Cigarettes

In the Republic of Gilead, cigarettes are contraband for Handmaids, a forbidden luxury that marks the boundary between the regime's prescribed asceticism and the remnants of a world where personal indulgence was a right. For Offred, the narrator, a cigarette is not merely a source of nicotine but a complex object charged with memory, desire, and the potential for both small pleasures and grave danger. They are a currency of the black market, a token of illicit connection, and a tool for imagining escape, their smoke a fragile thread linking her to her former self and to those who still dare to trade in the forbidden.

Forbidden Pleasure and the Taste of the Past

The prohibition on cigarettes for Handmaids is absolute, a rule enforced by the Aunts and woven into the fabric of daily deprivation. Offred recalls the "longing" she feels when she sees Serena Joy smoke, a desire that is as much for the taste of tobacco as for the autonomy it represents. The memory of smoking is intertwined with the texture of her former life: the casual act of lighting a cigarette in a hotel room while waiting for Luke, the shared smoke with Moira during late-night conversations, the simple pleasure of a cigarette after a meal. These memories are not just nostalgia; they are a form of resistance, a way of keeping the past alive in a regime that seeks to erase it. The cigarette becomes a sensory anchor to a time when she had control over her own body and its appetites.

Currency of the Black Market and Token of Power

Cigarettes function as a primary currency in Gilead's black market, a medium of exchange for those with access to them. The Guardian Nick, who polishes the Commander's Whirlwind, has a cigarette "stuck in the corner of his mouth," a casual display that signals his own connection to the underground trade. Serena Joy's cigarettes, which she smokes openly in her sitting room, are a mark of her status and her ability to bend the rules; Offred notes they "must have come from the black market," and this knowledge gives her a sliver of hope, suggesting that even within the system, there are cracks. The cigarette is a token of power, a thing that can be given or withheld, and its possession marks one as being inside a network of privilege and risk.

A Tool for Defiance and a Link to Resistance

Offred's relationship with cigarettes evolves from passive longing to active, if small-scale, defiance. When Serena Joy, in a rare moment of conspiratorial generosity, presses a cigarette into Offred's hand, the gesture is laden with meaning. It is a bribe, a peace offering, and a recognition of their shared, if unequal, predicament. Offred's immediate thought is not to smoke it but to hoard it, to "shred it up and flush it down the toilet" or "eat it and get the high that way." More significantly, she considers keeping the match, a thin, sharp object that could be hidden in her mattress, a potential tool for arson. The cigarette thus becomes a seed of rebellion, a tangible object that fuels fantasies of escape and destruction. It is a link to the world of risk and choice, a reminder that even in the most controlled environment, small acts of defiance are possible.

The Smoke of Memory and the Sting of Loss

The act of smoking, or even the memory of it, is a powerful trigger for Offred's grief and longing. The smell of smoke on Nick's skin, the sight of Serena Joy's cigarette, the memory of sharing a cigarette with Moira—these moments are portals to a past that is both cherished and painful. The cigarette is a vehicle for memory, its smoke carrying the ghosts of Luke, her daughter, and her mother. It is a reminder of the intimacy and connection that have been stolen from her. When she finally receives a cigarette from Serena Joy, she does not light it immediately; instead, she holds it, savoring the anticipation, the "long rich dirty cinnamon sigh" of the smoke to come. This delay is a form of control, a way of prolonging a moment of pleasure in a life defined by waiting. The cigarette, in its smallness, becomes a vessel for the entire weight of her loss and her desperate, flickering hope.