Handmaids and other groups

"She's in her usual Martha's dress, which is dull green, like a surgeon's gown of the time before." (pg. 9)

In The Handmaids Tale, women are seperates into three main groups. Handmaids, Wives, and Marthas. Handmaids sole purpose in life is to reproduce once they reach a certain maturity level. Wives are obviously the married women while Marthas are maids/servants. People distinguish what group the women are in by the color that she wears: Handmaids are red, Marthas are green, and Wives are dressed in blue. Conflict sometimes arrises throughout the novel between the wives and handmaids out of jealousy.

Working Against. "The Handmaid's Tale." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 31 May 2010.