The Birth Day
The Birth Day was the official ceremony in Gilead for the delivery of a Handmaid's child, a highly ritualized event that turned a dangerous medical procedure into a public display of the regime's control over female fertility. It was a day of intense emotion, hierarchical performance, and, often, tragedy, as the life of the Handmaid was considered secondary to the successful birth of a healthy child, especially a son.
Ritual and Participants
The Birth Day was a carefully orchestrated event. When a Handmaid went into labor, a red van called the Birthmobile would arrive at the household, bringing a dozen or more Handmaids to attend the birth. The Wives of the community would also gather, arriving in their blue cloaks to wait downstairs, often drinking champagne alongside their tea. Two Aunts, trained in midwifery, would attend the birth itself, carrying a black medical bag marked with the red wings, knotted snake, and moon symbol of the Medical Services First Responder division. The Handmaid giving birth was moved to the master bedroom, and the attending Handmaids would chant instructions like "Push, push, push, breathe, breathe, breathe" to guide her through the labor. The sounds of the birth were terrifying to those listening, described as an animal-like groaning and an anguished voice crying out "Oh God, Oh God" from a deep well of pain.
Consequences and Aftermath
The Birth Day often ended in death for the Handmaid. In the case of Ofkyle, the Handmaid assigned to Commander Kyle and his wife Paula, the birth of a healthy son named Mark came at the cost of her own life. She suffered a severe hemorrhage, and despite the arrival of a real doctor who swore in frustration, she died. The baby was saved, but the Handmaid was cut open to retrieve him. After the birth, the Handmaid's body was wrapped in a sheet and left in her room. The young Agnes Jemima, who had been spying on the event, uncovered her face and saw her open eyes, kissing her forehead and promising never to forget her. The Handmaid's funeral was a small affair, where Aunt Lydia gave a speech praising the Handmaid's "ultimate sacrifice" and "noble womanly honor," a narrative that Agnes found hollow and false, knowing the truth of the violent, coerced death. The Birth Day thus served as a stark reminder of the regime's brutal calculus, where a woman's life was a disposable resource in the service of procreation.
Narrative and Thematic Significance
The Birth Day functions as a key event in the novel, illustrating the extreme dehumanization of Handmaids within Gilead's reproductive system. It is a moment where the regime's ideology of "sacrifice" and "duty" is starkly contrasted with the physical reality of violence and death. For Agnes, witnessing the Birth Day and its aftermath is a formative trauma, deepening her understanding of the system's cruelty and her own precarious position within it. The event also highlights the complicity of the Wives and Aunts, who participate in the ritual while the Handmaid suffers and dies, revealing the layers of oppression and the performance of power that define Gilead's social order.
