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| “ | The Commander is the head of the household. The house is what he holds. To have and to hold, till death do us part. The hold of a ship. Hollow. | „ |
| ~ Offred |
Commanders of the Faithful, simply known as Commanders, are the main antagonists of the 1985 dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale alongside its 1990 film and 2017 Hulu television series adaptations of the same name.
They are the highest ranking members and leaders of the totalitarian country known as the Republic of Gilead, and the ones responsible for orchestrating the destruction of the United States. Their policies are horrifically cruel and misogynistic, forcing everyone else in society into rigid societal roles, with women in particular always having lower roles than their male counterparts. Worst of all, they came up with the idea to turn many fertile women into "Handmaids" breeding slaves assigned to Commander's and their wives.
Overview[]
Commander's serve as the operators of Gilead's government, with a hierarchy between them as some Commander's have higher ranks in the government than others. Many of the Commanders were members of the Sons of Jacob political group prior to the existence of Gilead, and many were involved in the President's Day Massacre where they directly took down the United States government. High Commanders are shown to be the highest rank in Gilead's government. Regular Commander's can still have specific designations, such as "Field Commanders" who's primary role is military operations. Despite their power, Commander's are still spied on by "Eyes", the secret service in Gilead who make sure people within the countries social classes are not engaging in sinful behavior. If the Commander's are seen outright violating Gilead's rules, they can still be imprisoned and even executed, with their bodies being put on the wall as a warning to others.
Notable Commanders[]
High Commanders[]
- George Winslow
- Commander MacKenzie
Commanders of the Faithful[]
- Offred's Commander (Fred Waterford)
- Warren Putnam
- Joseph Lawrence
- Andrew Pryce
- Raymond Cushing
- Ryan Wheeler
- Rob Keyes
- B. Frederick Judd
- Glen Deeds
- Dozens of other unseen Commanders
Field Commanders[]
- Nick Blaine
- Commander Guthrie
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The epilogue of the novel states that the Commanders were their own undoing, as they began purging each other due to them committing sinful acts, which ultimately led to the collapse of Gilead.
- Dr. Yates in the television series is implied to be a Commander due to him having a Commander's star on his hospital uniform, this would make him the only known Commander to work in a specific profession rather than a government role.
External Links[]
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 Villains
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Republic of Gilead Wives Aunts Other | ||