‘To succeed in creating a convincing character, the write needs to give the audience a sense that characters have inner thoughts and feelings’. To what extent, and in what ways, does this statement apply to ‘The Handmaids Tale’ and ‘The House of

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‘To succeed in creating a convincing character, the write needs to give the audience a sense that characters have inner thoughts and feelings’. To what extent, and in what ways, does this statement apply to ‘The Handmaids Tale’ and ‘The House of

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Abstract

Both ‘The Handmaid's Tale' by Margret Atwood and ‘The House of Bernada Alba' by Frederico Garcia Lorca are stories that focus on the development of character, rather than the development of action. In order to make these characters convincing, the author could express the characters thoughts and feelings in the work, thereby allowing the reader to understand the character on a deeper level. However, displaying characters feelings is not a necessity, and depends on the context in which this character is in. For characters like Offred and Adela, in ‘The Handmaids Tale' and the House of Bernada Alba' respectively, their inner feelings are vital if the audience is to understand them and their actions. On the other hand, in the case of characters like Moira and Bernada, their inner feelings are rarely expressed, if at all and yet they are believable characters. As well as characters like this there are characters like The Commander and Angustias who display their thoughts and feelings, and although they help in making them convincing as characters, there are other factors which also contribute.

In the case of Moira and Bernada, they make believable characters despite the fact that their feelings aren't expressed. Their believability mainly comes from their background and the context in which they are in. Moira rebellious nature is never expressed through her, but through her actions in Offred's flashbacks. Her personal feelings are rarely ever shown. However, her rebellious nature and her blatant rejection of the Gileaden system, seems believable because of her feminist ideas before the revolution and the fact that she is a lesbian (Atwood 168).

Introduction
Moira and Bernada
The Commander and Angustias
Offred and Adela
Conclusion

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[...] Offred and Adela, both victims of oppression, are only believable because the audience sees their inner thoughts and feelings, without which we wouldn't be able to understand them. Offred is against the republic of Gilead, she remembers the time before it, but unlike Moira, she conforms to the system despite being averted to it. This contradiction would seem unrealistic if we didn't see Offred's justifications through her thoughts. She expresses her hatred towards the sexist Gileaden regime but also her fear of being persecuted, and how in nature, she is not rebellious like Moira. [...]

[...] Her situation makes her character convincing, not her thoughts and feelings. In the case of both Bernada and Moira, their characters are convincing because of their background and the setting of the story, and because they are people who follow through with their actions so that their motives are clear, therefore presenting their inner thoughts and feelings in unnecessary. The Commander and Angustias, unlike Bernada and Moira, express their feelings to some extent, and this helps in making their characters convincing, but it isn't the only aspect. [...]

[...] However, her rebellious nature and her blatant rejection of the Gileaden system, seems believable because of her feminist ideas before the revolution and the fact that she is a lesbian (Atwood 168). Even before the coup she was rebelling from 'normal' society and so her extremely independent mindset becomes believable. We see that it is in her nature to fight against the Gileaden regime, not from her thoughts and feelings but from her backstory which is shown through Offred's flashbacks. Similarly, Bernada's inner thoughts and feelings are not shown, but she still is a believable character because of her background and context. [...]

[...] This contradictory personality is made convincing by his conversations with Offred in which he expresses his thoughts and feelings, but also by the context which he is in. As Offred explains, many men in Gilead are denied sex and the Commander is only allowed once a month during the ceremony. This makes his visit to the Jezebel brothel believable even though he supports the Gileaden Regime. So it is not only the commanders inner thoughts and feelings that make his character believable, it is what he does and why. [...]

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