'The Handmaid's Tale' OBH's Flashcards
“Better never mean better for everyone…
… It always means worse for some”
–> Commander acknowledges that a powerful state regime brings inequalities
Offer’s description of Handmaids - breeding
“two-legged wombs”
“I used to think of my body as an instrument, of pleasure…
…Now the flesh arranges itself differently. I’m a cloud, congealed around a central object”
“perhaps he was merely being friendly…
…Perhaps he is an eye”
“Under his eye”
Typical goodbye of the Handmaids, shows someone (Guardian, Commander, Handmaid, God) is always watching –> surveillance
“They can hit us…
…there’s Scriptural precedence”
- theocratic regime
“The Eyes of God…
…run over all the earth”
- connotes omnipotent and omnipresence
“I am a….
…national resource”
“Her fault, her fault…
her fault, we chant in unison”
“Each month I watch for blood…
…fearfully, for when it comes it means failure”
“Which of us…
…is it worse for, her or me?”
“They shot the President and machine-gunned congress…
…and the army declared a state of emergency. They blamed it on the Islamic fanatics, at the time”
“Aunt Lydia said it was best not to speak…
…unless they asked you a direct question”
“It’s difficult for me to believe I have power over him,…
…of any sort, but I do; although it’s of an equivocal kind”
“She is looking straight at me.
…We can see into each other’s eyes”
- Shop window - showing truth and reflection
- Their in the window symbolise similarities and their role as equals - able to connect with each other in a world where connections are forbidden:
–> Empowering - they are able to find power with each other
