The Epilogue is a transcript of a symposium held in 2195. The Republic of Gilead is now a dead republic. Offred's story been published as a manuscript titled The Handmaid's Tale. Her story was found recorded on a set of cassette tapes locked in a trunk in Bangor, Maine. During the speech, we discover that the Gileadean period was responsible for the re-drawing of the map of the world. Professor Pieixoto's speech touches on the problems of authenticating the cassette tapes. The first section of each tape contained a few songs from the pre-Gileadean period, and they were marked with labels used for pop music cassette tapes from the same period. Therefore, the tapes were meant to be disguised. The same voice speaks on all the tapes. The tapes were not numbered, nor were they arranged in any particular order, so the professors who transcripted the story had to arrange the chronology of the story from guesswork.
English: Flag of the Republic of Gilead from The H...
English: A heap of old and unwanted cassette tapes...
English: Burmese music casette tapes, Yangon, Myan...Pieixoto warns his audience against judging Gilead because such judgments are culturally biased. He states that the Gilead regime was under a good deal of pressure. High-status men were given Handmaids for reproductive purposes. Birth control, environmental pollution, and venereal disease had caused a high rate of infertility. Research has determined two possible men as the Commander in Offred's story. Both were probably instrumental in building the basic structure of Gilead. One was likely instrumental in arranging the President's Day massacre. The records from the Gilead era are scarce because they were often destroyed after the purges.
Many women were willing to serve as Aunts because they were accorded a few perks of power. Historically, using women to control other women has been highly effective. The final fate of Offred is unknown. If she escaped to England or Canada, it is puzzling that she did not make her story public. However, she might have wanted to protect others who were left behind. She may have feared repercussions against Luke if he was still alive or even against her daughter. Such practices were used to suppress bad publicity in foreign countries. The novel ends with the line, "Are there any questions?"
English: . Cassette Tape, picture taken by User:Se...
Self made image of Tiger Electronics 2-XL with cas...
English: sonidero casete