In The Handmaid's Tale, the secret resistance network is called Mayday. Offred learns that her shopping partner, Ofglen, secretly belongs to this underground movement, which works to undermine and eventually overthrow Gilead's theocratic government.
The name “Mayday” carries a double meaning. It echoes the international distress call “Mayday,” fitting a resistance movement operating under an oppressive regime, and it may also suggest May Day, a traditional spring festival associated with renewal and political action. Atwood uses the name to contrast Gilead's claims of order with the danger and hope developing beneath its surface.
Mayday is not the same as the Eyes, Gilead's secret police. The Eyes serve the regime and monitor possible dissenters, while Mayday members communicate covertly and take significant risks to protect prisoners, gather information, and resist state control. Ofglen's disappearance illustrates the danger faced by its members: she takes her own life rather than reveal the network under interrogation.