1. What extra dimension do the Historical Notes add to the story?
The Historical Notes present a transcript of a talk given by a Professor Pieixoto at a scholarly conference held in 2195. They offer a historical perspective that Offred's personal, present-tense narrative could not supply. The Notes offer clarification and amplification of the historical circumstances that gave rise to the Gileadean regime and explain the origins of some of its practices. The Notes seem to offer both hope and cause for concern. They offer hope in the narrow sense by clearing up the ambiguity of the novel's ending, in which Offred does not know whether she is escaping or being taken prisoner. Pieixoto makes it clear that Offred must have escaped, and that Nick was an agent of the resistance, not of the regime. However, the Professor has been unable to unearth any information about Offred's ultimate fate.
The encouraging news that emerges from the Historical Notes is that Gilead did not last......

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Title: The Handmaid's Tale
Approximate Word Count: 2174
Approximate Pages: 9 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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