hm tale quotes

1, feminism, spiky green

mini skirts, then pants, then in one earring, spiky green streaked hair

1, memory, palimpsest

a palimpsest of unheard sound

1, change, US

old ones tat still said US

1, female identity as currency, bodies

something could be exchanged, we thought, some deal made, some trade-off, we still had our bodies. that was our fantasy

1, rebellion, bed to bed

in this way we exchanged names from bed to bed: Alma. Janine. Dolores. Moira. June.

2, Gilead’s principles, traditional

a return to traditional values

2, Gilead’s principles, rope

they’ve removed anything you could tie a rope to

2, ownership, refuse

the room - not my room, I refuse to say my

2, Handmaid’s role, tubes

If I hadn’t of got my tubes tied, it could of been me, say I was ten years younger

2, rebellion, toilet

tantalisingly, It was toilet cleaner she used. Worked like a charm though you’d think he’d of tasted it.

2, sin, hunger

I hunger to commit the act of touch

3, Handmaids’ status, reproach

I am a reproach to her, and a necessity

3, Handmaids’ status, possible

I want to see as little of you as possible

3, marriage, clear

my husband. I want that to be perfectly clear. Til death do us part. It’s final.

3, Handmaids’ status, scriptural

they can hit us, there’s scriptural precedent. but not with any implement. only with their hands.

4, greeting and response

blessed be the fruit. may the lord open

4, handmaids’ role and status, nature

they are supposed to show respect, because of the nature of our service

4, female identity as currency, permitted

I know they’re watching, these two men who aren’t yet permitted to touch women

4, change, shadow

there are no more magazines, no more films, no more substitutes; only me and my shadow

5, change, freedom

you are being given freedom from

5, sin, lettering

where the lettering was painted out, when they decided that even the names of shops were too much temptation for us

5, handmaids’ role, hilltop

she’s a flag on a hilltop, showing us what can still be done: we too can be saved

names of three biblically inspired shops in gilead (chapter 5)

all flesh, milk and honey, lilies of the field

5, change, minds

it has taken so little time to change our minds about things like this

5, woman’s role, penetrated

to be seen is to be - her voice trembled - penetrated

6, Gilead’s principles, retroactive

their crimes are retroactive

6, change, ordinary

this may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will. it will become ordinary

7, language, name

dear you, i’ll say. just you, without a name. attaching a name attaches you to the world of fact which is riskier, more hazardous

7, language, thousands

you can mean more than one. you can mean thousands

8, Ofglen, meek

I resent her meek head, bowed as if into a heavy wind

8, misuse of the Bible, weak

all flesh is weak. all flesh is grass, i corrected her in my head

8, Serena, sanctity

her speeches were about the sanctity of the home, about how women should stay home. serena joy didn’t do this herself

8, wordplay and woman’s role, become

she has become speechless

8, ownership, room

was he in my room? i called it mine.

9, ownership, claim

my room, then. there has to be some space, finally, that I claim as mine, even in this time

9, memory, attacks

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

9, hope, bastardes

nolite te bastardes carborundorum

9, handmaids’ role, child

I am like a child here, there are some things i must not know.

10, change, songs

such songs are not sung anymore in public, especially the ones that use words like free

10, memory, usual

is that how we lived, back then? but we lived as usual

11, separation from the body, torso

it intersects me so that the doctor will never see my face. he deals with a torso only

11, Gilead’s principles, sterile

a forbidden word. sterile. there is no such thing as a sterile man anymore, not officially. there are only women who are barren, that’s the law

11, quote from Genesis (and in the epigrams)

give me children or else I die

11, male power, withdraws

the knowledge of his power hangs nevertheless in the air as he pats my thigh, withdraws behind the hanging sheet

11, hope, terrifies

it’s the choice that terrifies me. a way out, a salvation

12, separation from the body, nakedness

my nakedness is strange to me already

12, separation from the body and gilead’s principles, shameful

my neck, my arms, my thighs and back were on display, could be seen. shameful, immodest

12, misuse of the Bible, inheriting

she didn’t go on to say anything about inheriting the earth

12, handmaids’ role, resource

i am a national resource

12, wordplay and language, compose

my self is now a thing I must compose, as one composes a speech

13, male power, boredom

but maybe boredom is erotic, when women do it, for men

13, separation from the body, pig

I wait, washed, brushed, fed, like a prize pig

13, division amongst women, fault

her fault, we chant in unison

13, division amongst women, despised

for a moment, even though we know what was being done to her, we despised her

13, changing thought, meant

we meant it, which was the bad part

13, separation from the body, instrument

i used to think of my body as an instrument of pleasure, or as a means of transprtation, or an implement for the accomplishment of my will

13, separation from the body and handmaids’ role, cloud

I’m a cloud, congealed around a central object, the size of a pear, which is hard and more real than I am

13, role of the Handmaid, omen

every month there is a moon, gigantic, round, heavy, an omen

14, wordplay, hold

the commander is the head of the household. the house is what he holds. to have and to hold, til death do us part. the hold of a ship. hollow.

14, manipulation, victories

they only show victories, never defeats

14, separation from the body

not mine, but my body’’s, if

14, racism, resettlement

resettlement of the children of ham is continu

15, male power, watched

to be a man, watched by women. It must be entirely strange

15, misuse of the Bible, blessed

blessed are the silent. i knew they made that up, i knew it was wrong, and they left things out too, but there was no way of checking

15, hope, silently

I pray silently: nolite te bastardes carborundorum

15, handmaids’ role, essential

for our purposes, your feet and your hands are not essential

16, separation from body, lower

what he is fucking is the lower part of my body

16, handmaids’ role, rape

nor does rape cover it: nothing is going on here that I haven’t signed up for

16, gilead’s principles and sex, frivolity

arousal and orgasm are no longer thought necessary, they woul be a symptom of frivolity

16, gilead’s principles and sex, duty

this is serious business. the commander, too, is doing his duty

16, separation from the body, one

one detaches oneself, one describes

16, female oppression, worse

which of us is it worse for, her or me?

17, separation from the body and handmaid's’ role, containers

we are containers, it’s only the insides of our bodies that are important

17, intertextuality with Twas The Night Before Christmas, moon

the moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

17, desire, greedy

it’s so good to be touched by someone, to be felt so greedily, to feel so greedy

18, hope, message

it’s this message which may never arrive, that keeps me alive. I believe in this message

19, hope, sanity

sanity is a valuable possession, i hoard it the way people once hoarded money. i save it so i will have enough when the time comes

19, freedom, limits

on this day we can do anything we want. I revise that: within limits

19, gilead’s principles, unbaby

or something else, an unbaby

19, Janine, whiny

that whiny bitch Janine

19, gilead’s principles and religion, wringing

jezebels! scorning god’s gifts! wringing her hands

19, environment, agent

no agent orange in her family

19, division between women and handmaids’ role, choosy

little whores, all of them, but still, you can’t be choosy

20, identity, shorn

shorn of her former name

20, intertextuality with Marx and misuse of the Bible,

from each according to her ability, to each according to his needs

20, gilead’s principles and identity, documentary

an unwoman documentary

20, men’s role in pre-Gilead, ten seconds

what use are they except for ten seconds worth of half babies

20, past, wanting

I want her back. I want everything back, the way it was. but there’s no point to it, this wanting

21, rebellion, looking

the woman next to me says, low in my ear, ‘are you looking for anyone?’

21, freedom, orgies

we too need our orgies

21, role of women, poor

a girl, poor thing

21, division between women, envy

envy radiates from them, i can smell it

21, handmaids’ role, falure

what confronts us now the excitement is over is our own failure

22, storytelling, heard

i heard from alma, who heard it from dolores, who heard it from janine

22, rebellion and moira, dizzy

moira was like an elevator with open sides. she made us dizzy

23, gender, future

if you happen to be a man, sometime in the future and you’ve made it this far, please remember: you will never be subjected to the temptation of feeling you must forgive a man, as a woman

23, role of the Handmaids, ambulatory

we are two-legged wombs, that’s all. ambulatory chalices

23, language, greeting

‘hello’ he says. it’s the old form of greeting

23, postmodern convention and storytelling, reconstruction

that is a reconstruction too

24, identity, viable

I have trouble remembering what I used to look like. I have viable ovaries. I have one more chance