If for some reason the prompt is about the historical notes, here is what to write:
1. The Historical Notes are a way for Atwood to provide some sort of closure for the reader as it explains that Nick was working for Mayday AND Offred did get taken into hiding by them.There is still an air of mystery in the work because we do not know her whereabouts or fate, but at least some shred of hope is instilled in the ending for the reader.
2. The Historical Notes also provide insight in how Gilead's founders strategically and maniacally devised ceremonies like the particicution to control the woman/ also how women were given power over other woman related to the following quote: "Professor Piexoto says that no empire lacks this “control of the indigenous by members of their own group.” P.S. Postcolonial theory would work nicely here since it shows how men saw women as other, and this otherness is what allowed them to control them and provide them the "power" to control each other- when in reality- it was all the male control to begin with.
3. The Historical Notes showcase how history, if not studied and looked into, puts people at risk of repeating it. Here, we see Piexoto downplaying Offred's story and possibly discrediting it. Why? This is Atwoods way of warning how people try to erase or delegitimize events in history so it can be easier to repeat them or control people.
4. The Historical Notes lastly shows how Men continue to belittle women and subjugate them. The people at the lecture in the end discuss how Offred was a chip in a reproductive game, belittling her tale as the crumbs of history, and openly praising a few printed pages from the Commander’s computer over her tale of suffering. This dismissal of a woman’s life and glorification of a man’s computer suggests the patriarchal leanings of this new society.