Econowife

The Econowife occupies the lowest tier of legitimate womanhood in the Republic of Gilead, a married woman of the poorer classes who must perform every domestic and reproductive function herself, without the specialized roles assigned to Handmaids, Marthas, or Wives. She is marked by her striped dress—cheap and skimpy, in red and blue and green—and by the fact that she is not divided into functions; she has to do everything, if she can. Her existence is a constant reminder of the regime's hierarchy: above her are the Wives in their blue, the Marthas in their dull green, and the Handmaids in their red, each with a single, prescribed purpose. Below her, or rather outside the system entirely, are the Unwomen, sent to the Colonies. The Econowife is the regime's promise of a normal, if impoverished, family life for those who cannot attain the status of a Commander's household.

Appearance and Status

The Econowife is immediately identifiable by her clothing. Unlike the Handmaid's full red dress and white wings, or the Wife's elegant blue, the Econowife wears a striped dress, described as "red and blue and green and cheap and skimpy." This dress marks her as the wife of a poor man, a woman who must perform all the labor of her household herself. She is not entitled to the services of a Martha or the specialized reproductive role of a Handmaid. Her status is a matter of public display; the stripes are a uniform of poverty and comprehensive duty. Aunt Lydia once promised that "some day, when times improve, no one will have to be an Econowife," framing the position as a temporary hardship rather than a permanent caste.

Social Position and Relations

The Econowives occupy a fraught position in Gilead's social order. They are married, and therefore legitimate, but they lack the privileges of the elite. This creates a deep resentment, particularly toward the Handmaids. When a funeral procession passes—three Econowives, one carrying a small black jar indicating a miscarriage—the bereaved mother scowls at the Handmaids, and one of the other mourners turns aside to spit on the sidewalk. The narrator reflects, "The Econowives do not like us." This hostility stems from a sense of injustice: the Handmaids, though morally suspect in their eyes, are fed, clothed, and housed for the single task of bearing children, while the Econowife must struggle to keep her own household together. Rita, a Martha, once declared she would rather go to the Colonies than "debase herself like that," referring to the Handmaid's role, and Cora replied that no one was asking her, and what could she do, supposing? Rita's answer was "Go to the Colonies. They have the choice," to which Cora responded, "With the Unwomen, and starve to death and Lord knows what all? Catch you." This exchange reveals that even the Marthas, who are also servants, see the Econowife's lot as a potential, if terrible, alternative.

Narrative Significance

The Econowife functions as a crucial point of comparison within the novel's social hierarchy. She is the woman who has "everything to do" and yet is still considered a legitimate wife, unlike the Handmaid who is a sacred vessel but not a wife. The Econowife's resentment of the Handmaid underscores the regime's success in dividing women against one another, setting the fertile but degraded Handmaid against the poor but legitimate wife. The narrator's observation that "the Econowives do not like us" is a small but potent detail in the larger picture of Gilead's social control, where envy and contempt are channeled downward rather than upward. The Econowife is a figure of unglamorous, grinding survival, a fate that the Handmaids both pity and fear, and one that the Wives and Commanders never have to contemplate.