Giving my all to what I think Atwood is going for, I would say that he's being predatory, here, but with framing where he doesn't have to think he's being predatory.
There are technical reasons why he wouldn't necessarily keep a secret stash of his or other men's semen. The whole "natural environment" matter, said secret stash needing to be refrigerated which limits storage options, and the chances of being found out being greater when he has a stash of semen close at hand.
That's all to say that he has excuses for his own conscience, when he looks himself in the mirror, he doesn't have to see himself as someone making use of other people's coercion in order to get sex. He can view himself as someone going a little outside the accepted way of things so as to help women and, well... if he takes some enjoyment out of it that's not a horrible thing.
This somewhat foreshadows elements of the Commander. By seeing this, you can see it a bit more when it comes to the Commander. It's not just the sex he wants, it's a particular self-image. Because, after all, he could get the sex other ways, without the self-image.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2018-03-12 10:46 pm (UTC)There are technical reasons why he wouldn't necessarily keep a secret stash of his or other men's semen. The whole "natural environment" matter, said secret stash needing to be refrigerated which limits storage options, and the chances of being found out being greater when he has a stash of semen close at hand.
That's all to say that he has excuses for his own conscience, when he looks himself in the mirror, he doesn't have to see himself as someone making use of other people's coercion in order to get sex. He can view himself as someone going a little outside the accepted way of things so as to help women and, well... if he takes some enjoyment out of it that's not a horrible thing.
This somewhat foreshadows elements of the Commander. By seeing this, you can see it a bit more when it comes to the Commander. It's not just the sex he wants, it's a particular self-image. Because, after all, he could get the sex other ways, without the self-image.