The Commander, A Contradiction

     The Commander is somewhat of a weird topic in The Handmaid's Tale. While he definitely supports the Republic of Gilead, he seems to want the illusion of love. He goes against the structure that he helped to set up in order to try and actually feel something with Offred. He seems to truly believe that women had "too much freedom" despite being such a romanticist. Also, based on the second ending, it is likely that the Commander was the one who designed the outfit of the handmaids, which is completely counter to the fact that he sneaks Offred out to the brothel in a completely different outfit. The commander seems to be an extreme contradiction who wants to both oppress women and also be loved by those same women. He has created these rules and at the same time thinks that it's fine to break them.