Janine (Novel)

Janine (Novel)

Janine (Series)

Janine (Film)

Janine
Janine (Novel)
a.k.a.	Ofwarren
Gender	Female
Relatives	Unnamed Daughter Unnamed Child Angela (Daughter)
First seen	Section 5

Janine (Novel) is a character in The Handmaid's Tale novel.

Story

Life Prior to Gilead

Jeanine apparently worked as a waitress prior to the rise of the Republic of Gilead. She had a young daughter (it is not mentioned if she was married). When Janine was fourteen, she was gang-raped and fell pregnant as a result, but had an abortion.

Life at the Red Center

After Gilead's creation, Janine was rounded up, separated from her daughter and sent to the Red Center. The emotionally fragile Janine was quickly broken down by the Aunts - she was forced to 'confess' her sins and told the story of her gang-rape and abortion. The Aunts declared that Janine brought the rape upon herself and the other Handmaids were made to shame Janine, who eventually agreed that what happened was her fault and that God had been teaching her a lesson. Janine often cried in the night over her lost daughter. At one point, she seemed to suffer a complete mental breakdown, believing she was living her old life again and asking people for their orders. This prompted Moira to slap Janine and speak harshly to her, in order to get her to snap out of it, as the Aunts would show her no mercy. She was mentioned as being a favourite of Aunt Lydia's due to her submissive nature.

Life in Gilead

When Offred meets Janine again, she is assigned to a Commander Warren and his Wife, being known as Ofwarren. Janine is heavily pregnant and flaunts this publicly, as this is regarded as the greatest thing a Handmaid can accomplish. It is rumoured that the real father of Janine's baby is not Commander Warren, but her doctor, due to Warren's infertility, and Warren's Wife secretly arranged this to get a child.

Janine goes into labour and Offred, Ofglen and several other Handmaids attend the birth to support her. Janine delivers a seemingly healthy baby girl, who is immediately given to the Wife and named Angela. Janine is exhausted and emotionally drained from the experience, but Offred reasons that she will never be declared an Unwoman now. Unfortunately, Janine's triumph is short-lived, as baby Angela turns out to be a "shredder" and does not live. Janine is distraught by this and the trauma takes its toll on her mental well-being. When Offred next sees her at the Particicution, Janine appears to be insane, barely reacting to the events of the day and not responding even when Offred calls her by her real name. She doesn't appear to recognize Offred, merely smiles pleasantly at her and wishes her a good day before wandering off. Janine' fate is unknown.

Quotes

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