Offred's daughter is a minor, yet important character in The Handmaid's Tale. She is the daughter of Offred (June) and Luke. She was born prior to the rise of the Republic of Gilead, and was separated from her parents after the regime came to power. Her real name is never mentioned in the novel.
Story
Before Gilead
While shopping in a supermarket, a crazy woman tries to kidnap Offred's baby daughter [1].
After the Takeover
Luke and Offred purchase fake passports in order to escape. They tell their daughter they are going on a picnic and plan to give her a sleeping pill when they cross the border so that she would not be questioned or give them away. [2].
They reach the border and give the guard their passports. When the guard picks up the phone, they speed away in the car, and then get out and try to run through the woods[3]. Offred cannot run very fast, because her 5-year-old child slows her down. She remembers hearing shots. She and her daughter fall to the ground, hiding; Offred begs her daughter to be quiet, but she is too young to understand. After getting caught, her daughter is dragged away from her[4].
Offred wakes up screaming, demanding to know what they have done with her daughter. The authorities tell Offred she is unfit, and her daughter is with those fit to care for her. They show her a photograph of her child wearing a white dress, holding the hand of a strange woman [5].
In the present
Serena shows Offred a photograph of her daughter. In the photo, she wears a white dress and smiles. Offred senses that her daughter hardly remembers her. This tears at her heart.[6]