The Handmaid’s Tale: Chapter 22 Summary & Analysis

After the Birth, Offred goes to her room, exhausted. Today the plaster wreath around the plaster eye in her ceiling looks like a hat with a garland of flowers and fruits. She briefly thinks of the kind of exhaustion that occurs after driving all night, then forces herself into a happier memory.

Offred flashbacks to Moira’s great escape from the Rachel and Leah Center. (This escape was Moira’s second attempt, after the failed first, when she faked appendicitis.) Offred knows the story indirectly, on a chain that originated with Aunt Lydia telling Janine. Offred imagines how Aunt Lydia would have told Janine the story, thinking that Janine had become a true believer. Offred, however, thinks that Janine wasn’t a true believer, merely so abused that she would do anything for anyone.

Moira had managed to block a toilet, and called Aunt Elizabeth to see what was the matter. When Aunt Elizabeth came into the bathroom and knelt to fix the toilet, Moira threatened her with a metal spike from the toilet’s flushing mechanism. Moira took Aunt Elizabeth’s cattle prod and whistle and hurried her into the furnace room. Aunt Elizabeth was afraid for her life and didn’t scream. Moira took Aunt Elizabeth’s clothes, gagged and bound Aunt Elizabeth, and managed to escape the Center without scrutiny from the guards.

Offred imagines that Aunt Lydia told Janine to find out if Moira had an accomplice. Janine told one other Handmaid and the story spread. The Handmaids found the story frightening as they were getting used to the confinement of the Rachel and Leah Center. Still, Moira’s ability to disappear was a secret source of strength for the Handmaids. Moira never reappeared.