Footstool

The Footstool is a small but significant piece of furniture in the sitting room of the Commander's house, intimately associated with Serena Joy. It is first mentioned as a place for her left foot, which she rests on it due to her arthritis, a chronic condition that causes her pain and limits her mobility. The footstool is covered with a petit point cushion embroidered with a design of roses in a basket, a detail that reflects Serena Joy's taste for traditional, domestic crafts and her attempt to maintain an image of genteel order within the oppressive household.

Physical Description and Placement

The footstool is positioned beside Serena Joy's chair in the sitting room, a space that is described as subdued and symmetrical, with money having "trickled through this room for years and years." The cushion on the footstool is noted for its petit point work, a form of embroidery that requires patience and skill, suggesting Serena Joy's dedication to such pursuits. The footstool itself is a practical object, designed to alleviate the discomfort of her arthritic foot, but it also serves as a stage prop in the rituals of the household.

Role in Key Scenes

The footstool appears in two crucial scenes that define Serena Joy's relationship with Offred. During their first meeting, when Offred arrives at the house, Serena Joy is already seated in her chair with her left foot on the footstool, her knitting on the floor beside her. This posture establishes her dominance and her physical ailment, as she uses the footstool to assert her position while also revealing her vulnerability. Later, during the Ceremony, the footstool is again present, as Serena Joy lowers herself into her chair, leaning on her cane, and places her foot on the stool. This action is part of the ritualized preparation for the sexual act, highlighting her role as a witness and controller of the process.

Symbolic Significance

The Footstool functions as a symbol of Serena Joy's compromised authority and her physical decay. It is a tool for her comfort, yet it also marks her as a "defeated woman," as Aunt Lydia describes the Wives. The object's presence during the Ceremony underscores the irony of her position: she is the Wife who oversees the Handmaid's fertility, but she is also a woman in pain, unable to fully participate in the act she orchestrates. The footstool, like the cane and the knitting, becomes an extension of her body, a prop that both supports her and reveals her limitations. In the broader context of Gilead, the footstool represents the domestic sphere where women are confined, and the small, painful adjustments they make to endure their roles.