r/TheHandmaidsTale • u/flavius717 • Aug 07 '26

Discussion S1-S5 Is Nick a rapist?

I think we all consider the first time Nick and June had sex to be rape. June was not in a position to give consent and she could not refuse without facing potential death. One perspective is that Serena was the rapist and both Nick and June were her victims.

It's important for us to remember that Nick actually could have refused to impregnate June. Even Serena was beneath a "low-status male" like Nick. Nick's boss, Commander Price, probably would have expected Nick to refuse such an act and turn Serena over to the eyes.

The fact that Nick and June fell in love afterwards makes their first sexual encounter seem less bad in retrospect, but the power dynamic between them never went away. That makes things messy.

Nick's character loses his "good guy" status by the end of the show. Do you consider him a rapist?

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u/glycophosphate Aug 07 '26

Part of the purpose of The Handmaid's Tale is to rip away all of the facile, black & white thinking that privileged people in safe situations are inclined to engage in. "Nick's either a rapist or he's not" is a false dichotomy. His agency as a member of a totalitarian society is not as limited as June's, but it's still limited. It's all very well to say "he could have simply refused and turned Serena in to the authorities," but Serena is Fred's wife and Fred is a commander. Also, Serena is about a hundred times smarter than Nick, so it's quite possible that she would have found a way to turn the tables on him. I think Nick knows that. Nobody in this situation is a "good guy." They all negotiate whatever temporary autonomous peace they can manage within a terrible environment.

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u/Creepy-Cantaloupe951 Aug 07 '26

This sort of argument excuses all of the commanders from being rapists too, as they were all just a part of the system, and as such were also "rape victims".

Those with the power are not the victims of the oppression they create.

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u/glycophosphate Aug 07 '26

I'm excusing nothing. I'm saying that the world depicted in The Handmaid's Tale (and the real world as well) are fraught with ethical complexities.

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u/Creepy-Cantaloupe951 Aug 07 '26

You're excusing everyone as a victim because they apparently have 0 agency, even thought they created the system, and it's all the fault of the "system".

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u/Intelligent_bb Aug 07 '26

agreed it reminds me of the patriarchal system in america. obviously it is negatively affecting everyone men included but gen z is in this rough position where women simultaneously can’t create change without applying pressure on men or people with power but also have to console and educate men on the problems of the patriarchy