Played by Mckenna Grace, the 14-year-old wife of the elderly Commander Keyes was first introduced in The Handmaid's Tale season 4.
Following June Osborne's successful mission to get 86 children out of Gilead during The Handmaid's Tale season 3 finale, she and her fellow Handmaids take refuge at the farm of 14-year-old Esther and her husband, Commander Keyes. During the Handmaids' time at the farm, the Mrs.
The passing of time was felt most keenly through June's occasional sightings of and reunions with Hannah, who was around five years old when she was taken away from her birth parents.
Once a Handmaid gives birth, provided the baby is healthy, then it will immediately be given to the Wife of the Commander they are assigned to, who receives all the credit for the Handmaid's hard work.
You may have thought you'd seen it all on Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, but June (Elisabeth Moss) helping Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) give birth in a barn in No Man's Land and Serena immediately being separated from her baby not because of June but because of Luke (O-T Fagbenle) is a game-changing turn of events.
But what's the cause? In The Handmaid's Tale, infertility is linked to another one of Gilead's prominent problems: pollution. As revealed in the season 1 episode "A Woman's Place," inorganic farming and radioactivity are to blame for declining fertility.
It is implied that some Wives are capable of bearing children, but most are older women and thus have difficulty conceiving (or their husbands are infertile), which is also hampered by widespread infertility. As a result, Wives have to 'share' their husbands with Handmaids, in order to get a child.
Wives sit at the head of the bed with the Handmaid between their legs, holding their hands as a means of spiritual connection between the Commander, their 'vessel', and herself.
In the story, an environmental disaster has led to most women becoming infertile, and the small number who are still able to become pregnant are forced to become handmaids, women who are owned by the ruling elite and systematically raped in order to provide them with children.
At the start of The Handmaid's Tale June had been in Gilead for three years, and within a few months of being at her new posting as "Offred," she became pregnant with Nick's baby. By the time Nichole was born, towards the end of The Handmaid's Tale season 2, June had been in Gilead for four years.
However, having been separated from June for too long in Gilead's indoctrination system, Hannah no longer recognizes June and runs to the corner of the cage when she approaches. Seeing her daughter brainwashed into fearing her more than Gilead crushes June, and she reveals the location of her fellow Handmaids.
Janine, under the name Ofwarren, is assigned to Commander Warren Putnam as the family'sHandmaid. After some time, she is impregnated and gives birth to a daughter, whom the Putnams name Angela, whilst Janine names her Charlotte.
Hannah Bankole (portrayed by Jordana Blake) is June and Luke's daughter. She is later renamed Agnes.
Williams and Alexis Ohanian shared their pregnancy publicly at the Met Gala. Serena Williams announced her second pregnancy publicly at the 2023 Met Gala. Now, she is sharing a behind-the-scenes look at how she and her husband Alexis Ohanian told their daughter, Olympia.
The Handmaid's Tale is packed with complex, complicated female characters, and Esther Keyes definitely fits into that category. Played by Mckenna Grace, the 14-year-old wife of the elderly Commander Keyes was first introduced in The Handmaid's Tale season 4.
During "the time before", June was married to Luke and had a daughter, Hannah. At the beginning of the story, while attempting to flee Gilead with her husband and daughter, June was captured and forced to become a Handmaid because of the adultery she and her husband committed.
Unbaby, or shredder, is the term used in the Republic of Gilead to describe infants that are suffering from birth defects or physical deformities. These die shortly after birth due to their defects. They are usually taken away to be disposed of.
She has a special relationship and temperament with both of her children, Hannah and Nichole. She treats them with love, care and kindness. With the Waterfords and in Gilead, June is forced to be a lot more direct, ruthless, brave, and protective.
In the television adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale, Offred not only gets pregnant. She gives birth to a healthy daughter who is later smuggled into Canada by her friend, Ofglen. This is one dramatic way in which the show differs from the novel.
On the surface, Marthas are a downtrodden lot — not powerful enough to be Wives or Lydias, not fertile or young enough to be Econowives. The name "Martha" comes from the bible, after one of Jesus' friends who is a pragmatic and focused on domestic concerns; hence the Marthas' role as housekeepers in Gilead.
The Handmaid got so scared she'd be sent to the Colonies, she hung herself. Offred knows the Commander feels guilty about the Handmaid's life and decides to ask him for something more. She wants information about what is going on in the outside world. Later, Offred catches sight again of Nick.
The color green typically represents growth and new life, but in Atwood's novel, green is worn by the Marthas. Marthas are older, infertile women, and thus, the dull green represents women who are fading into society, becoming part of the background instead of the story.
Sex between husband and Handmaid is only permitted during the “Ceremony,” a monthly ritual which involves the “barren” wife as well. Why does the Commander want to see Offred alone?
In privacy, June spits out the ornamental cookie. By purging out the pink mashed-up vile, June has refused to swallow the Wives' counterfeited piety. In the domain of Gilead, these cookies are a status symbol laid out before the Handmaid's eyes.
Their brides, all of whom they are meeting for the first time, are children; no more than 15 years of age. According to Miller, the scene comes straight out of Margaret Atwood's original novel, not to mention true stories about similarly disturbing arranged marriages conducted across the world.