Was this covered in the book?
And what happens to the handmaids when they are no longer of childbearing age? Are they just sent to the colonies?
They probably mostly just become Martha's, with a select few devout ones(nutjobs) becoming new Aunt Lydias'.
shareIf a Handmaid cannot produce a child with a Commander after 3 assignments. She is deemed sterile and sent to the colonies. If a Handmaid can bear children she is never sent to the colonies or deemed an "unwoman" she basically gets a place of honor in the society even after child bearing years.
shareYeah, but what does she end up doing, exactly? What is this place of honor? Where does she live if there is no use for her anymore as a birthing machine, and who provides for her?
And are Marthas just condemned to a life of celibacy? How do they decide who becomes a Martha, btw?
Apple.......I thought handmaidens and Marthas were picked to be in their roles, due to their past lifestyle. I forgot exactly why June was taken to be made a handmaiden, but I think it had something to do with her marriage or her past relationships.. I would have to go back to episode one, season one to be sure.
shareHer marriage wasn't recognized because divorce was outlawed in Gilead, and June's husband was previously divorced. So if his divorce is invalidated, it means he is still married to his first wife, and June is just an adulteress, "fallen woman".
https://the-handmaids-tale.fandom.com/wiki/Martha
Marthas serve as servants, and housekeepers. They clean the houses, go shopping, and cook and serve meals for the high-ranking family they've been assigned to. Most Marthas seem to be infertile, low-ranking, and unmarried women. It is also implied that most Marthas are ethnic minorities, such as Latina, or African-American, displaying Gilead's further discrimination against women who belong to minority groups; in the television series, one of the featured Marthas, Rita, is herself played by a woman of color. Marthas are sometimes assisted in their tasks by their household's Handmaid. They provide food for the Handmaids as well.
Marthas often gossip amongst each other, and are usually quite friendly with each other. It is even implied that they have a communication network of their own. They can be somewhat prejudiced, and derogatory, towards Handmaids, though. If the Wife they serve has children, then Marthas may help in the rearing, acting as a nanny. Many Marthas look forward to this, because, among other reasons, it may be the only chance they will have to raise a child as if it were their own.
It is implied by Offred that if a Martha lives past her "prime", she is sent to The Colonies, where she is ensured certain death.
Basically sterile women, Marthas and Jezebels get sent to the colonies when they are no longer useful or old. Men take no value in women they are inferior and death is their future.
I read that prior to asking, but in the series they are neither necessarily older nor non-white. June is older than both Marthas in the Lawrence household - quite a lot older than the second one, actually.
I don't know how they even concluded that the youngest one is barren.