The Handmaids Tale is a novel that depicts a new age society where everyone and everything serves a particular purpose, which can be identified by uniforms names and jobs. The society has turned into one of separation and classes. The story surrounds the point of view of the Handmaids, hired help that is there for the sole purpose of reproduction. They are women that have been deemed fertile but also have broken gender laws that have led them to their fate. They then lose their identities completely and are known solely by their Commanders name, such as the main narrator Offred, literally meaning Of Fred, as in she belongs to him. This act can be comparable to a wife taking on her husband’s last name but there ae a number of grave differences.

In The Handmaids Tale, the handmaids are given their names according to who they belong to. It is a way of reminding not only themselves but also the rest of society what exactly their place and who they belong to. When you’re married, you take on your husband’s last name, not saying you belong to him but more to join the two together at all times. The two practices are similar as well, both tie the woman to her perspective male attachment. While in our society’s marriage you do not necessarily belong to the male, it is still similar in the sense that you have to legally ask to not be affiliated with your husband anymore, you are forever tied to them until you marry again and one of the main purposes of marriage is to reproduce.

One way that the practices are similar is because both of the name affiliations automatically tell a person what male you belong to. In our society’s marriage, so women will even refer to themselves as Mrs. John Smith, utilizing both his first and last name to show who she is married to. She does not belong to her husband but in a sense they will forever be connected. The point of adapting the husbands name is a means of joining the family together and making sure they are tied together at all times. However in The Handmaids tale the name adaption is merely to remind you that you have no identify outside of your owner. The women even whisper their real names at night in their gym of handmaids to remind themselves of who they really are. You do not fully lose your identity in marriage like in the novel. In marriage you have to file for a divorce in order for you to be separated from your husband and in most cases your last name stays the same until you remarry again. This is also the same in the novel The Handmaids Tale, the Handmaids assume their new names until they are reassigned to a new commander. For example, Offred was previously with two other owners so her name only became Offred when she was assigned to Commander Fred.

Many people view marriage as the immediate time for a woman to become pregnant and extend the family. This is also true for the Handmaids, their sole purpose is to become pregnant and reproduce for the family. Immediately after you become married or announce you are getting married everyone begins to inquire about when you will begin to have children.

If I am ever married I do plan to also take on my husband’s last name. Not as a way of showing that I belong to him particularly but to show that me and my husband are a family unit and are forever joined. I personally would not feel like I was his property but more like an addition to his legacy. If we are going to be a family forever I see no harm in taking on his last name as my own and becoming an extension of him.