The historical notes seem to bring everything in the story together, explaining that the Gileadian government had since fallen 150 years ago. It is written as a transcript from a university conference being given by lecturers who specialise in this period of time.

There is a complete change in atmosphere as Margaret Atwood changes from her dystopian, metaphorical writing style to using very positive, formal language, as well as scholarly jargon and jokes. The majority of the professors at the conference seem to be native Americans, which we realise by their imaginative names such as 'Crescent Moon'. This seems to be a play on modern times such as how the Americans speak of the Native American history and mistreatment but also speaks of the racial equality in this future time.

Professor Pieixoto, who is an expert on Gilead, is the main narrator and gives his colleagues further information on the Handmaid's Tale which turns out to have been recorded on tapes and found among a few others during the reconstruction of the Gileadian area. His apathetic manner towards the protagonist Offred and the world she had to live i seem shocking to the readers after being subjected to the emotional recount of the dystopian world. He made a few jokes towards the victims and the education system of the time as in saying that Offred 'may be said to have been educated'. This implies that the future wold this very academic and sees the past intelligence level as inferior than that of present time. He reminds his audience that they must be 'cautious about passing judgement' on the people of this time, to which they clap in agreement.

Historical notes