The Handmaid's Tale: Key Quotes

"We could not talk"

Chapter 1, page 13

Offred discussing the red center.

- Power of language theme: not being able to talk is disempowering for these women.

"They had electric cattle prods slung on thongs from their leather belts"

Chapter 1, page 14

Offred about the Red Centre.

- The women are animalized, treated as prisoners and cows are a symbol of motherhood and nurturing.

"for ladies in reduced circumstances"

Chapter 2, page 18

Offred talking about what R.C could've been before it was used for the Handmaids.

- She draws a parallel to women seeking asylum, saying that they too have had their circumstances reduced.

"Not my room, I refuse to say my"

Chapter 2, page 18

Offred speaking about her new room.

- The idea of Offred's silent rebellion through dissociation from elements of the regime.

- Virginia Woolf's 'room of one's own' essay is alluded to: women need a space of their own to gain freedom through literature. This is taken away from the Handmaids as their space isn't truly private, and they cannot read, write or speak freely.

"A Sister, dipped in blood."

Chapter 2, page 19

Offred talking about her appearance.

- Like a nun, ironic since sexual activity is now her main purpose. Religious sorority idea here.

- Blood paradoxically suggests both death and fertility

- Dynamic verb 'dipped' suggests that the other half of their appearance (White wings) is pure/simple.

"I hunger to commit the act of touch"

Chapter 2, page 19

Offred envying Rita's bread making.

- Verb 'commit' makes the act of touch seem (ridiculously) illegal- which it is in Gilead.

- 'Hunger' suggests that the act is vital for life.

"The Marthas are not supposed to fraternize with us."

“Fratenize means to behave like a brother.”

Chapter 2, page 27

Offred talking about the Marthas.

- The verb 'fraternize' means to demonstrate brotherhood, and the fact that there is not a female alternative for this word shows sexism and hierarchy in language. The handmaids are constantly dehumanized.

"They can hit us, there's Scriptural precedent."

Chapter 3, page 31

Offred talking about the Wife's rights.

- The idea that there must be Scripture to legitimize everything shows how limited Gilead is as a society.

- Theme of religion overarching everything.

Corruption of religion

"He's too casual, he's not servile enough."

Chapter 4,

Offred talking about Nick.

- The idea of silent rebellion in that Nick has a slight bit more personality/deviates from the set idea of his job.

- Adverb 'too' further insinuates that there is a set idea for Nick's role too: men too lose out in Gilead.

"Think of yourselves as seeds."

Chapter 4: Aunt Lydia to the girls in the Red Centre (remembered by Offred)

- Reference to the parable of the sower showing religion overarching every teaching- indoctrination.

- Recurring symbol of fruitfulness and fertility. Aunt Lydia uses this metaphor to emphasize the importance of obedience and submission to Gilead's ideals, framing their roles as essential for reproduction and survival.

"The truth is she is my spy, as I am hers."

Chapter 4: Offred about Ofglen.

- The idea of shared responsibility and of also pitting women against each other to achieve indoctrination.

- Theme of surveillance

"Even if it's false news, it must mean something."

Chapter 4

Offred about Ofglen's conversation.

- The power of knowledge is stripped from the Handmaids and so they enjoy any knowledge they can have- the idea of censorship and false news being a means of propaganda, and how they don't care as long as it's news.

"I enjoy the power; power of a dog bone, passive but there."

Chapter 4

Offred's encounter with the guards.

- Offred's power is shown to be hugely held in her sexuality here- as simply eye contact with the guards empowers her.

- The men of Gilead are likened to dogs, who are simply and enticed by small treats just as this.

Even the smallest gestures evoke power dynamics

Hope for Offred

"Doubled, I walk the street."

Chapter 5: Offred's status.

- The recurring motif of doubles

- The Handmaid's individualism is stripped of them and they are not together, but instead 'Doubled'- they look the same.

"Now you are being given freedom from."

Chapter 5

Aunt Lydia on freedom.

- The idea of negative freedom and freedom from constraints is preferred over positive freedom for the Handmaids- the illusion of freedom from constraint.

"Now places are known by their signs alone"

Chapter 5

Offred on shops.

- The Handmaid's are not permitted reading- they are treated like illiterate children.

- They lose their power of language.

- Idea of 'Now and Then'- their new reality is constantly compared to the past.

Idea about language - you have the sign (word) + the signified (what it actually means)

The Handmaid’s still have shops, but what shops means has completely changed etc etc

Ferdinand de Saussure - semiotics.

"She's a magic presence to us, an object of envy and desire, we covet her."

Chapter 5

Offred on Janine's pregnancy

- Pregnancy is described by them as 'magic'- this replaces the old norm of magic as a spectacular concept and shows that the old impossible is now the new impossible- pregnancy.

Seven deadly sins - envy, desire, covet.

Any want or desire is presented as sinful.

"What you must be, girls, is impenetrable."

Chapter 5

Aunt Lydia to the girls about how to behave in public. Japanese tourists scene.

- Atwood uses irony here, as all the women will undergo rape, yet are told to be impenetrable.

- The patronising term 'girls' is used to treat them as children learning in a school. The women of Gilead are reminded always of their inferiority. Repulsive - the women’s whole purpose is now to reproduce, so using girls - horrible.

Some of the Handmaids will be under 18 - vile.

"It's only the more recent history that offends them."

Chapter 6

Offred about how Gilead hasn't removed the old churches or graveyards.

- The hypocritical 'pick and choose' nature of this religious totalitarian state.

Atavism- Gilead- Puritan era

Atwood has said that anything mentioned in the novel is real, jarring because these images are real.

Church - Museum: ironic as the entire regime is Theocratic.

"The men look like dolls […] like scarecrows."

Chapter 6

Offred about the men on the Wall.

- The simile of the doll/scarecrow is used here to show that humanity is reduced in Gilead and that those who disobey the system are appearing dehumanized.

- Scarecrows scare off crows, much like these executed people scare off wrongdoers.

"Luke wasn't a doctor. Isn't"

Chapter 6

Offred on Luke.

- The theme of memory is presented here, and how Offred finds it difficult to remain associated with a past life that is now so different.

"parts of womens bodies, turning to black ash in the air, before my eyes."

Chapter 7

Offred recalling the burning of the porn magazines in the park with her mother.

Making us think about now, how dehumanising society treat women.

Porn being reduced to nothing.

We are already objectifying women - before Gilead. Oversexualising

"if it's a story im telling, I have control over the ending."

... "Writing is in any case forbidden."

Chapter 7

Offred on her narrative.

- Metanarrative is introduced here: Offred is an unreliable narrator and makes this known.

- The power of language is shown here: Offred communicates that the power of narrative is a huge privilege to be exercised.

Story/ fantasy - where there is fantasy, there is hope. It is all they have to hold onto.

In the end, she never had control over this story. The men have edited it, put it together.

"The good weather holds. It's almost like June"

Chapter 8

Offred on her day.

- The clever double entendre here between Offred's speculated original name and the season.

- Offred's probable name (June) is placed behind the view of the weather: The power of having a name is a memory much like a beautiful day.

"The tulips along the border are redder than ever, opening, no longer winecups but chalices; thrusting themselves up, to what end? They are, after all, empty."

Chapter 8

about Serena Joy's garden.

- The recurring symbol of flowers is used to communicate fertility and female sexuality. Serena's garden is used often to communicate her fertility.

- Offred's subtle indoctrination is shown here by her view of Serena's garden hiding her view of Serena's fertility: she finds herself almost mocking her.

"I would like to have a knife like that."

Chapter 8

about Rita's cooking knife.

- The Handmaids cannot have possessions, and Offred's desperation for a possession shows in that she badly wants to own a knife; her violent rebellious side shows.

"My room then. There has to be some space finally, that I claim as mine, even in this time."

Chapter 9

about Offred's room.

- Virginia Woolf's 'room of one's own' is nodded to by Atwood lots in the novel- the dehumanization of not having personal space is detrimental to Offred.

- Furthermore, this scene shows that Offred begins to accept Handmaid as part of her identity, where before she refused to use possessive pronoun 'my'

"I have them, these attacks of the past, like faintness, a wave sweeping over my head."

Chapter 9

Offred on her memory.

- Offred's will to survive is more driven by self-preservation than hope for the future.

- Flashbacks likened to medical faintness- they have a physical impact on her every day.

- Metaphor 'wave' implies that she would rather drown in her memories than associate with the present.

"It pleases me to think I'm communing with her, this unknown woman."

Chapter 9

Offred on the message in wardrobe.

- Verb 'communing' here gives the image of self-sufficient cohabitation- they almost live together.

- The very small liberty of freedom of communication here is enough to keep Offred happy. Power of language.

Offred gets her hope through communication - between women telling each other their stories. The “unknown woman” isn’t even there, fantastical hope.

"She knows there must be a grapevine, an underground of sorts."

Chapter 9

Offred on the female servants.

- The noun 'grapevine' may suggest that the servant women still find their situation to be the 'fruit' of the vine- in other words comfort in their complicity.

- The biblical story: Jesus said 'I am the vine'- alluding to the fact that Jesus would have supported this rebellion. The religious hypocrisy of Gilead.

"I'm like a child here, there are some things I must not be told."

Chapter 9

Offred on Rita not telling her about the previous Handmaid.

- Offred is infantilized by the other women of the house, lack of sisterhood.

- She is forced to undergo institutionalized rape, which is ironic for somebody treated like a child!

"We lived, as usual, by ignoring. Ignoring isn't the same as Ignorance, you have to work at it."

Chapter 10

Offred on how they stay sane.

- Atwood communicates that Gilead begun through wilful ignorance and complacency.

- Imperative 'have to' warns against complacency.

"I don't feel like being kind."

Chapter 10

Offred on the Cmdr's appearance.

- The expectation of a woman to be nice and kind is rooted in patriarchy, shown here.

- Offred's small rebellion lies in her internal thoughts like these. She rebels against the patriarchy mentally.

"Faith is only a word, embroidered."

Chapter 46, page 304

Offred on Faith Cushion:

Themes of power, Faith, control, language.

- Noun 'faith' is supposed to be at the heart of Gilead but it is exposed as a facade through verb 'embroidered'- faith is a cover for a society about power

- Religious doctrine is manipulated to fit the wider purposes of fundamentalist regimes. Contextual link to atavistic puritanism and how religion covered that up.

- structurally it is at the end of the novel, signposting again that Offred is not a believer.

disregarding the idea of faith - meant to theocratic - but its just like a story we tell ourselves, no more true than a fantasy.

'Habits are hard to break' Chapter 3

pun meaning dress or a repeated behaviour. The Handmaid have to constantly wear the long red dress and carry out the same routine for example- the shopping trips.

'Waste not want not. I am not being wasted. Why do I want?

Offred feels like she is the leftovers being used up to avoid wasting a fertile body like hers.

'I am a reproach to her; and a necessity.'

Shows the lack of self-worth that the Handmaids have. Offred is both disliked and vital for change and survival. In this context, Offred is only at Serena Joy's house because of her fertile body with which she can give Serena Joy a child.

'Nobody dies from lack of sex. It's lack of love we die from.' Chapter 7

This shows that love is an intrinsic part of life and survival that Gilead lacks. Even though the women have sex, they do not enjoy it but they have to do it for reproductive purposes.

'The night is mine, my own time, to do with as I will, as long as I am quiet.' Chapter 7

Offred takes advantage of the time she has to herself at night to reminisce on her past to restore some of the memories. The night is the only thing in her life that she "owns" or has any sort of control over.

'We lived, as usual, by ignoring. Ignoring isn't the same as ignorance. You have to work at it.' pg 66

Not paying attention to something and not acknowledging something is different to not knowing it is there or it is happening. People who 'ignore' become complacent. The Aunts ignored feminism, they represent the anti-feminists, along with Serena Joy who represents Phyllis Schlafly in the book who was massively opposed to feminism championing the conservative beliefs of Reagan's administration.

'My room, then. There has to be some space, finally, that I claim as mine' Chapter 9

The idea that Offred can something she can call hers seems to be essential to her sanity. She needs a place to herself where she can think and hope by herself, remembering her life before.

'I ought to feel hatred for this man... I don't know what to call it. It isn't love.' Chapter 9

Offred defines her feelings towards the Commander as things they are not. Her feelings do not include 'love'. She does not feel hatred to him but she thinks she should because of the regime, but she does not want to love him either.

'Give me children or else I die' Chapter 11

Rachel's words from Genesis 30: 1-3. This is a biblical quotation linking to the story of Rachel and Leah, who were sisters married to Jacob. Leah had her own children by Jacob but Rachel could not, therefore, she got her "handmaid" Bilhah to conceive a child by Jacob for her.

'I put my face against the soft hair at the back of her neck and I breathe her in.'- Chapter 12

A vivid image of Offred's daughter is being described here. This shows that her daughter is always in her thoughts so much so that Offred never feels inclined to state her name or explain who she is.

'The commander is the head of the household. The house is what he holds.' Chapter 14

The Commander is at the top of this hierarchy. The house is his to hold until death separates him from it.

'This is not recreation, even for the Commander. This is serious business. The Commander, too, is doing his duty' Chapter 16, page 105

The Commander is not taking part in the ceremony to enjoy himself, he is also there to do his job and help re-populate the country.

'Which is it worse for, her or me?' Chapter 16 page 106

Offred questions whether the experience of the ceremony is worse for her because she is the one that has to participate physically in the action and not by choice or whether Serena Joy is worse off because she has to watch and endure Offred having sexual intercourse with her husband.

'I believe in all of them, all three versions of Luke.' Chapter 18

Offred believes that Luke is still a father to their child, a son and a holy ghost who is with her in spirit.

“Moira was our fantasy […] she was the lava beneath the crust of life”

Chapter 22, page 143

Hope, Oppression, fantasy v reality, power of story telling

Themes of hope and oppression, Moira = symbol of unattainable aspirations ('fantasy') and a source of underlying strength ('lava beneath the crust') in a harsh reality.

Moira's existence serving as a reminder of both the pain of their reality and the potential for escape or change.

'She was my oldest friend. Is.' Chapter 28

The switch from past tense shows us that Offred does not want to let the regime change some of the most important things she had in her life before she became a Handmaid. Moira, her old college friend is one of them, the tense change emphasises this. We also see the same tense change when Offred talks about Luke.

'I am only a shadow now, far back behind the shiny surface of this photograph.' Chapter 34

Offred understands that she will never know what is happening in her daughter's life, she is a 'shadow' unable to physically observe her child and watch her grow. She has only a picture of her.

'I tell him my real name.' Chapter 41

The only person Offred reveals her name to is Nick. After she begins her affair with him she begins to trust him. After every time they have sex she sits and tells him everything about herself.