The Ceremony
The Ceremony is the official, state-mandated sexual ritual at the heart of Gilead's reproductive system, designed to produce children for elite infertile couples. It is the mechanism by which a Handmaid is impregnated by a Commander, with the Commander's Wife physically present and participating. The ritual is a stark expression of the regime's ideology: it transforms a biological act into a religious and legal duty, stripping it of intimacy, consent, and personal connection, and reducing the Handmaid to a vessel for procreation.
Structure and Participants
The Ceremony involves three people: the Commander, his Wife, and the Handmaid. The Handmaid lies on her back between the Wife's legs, who holds her hands. The Commander then has intercourse with the Handmaid, while the Wife is positioned to receive the act symbolically. This arrangement is meant to signify that the child, if conceived, belongs to the Wife and the Commander, not to the Handmaid. The Handmaid is not permitted to show any pleasure or resistance; she is to remain passive, a living altar for the ritual. The entire event is framed as a solemn, prayerful duty, often preceded by Bible readings and prayers.
Ideological Justification
The Ceremony is justified by a selective and literalist interpretation of the biblical story of Rachel and Leah, who gave their handmaids to their husband Jacob to bear children. In Gilead, this story is used to mandate the practice and to demand the Handmaid's submission. The Aunts teach that the Ceremony is a sacred duty and a form of atonement for the Handmaid's past sins. The regime presents it as a holy act of service to God and the nation, a necessary sacrifice for the future of Gilead. The language surrounding it is clinical and religious, designed to obscure the reality of rape.
The Handmaid's Experience
For the Handmaid, the Ceremony is a traumatic and dehumanizing ordeal. She is not a participant but an object, a "two-legged womb" used for a single purpose. The ritual is performed monthly, timed to her ovulation cycle, and is a constant reminder of her lack of bodily autonomy. The presence of the Wife, who often regards the Handmaid with jealousy or contempt, adds a layer of psychological cruelty. The Handmaid is expected to be grateful for the opportunity to serve, and any display of emotion—fear, disgust, anger—is punished. The Ceremony is the ultimate expression of the Handmaid's powerlessness.
Consequences and Significance
The Ceremony is the engine of Gilead's population policy, but it is also a source of deep instability. It creates a system of forced surrogacy that breeds resentment, jealousy, and violence within households. Handmaids who fail to conceive after a set number of postings are sent to the Colonies, a death sentence. Those who do conceive are moved to another household after the birth, their child taken from them. The Ceremony is a key reason why many Handmaids risk their lives to escape via the Underground Femaleroad. It is a symbol of the regime's hypocrisy and cruelty, and its failure to produce a stable, happy society is a central theme of the novel.
