Rather than being married to Commanders, Econowives are fertile women who are married off to Gilead's more ordinary men. As well as being expected to have children, Econowives are expected to take care of their households, and they aren't assigned Marthas to help them.
Econowives have limited individual rights unlike Handmaids. However, they are married to men that have lower standing than Commanders. They are expected to have children if possible, and they also perform the same duties for their husbands as Marthas.
They are Wives, Marthas (servants), and Handmaids, if they're fertile, to their husbands. The Econowives are seen as lower-ranking than Wives, Marthas, or Handmaids, although they appear to have a bit more freedom, since they don't serve high-ranking men.
In the story, an environmental disaster has led to most women becoming infertile, and the small number who are still able to become pregnant are forced to become handmaids, women who are owned by the ruling elite and systematically raped in order to provide them with children.
Margaret Atwood herself, author of The Handmaid's Tale book, wrote in the New York Times last year that econowives were the wives of low-ranking men in society, so the middle class of Gilead as a whole is referred to as "econopeople." It's not altogether clear how the econowives and handmaids are distinguished from ...
Rather than being married to Commanders, Econowives are fertile women who are married off to Gilead's more ordinary men. As well as being expected to have children, Econowives are expected to take care of their households, and they aren't assigned Marthas to help them.
What caused infertility in Gilead? In the story, an environmental disaster has led to most women becoming infertile, and the small number who are still able to become pregnant are forced to become handmaids, women who are owned by the ruling elite and systematically raped in order to provide them with children.
Handmaids have three chances to get pregnant in three different households during two year assignments. If, after the third time, they are not able to produce a living, healthy baby, they will be sent off to the Colonies to face certain death.
The Marthas
They are low-ranking, infertile women who cook, clean, and help take care of the ruling class's offspring.
Wives are usually married to high ranking men in Gilead, such as Commanders, Angels and Eyes. Being a Wife is regarded as a high honor in Gilead. Only women perceived as being 'pure' and moral are given the 'privilege' of marrying. (Handmaids, for example, could never be Wives, due to their controversial nature).
For those too old to bear their own, or those who are infertile, Wives must agree to pick out a suitable Handmaid for the Commanders to impregnate. Being childless is a social taboo in Gilead, and frowned upon as though the Wives are not fulfilling their duty, coercing them into submission.
Econowives can also return to their postings as handmaids, if they are needed. Both Emily and Janine were “rescued” from the Colonies by Aunt Lydia. The Marthas rank higher than handmaids and are assigned to Commanders as household servants rather than sex slaves.
And the novel mentions that very few lucky wives of commanders get pregnant. (Albeit it is mentioned that some wives, like the handmaids, resort to other men). So, it seems to be that married couples are allowed sex.
On the surface, Marthas are a downtrodden lot — not powerful enough to be Wives or Lydias, not fertile or young enough to be Econowives. The name "Martha" comes from the bible, after one of Jesus' friends who is a pragmatic and focused on domestic concerns; hence the Marthas' role as housekeepers in Gilead.
The former is easy; they simply remove them in private in order to eat. As for Ofgeorge, I notice the rings were somewhat large, which would give her the ability to part her lips slightly to take in a liquid diet. It's a stupid punishment for someone whose health is vital to the aims of Gilead, however.
According to the novel, Handmaids who are no longer fertile, or fail to become pregnant after three different Commanders, are sent to the Colonies - essentially a nuclear waste dumping ground. They are forced to clean this waste until they die. Pretty grim outlook there, but that's dystopia for you! Hope that helps!
Unbaby, or shredder, is the term used in the Republic of Gilead to describe infants that are suffering from birth defects or physical deformities. These die shortly after birth due to their defects. They are usually taken away to be disposed of.
In the television adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale, Offred not only gets pregnant. She gives birth to a healthy daughter who is later smuggled into Canada by her friend, Ofglen. This is one dramatic way in which the show differs from the novel.
And yet, as we learned at the end of season two, the green of the Marthas' clothing may also be a sign of new growth and deep roots. The whisper network of the Marthas is what enables June to smuggle her infant child out of Gilead and will surely come into play again as the resistance gains strength.
June Osborne
Luke and June first began seeing each other when Luke was still married to Annie (Kelly Jenrette), whom he later divorced. Due to their marriage being Luke's second, June is considered an "adulteress" in Gilead, and because of her fertility, is forced to be a handmaid as reparation for her sin.
She is the wife of Luke Bankole and the mother of a young daughter, Hannah. She is also the mother of Nichole who she had with Nick in Gilead.
Setting. The novel is set in an indeterminate dystopian future, speculated to be around the year 2005, with a fundamentalist theonomy ruling the territory of what had been the United States but is now the Republic of Gilead.
In the pilot episode, Serena Joy says that this is June's second posting. In Margaret Atwood's book, an assignment lasts about two years. We can assume that June spent roughly two years at her last family and about a year or less at the Red Center training to be a Handmaid.
Aside from mourning, the role of Widows in Gilead is largely unknown. In the novel, Offred considers that Widows are becoming a less common sight in Gilead. This could imply that Widows are either killed or expelled to the Colonies once they are no longer of use in society.
At the start of The Handmaid's Tale June had been in Gilead for three years, and within a few months of being at her new posting as "Offred," she became pregnant with Nick's baby. By the time Nichole was born, towards the end of The Handmaid's Tale season 2, June had been in Gilead for four years.