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Illustrated portrait of Serena Joy

A character in The Handmaid's Tale

Serena Joy

Serena Joy is the Commander’s Wife and a former public advocate for traditional female roles.

The book

Cover of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid's TaleMargaret Atwood, 1985

One woman remembers freedom while authoritarian rules become ordinary through repetition, fear, and religious language.

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Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

Serena Joy is the Commander’s Wife and a former public advocate for traditional female roles. Gilead confines her to the domestic life she once praised. She resents Offred, wants a child, and secretly arranges the encounter with Nick. After discovering evidence of the Commander’s night out, she confronts Offred. Her fate after the van arrives is not narrated.

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