Angels of the Apocalypse

The Angels of the Apocalypse are a military division of the Republic of Gilead, representing the regime's armed force in the ongoing civil war. They are featured in state-controlled news broadcasts as instruments of the regime's power, engaged in combat operations against rebel forces. Their name, drawn from apocalyptic biblical imagery, aligns with Gilead's fusion of religious and military authority.

Military Role and Operations

The Angels of the Apocalypse are shown in action during a news broadcast that Offred watches in the sitting room. The report describes the Fourth Division of the Angels of the Apocalypse "smoking out a pocket of Baptist guerillas" in the Appalachian Highlands, with air support from the Twenty-first Battalion of the Angels of Light. The broadcast displays two black helicopters with silver wings painted on the sides, and a clump of trees explodes below them. A prisoner is shown, stubbled and dirty, flanked by two Angels in neat black uniforms; he accepts a cigarette and gives a lopsided grin. The news only shows victories, never defeats, and Offred suspects the prisoner might be an actor. This portrayal underscores how the regime uses the Angels as a propaganda tool to project strength and control the narrative of the war.

Symbolic and Narrative Significance

For Offred and the other Handmaids, the Angels are objects of both fear and a dangerous, forbidden fantasy. During their training at the Red Center, the Handmaids were told that the Angels guarding the facility were not allowed inside the building except when called. The Handmaids fantasized about exchanging something with them, believing they still had their bodies to trade. This fantasy highlights the Handmaids' desperate, constrained agency and the regime's systematic sexualization of power. The Angels of the Apocalypse, as a named division, embody the regime's military might and its capacity for violence, serving as a constant, threatening backdrop to Offred's daily life. Their presence in the news, alongside the execution of doctors on the Wall, reinforces the totalitarian state's control over life and death.