Skip to content
Readipedia
Open Readify
First Scrabble Game from "The Handmaid's Tale". Offred visits the Commander's study, where he invites her to play Scrabble. The game is forbidden for Handmaids, and Offred finds it both thrilling and absurd.

early in the story

First Scrabble Game

Offred visits the Commander's study, where he invites her to play Scrabble. The game is forbidden for Handmaids, and Offred finds it both thrilling and absurd. They play two games, with Offred winning the first and letting him win the second. The Commander then asks her to kiss him, and she complies, though the kiss is cold. The encounter reveals the Commander's loneliness and desire for companionship, complicating Offred's view of him. She realizes she now has some power over him.