<P> As the novel concludes, she is being taken away by the secret police, the Eyes of God, known informally as "the Eyes," under alleged orders from Nick . Before she is put in the large black van, Nick tells her that the men are part of the Mayday resistance and that Offred must trust him . Offred does not know if Nick is a member of the Mayday resistance or a government agent posing as one, and she does not know if going with the men will result in her escape or her capture . She enters the van with her future uncertain . </P> <P> The novel concludes with a metafictional epilogue that explains that the events of the novel occurred shortly after the beginning of what is called "the Gilead Period ." The epilogue is "a partial transcript of the proceedings of the Twelfth Symposium on Gileadean Studies" written in 2195 . According to the symposium's "keynote speaker" Professor Pieixoto, he and his colleague Professor Knotly Wade discovered Offred's story recorded onto cassette tapes . They transcribed the tapes, calling them collectively "the handmaid's tale ." Through the tone and actions of the professionals in this final section of the book, the world of academia is highlighted and critiqued, and Pieixoto discusses his team's search for the characters named in the Tale, and the impossibility of proving the tapes' authenticity . It is assumed that Offred survived and that the Eyes that came to get her were, in fact, part of the Mayday resistance as her cassette tapes contain parts of the story that would have been impossible to tape without having successfully escaped . Nevertheless, the epilogue implies that, following the collapse of the theonomic Republic of Gilead, a more equal society--though not the United States that previously existed--re-emerged, with a restoration of full rights for women and freedom of religion . This is meant to serve as irony for the reader as the Professor speaks of Offred's troubling tale with little emotion, whereas the reader is feeling the utmost sympathy for Offred . </P> <P> Offred is the protagonist and narrator . She was labeled a "wanton woman" when Gilead was established because she had married a man who was divorced . All divorces were nullified by the new government, meaning her husband was now considered still married to his first wife, making Offred an adulteress . In trying to escape Gilead, she was separated from her husband and daughter . She is part of the first generation of Gilead's women, those who remember pre-Gilead times . Proved fertile, she is considered an important commodity and has been placed as a handmaid in the home of the Commander Fred and his wife Serena Joy, to bear a child for them (Serena Joy is believed to be infertile). </P> <P> Offred is a slave name that describes her function: she is "of Fred", i.e. she belongs to Fred, her commander, and is considered a concubine . In the novel, Offred says that she is not a concubine, but a tool; a "two legged womb". The Handmaids' names say nothing about who the women really are (Offred Of Fred, Ofglen Of Glen); their only identity is as the Commander's property . "Offred" is also a pun on the word "offered", as in "offered as a sacrifice," as well as a play on the words "off - red", referencing the color that handmaids wear and the character's frustrations with her assigned position . It is implied that her birth name is June . The women in training to be handmaids whisper names across their beds at night . The names are "Alma . Janine . Dolores . Moira . June", and all are later accounted for except June . In addition, one of the Aunts tells the handmaids - in - training to stop "mooning and June - ing". Miner suggests that "June" is a pseudonym . As "Mayday" is the name of the Gilead resistance, June could be an invention by the protagonist . The Nunavit conference covered in the epilogue takes place in June . Atwood wrote that it was not her original intention to imply that Offred's real name is June "but it fits, so readers are welcome to it if they wish ." </P>

What is the narrator name in the handmaid's tale