The Story of Rachel and Leah

In Chapter 15, the Commander begins to read the story of Rachel and Leah in the Bible. This story was about giving children to their husband Jacob. Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah and treated her differently than Leah. Jacob married both women because he was tricked by Laban, his father-in-law into marrying Leah when he really loved Rachel. Rachel however was not able to give Jacob children. Leah was fruitful and gave him many children. Rachel gives her handmaid to Jacob so she can give him children. Then the two women compete to giving Jacob children either offering themselves or their handmaid's to Jacob. In the novel, Offred would most likely relate to Leah and the Commander's wife relates more to Rachel because she cannot have children. The Commander's wife sobbed during the reading because she knew that she could not produce children, so like Rachel, he Commander's wife is jealous of Offred because of her fruitfulness. The job of a handmaid is to give children to those households that cannot bear children. On page 81 of the novel, Offred says that they were the household and that the Commander "is the head of the household. The house is what he holds. To have and to hold, til death do us part". This quote was really significant because it shows the control the Commander had and Offred seems to accept her lot in life. So, this also ties into the reading about what it means to be a "real woman". A "real woman" has babies and gets married. The Commander's wife is not able to be a "real woman" by those standards but in their society, handmaid's must give children to households if a woman cannot bear a child to her husband.