gaze changes, from passive to complicit.

[Maureen]

Ashley wrote: "I love the historical notes, for the jolt they gave me at the end of the novel. We have been reading this intimate life story of Offred, and then we suddenly zoom out, and realize we are in fact pa..."

I did enjoy those Notes for various reasons but never thought of them in this way, Ashley. Thanks for pointing this out!