Jezebel's
Gilead's unofficial brothels, where the women it cannot use are put to use.
Jezebel's is the name given to the brothels and sex clubs where certain women are made to work as prostitutes under the Republic of Gilead. The women sent there are usually rebellious ones offered a choice between Jezebel's and the Colonies, among them former professionals and women like Moira who escaped the Red Center; the novel describes Jezebels as attractive and educated women dressed in the remnants of sexualized costumes from the time before, allowed make-up, alcohol and the company of men but tightly controlled by the Aunts.
The clubs cater to foreign diplomats and to Commanders, are not officially approved by a government whose every law they violate, yet are unofficially sanctioned, and only a few Commanders know of them; Wives and especially Handmaids are forbidden there. The Boston Jezebel's occupies a former hotel that Offred recognizes from the start of her affair with Luke, and there is a rural Jezebel's in a Pennsylvania country manor.
Quick Facts
- Type
- Brothel and sex club, unofficially sanctioned by Gilead
- Clientele
- Foreign diplomats and Commanders
- Locations
- A former hotel in Boston; a country manor in Pennsylvania
- Workers
- Rebellious women given the choice of Jezebel's or the Colonies
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- The Boston Jezebel's is cleaned out and shut down after the death of High Commander Winslow; nearly all its women are shot or sent to the Colonies.
- As a Mayday agent, June Osborne spikes the Commanders' drinks at a Pennsylvania Jezebel's with nightshade from Esther Keyes; nine are hospitalized and six die.
- The name comes from Jezebel in the Bible.
More in Story & Timeline
Elsewhere in The Handmaids Tale
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