THT Quotes Flashcards
(40 cards)
Identity and Selfhood
“My name isn’t Offred, I have another name, which nobody uses now because it’s forbidden.”
Sexuality and the Female Body
“We are two-legged wombs, that’s all: sacred vessels, ambulatory chalices.”
Surveillance and Rebellion
“Under His Eye.”
“Freedom, like everything else, is relative.”
Resistance and Memory
“If it’s a story I’m telling, then I have control over the ending”
Language and Storytelling
“A word after a word after a word is power.”
“This is a reconstruction. All of it is a reconstruction.”
Religion as Control
“Blessed be the fruit.”
“God is a National Resource.”
Femininity and Appearance
“Modesty is invisibility… Never forget it. To be seen—to be seen—is to be penetrated.”
“I enjoy the power; power of a dog bone, passive but there.”
Motherhood and Fertility
“We are for breeding purposes.”
“Give me children, or else I die.”
Love and Human Connection
“I ought to feel hatred for this man. I know I ought to feel it, but it isn’t what I do feel.”
“When we think of the past it’s the beautiful things we pick out.”
Who says the quote ‘Nolite te bastardes carborundorum,’ and what does it signify?
Offred reads it. It means ‘Don’t let the bastards grind you down’—a phrase of quiet resistance linking her to the previous Handmaid and showing the power of subversive thought.
What does the Commander mean when he says, ‘Better never means better for everyone… It always means worse, for some’?
It exposes Gilead’s hypocrisy—improvement for some comes at the expense of others, especially women.
What does Offred mean by, ‘We were the people who were not in the papers. We lived in the blank white spaces at the edges of print’?
It highlights how women’s suffering is silenced and erased in Gilead—censorship and marginalization.
What is the meaning behind Offred’s quote, ‘Ignoring isn’t the same as ignorance, you have to work at it’?
A critique of societal complicity—people actively ignored warning signs before Gilead took over.
What does Offred mean when she says, ‘Freedom, like everything else, is relative’?
It reflects on Gilead’s manipulation of ‘freedom,’ trading autonomy for supposed safety and control.
What does Offred reveal with the quote, ‘When we think of the past it’s the beautiful things we pick out’?
It shows nostalgia and selective memory—an attempt to preserve identity and humanity in a repressive world.
What does the greeting ‘Under His Eye’ represent in Gilead?
It reinforces constant religious surveillance and the idea that everyone is being watched.
What does Offred mean by, ‘A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze’?
It critiques the illusion of freedom—choices exist, but only within the boundaries of control.
What does Aunt Lydia mean by, ‘A thing is valued only if it is rare and hard to get’?
She justifies the oppression of women by making fertility sacred and exclusive—reinforcing control.
What is the meaning of Offred’s quote, ‘One and one and one and one doesn’t equal four. Each one remains unique’?
It’s a declaration of individuality—resisting Gilead’s attempt to erase personal identity.
What does Offred imply by saying, ‘We were containers, it’s only the insides of our bodies that are important’?
It reflects dehumanization—women are reduced to their reproductive functions in Gilead.
What does Offred suggest with, ‘This is what you have to do before you kill… create an it’?
It shows how dehumanization is necessary for cruelty—stripping someone of humanity enables violence.
What does Offred mean by, ‘Maybe none of this is about control… but who can do what to whom and be forgiven’?
It suggests the regime is more about unchecked power than ideology—power without accountability.
What does Aunt Lydia imply with, ‘You can’t help what you feel… but you can help how you behave’?
The regime demands emotional repression—controlling women’s responses to maintain order.
What is the significance of Offred saying, ‘I would like to believe this is a story I’m telling’?
It shows how storytelling helps her cope and resist—maintaining identity through narrative.
