Wife

“

As for my husband, he's just that: My husband, till death do us part. It's one of the things we fought for.

”

— A Wife naming reliability in partnership as a motive for the new social order

Wife
Wife
Affiliation	Republic of Gilead
Gender	Female
Description	Highest ranking women in the nation

Wives are a class of women in Gilead. They are amongst the highest ranking women in the nation, though they are still oppressed and in subjugation to their husbands.

However, it appears that the Wives (and Aunts) have a considerable amount of power and influence in the Republic of Gilead (especially over the Handmaids and other people of both genders, below the Wives) and many of the Wives have played a major role in the establishment of the Republic of Gilead, especially in creating and implementing Gilead's draconian religious laws, constitution, and strict class/caste system.

Attire

Wives wear modest clothing in varying shades of Teal, the darker the shade the more powerful the Wife (Blue in the book relating to the Virgin Mary). If their husband dies, they wear all black, including black veils, in mourning.

Role

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). Many Wives in the early days of Gilead were supporters of Gilead's creation or married to the men who became Gilead's founders and leaders. It would later be revealed that the Wives were also the major architects in creating and building the Republic of Gilead, especially in creating Gilead's draconian religious laws and strict class/caste system. It is implied that some Wives are capable of bearing children, but most are older women and thus have difficulty conceiving (or their husbands are infertile), which is also hampered by widespread infertility. As a result, Wives have to 'share' their husbands with Handmaids, in order to get a child. Later Wives have arranged marriages once they come of age.

Wives fortunate enough to have children are tasked with raising them. However, many Wives are childless and, not being permitted to work and having Marthas to do housework for them, they are often left stuck at home with little to do. Some Wives take up hobbies such as knitting or gardening. June Osborne, as Offred, observes that all the Wives knit scarves “for the Angels at the front lines,”, and wonders if the scarves actually get used, or if they just give the Wives something to do . Wives frequently visit other Wives to gossip. She mentions that some Wives feign sickness so that fellow Wives will come to see them and give them attention. All in all, being a Wife without children is dull, monotonous and lonely.

Many Wives become bitter and resentful; many of them are also jealous of the Handmaids due to their ability to conceive and the fact they must share their husbands with them. Wives can sometimes be quite cruel to Handmaids assigned to them and some have even been known to attack them. That being said, some Wives are so desperate for children that they will form covert alliances with their Handmaids, arranging for them to sleep with other men to ensure they get pregnant and offering them contraband items or other forbidden luxuries, or sometimes information, in exchange for favors.

Despite their high rank in Gilead, Wives are also constrained in several ways. If they try to help out around the home, Marthas will dislike them for taking their jobs away from them, and their husband will be displeased for her sullying her appearance.

Known Wives

Below is a list of the fourteen Wives that have been mentioned or portrayed in either the novel, the movie or the TV series.

Name	History	Status	Appearances	Note
Mrs. Allston	Wife of Commander Alston. Her husband's Handmaid, Ofandy, gives birth to a stillborn girl, and Mrs. Allston becomes enraged.	Alive	TV Series
Caroline	Attends to the Putnams during the birth of baby Angela.	Alive	TV series
Mrs. Calhoun	Wife of Commander Calhoun, to whom the handmaid Ofmatthew is assigned to.	Alive	TV series
Eleanor Lawrence	Wife of Commander Lawrence, to whom Emily was briefly reassigned after Commander Roy's death, and to whom June was reassigned after that. Died from a suicidal overdose of medication.	Deceased	TV series
Emma Monroe	Wife of Commander Monroe, to whom Janine is reassigned after Angela's birth.	Alive	TV series
Grace Scott	A kind Wife, willing to fake illness so her Handmaid can skip the Ceremony.	Alive	TV series
Leah	Possibly the Wife of Commander Chambers.	Alive	TV series
Tabitha MacKenzie	First Wife of Commander MacKenzie (or Commander Kyle in the second novel) and adoptive mother of Hannah. (Agnes)	Alive (TV Series) Deceased (Novels)	TV series Novels
Mrs. O'Conner	Sent to the Colonies as an Unwoman for adultery; She was later murdered by Emily with poison for holding down a girl to be violently raped by her husband just like every wife in Gilead.	Deceased	TV series
Mrs. Webber	Wife of Commander Webber; expresses an interest in having June reassigned to her household.	Alive	TV series	Unseen character
Naomi Putnam	Wife of Commander Putnam. Constantly seen with Serena Joy. Especially worried about her status.	Alive	Novel Film TV series	Unnamed in the novel and film
Serena Joy Waterford	Wife of Commander Waterford. She's one of Gilead's strongest supporters, but her background however changes according to the media she is portrayed. In the TV Series, she along with Fred Waterford are in Canadian custody for war crimes and crimes against humanity.	Alive; active (Novel and Film) Alive; in Canadian custody (TV Series)	Novel Film TV series
Shunammite Judd	One of B. Frederick Judd's long list of child-Wives.	Alive	Novels
Sonia Cushing	Formerly close to the Waterfords along with her husband.	Alive	TV series	Unseen character
Wife of Commander Roy	Widow of Commander Roy, to whom Emily is briefly assigned after being returned from the Colonies.	Alive; widowed	TV series
Olivia Winslow	Widow of High Commander Winslow	Alive; widowed	TV Series
Paula Saunders	Widow of Commander Saunders, later wife of Commander Kyle.	Alive; widowed	Novels
Mrs. Deeds	Wife of Commander Deeds. Executed along with her husband following the Red Center Attack	Deceased	TV Series	Unseen character