The Handmaid’s Tale

A Timeline

Events before the beginning of the novel

Offred’s mother is involved in feminist demonstrations

Moira and Offred are friends at college

Offred marries Luke

Offred is no longer able to access her money

Offred loses her job as a librarian

Offred and Luke try to escape Gilead

Offred’s child is taken from her

Offred’s mother is sent to the colonies

Events that occur at the Red Centre

Moira is brought back to the Red Centre after a failed

attempt to escape

Janine is derided by the other Handmaids

Moira escapes from the Red Centre

Moira is found and taken to Jezabel’s

Events that occur at the

Commander’s house

Offred & Ofglen first look at bodies on the wall

Offred discovers the phrase ‘nolite te bastardes

carborundurum’ written in her closet

Offred discovers that her predecessor killed herself

A doctor offers to try to make Offred pregnant

Offred takes part in the ceremony

Offred attends a Birth Day

The Commander and Offred play Scrabble for the first time

The Commander touches Offred’s face during the

ceremony

Ofglen introduces Offred to the Mayday movement

Serena Joy shows Offred a picture of her child

Serena Joy suggests that Offred use Nick to get

pregnant

Offred attends a Prayvaganza

The Commander takes Offred to Jezebel’s

Offred is Nick’s mistress

Offred falls in love with Nick

Offred attends a salvaging

Offred attends a particicution

Ofglen is replaced

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

Serena Joy finds out about the relationship between Offred

and her husband

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

van

Offred’s story becomes part of a symposium on Gileadean

Studies