Shifting Spaces and Constant Patriarchy: The Characterizations of Offred and Claire in The Handmaid’s Tale and Outlander

Abstract

Abstract Starz’s Outlander and Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale follow the stories of two women as they come to terms with the new spaces they are forced to enter. In the series Claire Randall of Outlander and Offred of The Handmaid’s Tale are taken from one space and placed in a new, oppressive space dominated more heavily by patriarchal norms than the one they stem from. Offred and Claire display similarities when dealing with women’s issues such as motherhood and female sexuality. The series also highlight how women must deal with shifting times and discourses regarding societal expectations of women. Due to the complexities that Offred and Claire project when confronting challenges, both women are represented as ‘difficult’ women who defy hegemonic gendered norms of female representation on television. As they experience oppression, subjugation, empowerment, and rebellion, they develop as individuals, are far from perfect, have complicated pasts, and represent how women come to terms with convoluted identities.