On her way to the shops, she passes through the Commander’s wife’s garden, and she begins to think about a garden she had before Gilead, and the Commander’s wife. Offred, notes that the Commander’s wife is fond of knitting, and she is particularly skilled at it (Williamson, 2017). All the wives are assigned the task of knitting for the Angels that are stationed at the frontline. She recalls the first time that she came to the Commander’s house after a previous couple had dropped her. When she arrived, Serena told her to ensure that she should stay out of sight, as well as to avoid making any trouble.  She reminded her that the Commander was her husband and that relationship was a permanent one. As she was talking to Offred, she was also smoking, something that the handmaids were forbidden to do, as well as drinking alcohol or coffee. It is at this moment when Offred recognizes that the Commander’s wife was once a lead soprano from the “Growing Souls’ Gospel Hour”. This was a program which Offred used to watch when she was still a young child.