Handmaid's Tale quotes

Question 1

“Everything except the wings….”

Answer 1

“Everything except the wings around my face is red: the colour of blood which defines us. (Page 18)

Question 2

“A Sister

Answer 2

“A Sister, dipped in blood.” (page 19)

Question 3

“[The bathroom] is papered in small blue flowers

Answer 3

“[The bathroom] is papered in small blue flowers, forget-me-nots, with curtains to match. There’s a blue bath mat, a blue fake-fur cover of the toilet seat..” (page 72)

Question 4

“She’s in one of the best dresses

Answer 4

“She’s in one of the best dresses, sky-blue with embroidery in white along the edges of the veil: flowers and fretwork.” (page 91)

Question 5

“Her dress is crisp cool cotton. For her

Answer 5

“Her dress is crisp cool cotton. For her it’s blue, watercolour, not this red of mine that sucks in heat and blazes with it at the same time.” (page 213)

Question 6

“The sun is out, in the sky there are

Answer 6

“The sun is out, in the sky there are white fluffy clouds …Given our wings, it’s hard to look up, hard to get a full view, of the sky, of anything.” (page 40)

Question 7

“…the tulips red,

Answer 7

“ The tulips are red, a darker crimson towards the stem; as if they had been cut and are beginning to heal there.” (Page 22)

Question 8

(about the white bags on Wall, one with blood on it): “The red of the smile

Answer 8

(about the white bags on Wall, one with blood on it): “The red of the smile is the same as the red of the tulips in Serena Joy’s garden, towards the base of the flower where they are beginning to heal.” (page 40)

Question 9

“The tulips along the border are redder than ever,

Answer 9

“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.” (page 55)

Question 10

“Even at her age she still feels the urge to

Answer 10

“Even at her age she still feels the urge to wreathe herself in flowers. No use for you…. you can’t use them anymore, you’re withered. They’re the genital organs of plants.” (page 91)

Question 11

“Was it….. kamikaze, committed on the

Answer 11

“Was it….. kamikaze, committed on the swelling genitalia of the flowers? The fruiting body.” (page 161)

Question 12

“No new system can impose itself upon a

Answer 12

“No new system can impose itself upon a previous one without incorporating many of the elements to be found in the latter.” (page 317)

Question 13

“Every month there is a

Answer 13

“Every month there is a moon, gigantic, round, heavy, an omen.” (page 108)

Question 14

“The Eyes of God

Answer 14

“The Eyes of God run over all the Earth.” (Page 203)

Question 15

“They touch with their eyes instead and I

Answer 15

“They touch with their eyes instead and I move my hips a little, feeling the full red skirt around me…I am ashamed at myself for doing it… Then I find I’m not ashamed after all. I enjoy the power; power of a dog bone, passive but there.” (page 32)

Question 16

“I would like to take some small thing …

Answer 16

“I would like to take some small thing … a dried flower … Every once in a while I would take it out and look at it. It would make me feel that have power.” (page 90)

Question 17

“But remember that forgiveness is a

Answer 17

“But remember that forgiveness is a power. To beg for it is a power, and to withhold or bestow it is a power, perhaps the greatest.” (page 144)

Question 18

“I now had a power over her,

Answer 18

“I now had a power over her, of a kind, although she didn’t know it. And I enjoyed that. Why pretend? I enjoyed it a lot.” (page 171)

Question 19

“I could burn the house down. Such a

Answer 19

“I could burn the house down. Such a fine thought, it makes me shiver. An escape, quick and narrow.” (page 220)

Question 20

“There must be something he wants from me.

Answer 20

“There must be something he wants from me. To want is to have a weakness. It’s this weakness, whatever it is, that entices me… I want to know what he wants.” (page 146)

Question 21

“He was no longer

Answer 21

“He was no longer a thing to me. That was the problem.” (page 170)

Question 22

“Things have changed. I have something on him, now

Answer 22

“Things have changed. I have something on him, now. What I have on him is the possibility of my own death. What I have on him is his guilt. At last.” (page 198

Question 23

“possibly he will be a

Answer 23

“Possibly he will be a security risk, now. I am above him, looking down; he is shrinking.” (page 306)

Question 24

[about playing Scrabble] “Now it’s forbidden, for us.

Answer 24

[about playing Scrabble] “Now it’s forbidden, for us. Now it’s dangerous. Now it’s indecent.. Now it’s desirable.” (page 149)

Question 25

[Talking about the Vogue magazine] “What’s dangerous in the hands of the multitudes,

Answer 25

[Talking about the Vogue magazine] “What’s dangerous in the hands of the multitudes, he said, with what may or may not have been irony, is safe for those whose motives are… Beyond reproach, I said.” (page 161)

Question 26

“The pen between my fingers is

Answer 26

“The pen between my fingers is sensuous, alive almost, I can feel its power, the power of the words it contains.” (page 196)

Question 27

“Women were not protected then … Now

Answer 27

“Women were not protected then … Now ... no man shouts obscenities at us, speaks to us, touches us ...There is more than one kind of freedom. Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don’t underrate it.” (page 34)

Question 28

“A rat in a maze is

Answer 28

“A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze.” (page 174)

Question 29

“As the architects of Gilead knew,

Answer 29

“As the architects of Gilead knew, to institute an effective totalitarian system .. you must offer some benefits and freedoms, at least to a privileged few, in return for those you remove.” (page 320)

Question 30

“There were marches, of course, a

Answer 30

“There were marches, of course, a lot of women and some men. But they were smaller than you might have thought. I guess people were scared …. I didn’t go on any of the marches.” (page 189)

Question 31

“Each thing is valid and really there

Answer 31

“Each thing is valid and really there. It is through this field of such valid objects that I must pick my way, every day and in every way. I put a lot of effort into making such distinctions.. I need to be very clear in my own mind.” (page 40)

Question 32

“My nakedness is strange to

Answer 32

“My nakedness is strange to me already ...I avoid looking down at my body.. I don’t want to look at something that determines me so completely.” (page 72)

Question 33

“My name isn’t Offred, I have

Answer 33

“My name isn’t Offred, I have another name, which nobody uses now because it’s forbidden. I tell myself it doesn’t matter… but what I tell myself is wrong, it does matter.” (page 94)

Question 34

“One and one and one and one doesn’t equal

Answer 34

“One and one and one and one doesn’t equal four. Each one remains unique, there is no way of joining them together. (page 201)

Question 35

“Like other things now, thought must be

Answer 35

“Like other things now, thought must be rationed...Thinking can hurt your chances, and I intend to last.” (page 17)

Question 36

“If I ever get out of here - Let’s stop there

Answer 36

“If I ever get out of here - Let’s stop there. I intend to get out of here.” (page 144)

Question 37

“I freeze, cold travels through me, down to my feet.

Answer 37

“I freeze, cold travels through me, down to my feet. There must have been microphones, they’ve heard us after all… What I feel is relief. It wasn’t me.” (page 178)

Question 38

“I want gallantry from

Answer 38

“I want gallantry from [Moira], swashbuckling heroism, single-handed combat. Something I lack.” (page 260)

Question 39

“Keep your head down, I used to

Answer 39

“Keep your head down, I used to tell myself, and see it through.” (page 297)

Question 40

“The stains on the mattress. Like

Answer 40

“The stains on the mattress. Like dried flower petals. Not recent. Old love; there’s no other kind of love in the room now.” (page 61)

Question 41

“As long as we do this, butter

Answer 41

“As long as we do this, butter our skin to keep it soft, we can believe that we will some day get out, that we will be touched again, in love or desire.” (page 107)

Question 42

“Nobody dies from lack of

Answer 42

“Nobody dies from lack of sex. It’s lack of love we die from.” (page 113)

Question 43

“What did we overlook?

Answer 43

“What did we overlook? Love, I say.” (page 231)

Question 44

“Arranged marriages have always worked out

Answer 44

“Arranged marriages have always worked out just as well, it not better …… Love is not the point … All we’ve done is return things to Nature’s norms.” (page 232)