"The Commander knocks at the door. The knock is prescribed: the sitting room is supposed to be Serena Joy's territory, he's supposed to ask permission to enter it. She likes to keep him waiting. It's a little thing, but in this household little things mean a lot." (pg. 86)
In moments like this, it becomes clear who wore the pants in Serena and Fred's marriage before Gilead and the new way of life (the period of degradation of women) was established. In Atwood's book, Serena likes to abuse the little bit of power she is still able to maintain, possibly so no one thinks any less of her. It also builds and hypostatizes the tension between the couple. The last sentence hints that in the household that Offred lives, little things really do mean a lot, and therefore does a bit of foreshadowing of minor events. Later in the book, Serena decides to show Offred a recent picture of her daughter, as a reward for secretly trying to become impregnated by Nick. The Commander takes similar actions by rewarding Offred with old magazines after she'd spent the evening playing scrabble with him. And then he lets her use hand cream instead of the butter she saves from her meals. Perhaps minor details, but in the end, it was a minor detail like the lipstick Offred accidentally left on the clothing that Serena used to catch her.
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