In May, Offred again joins Ofglen to walk by the Wall; they turn away from an executed trio—a priest and two homosexuals. As three Econowives pass by in mourning for a stillborn fetus, Offred and Ofglen place hands over their hearts in a gesture of sympathy. The Handmaids walk on and part with a sanctimonious ritual farewell, “Under His Eye.” Offred sees her own hesitation and fear reflected in Ofglen’s tentative move toward communication.
Passing Nick and Serena, Offred returns to the kitchen and delivers the day’s supply of groceries to Rita. After Offred climbs the stairs, she passes the Commander outside her room. Alone again, she retreats into enforced seclusion and thinks about her premarital affair with Luke. Suffering an “[attack] of the past,” she recalls her arrival at the Commander’s house and her investigation of the sparse leavings of the former Handmaid. On her third day, she found scratched into the corner of the closet a bit of Latin doggerel, which she is unable to translate. Her questions to Rita fail to gain information about former Handmaids.
Summer brings lighter garments. Offred is escorted to the doctor’s office in a modern office building for her monthly medical examination. After vaginal and rectal probing and breast exam, the doctor whispers through the cloth screen, “I could help you.” Offred considers taking a chance on insemination by the doctor, but fears the death penalty. Later, in her bath, Offred avoids gazing on her body because it “determines [her] so completely.” Her memories return to a time when a demented woman briefly stole Offred’s eleven-month-old daughter from a shopping cart.
On the afternoon of the monthly ritual mating with the Commander, Cora supervises Offred’s bath. Offred dresses and dons a red veil in anticipation of the ceremony.
