Key Quotes #2

Hey guys!

Here are some more key quotes to the novel, they might be useful for essays, orals or just to understand the book. Good luck!

Love, Barbara

1.“Her fault, her fault, her fault, we chant in unison.” (Chapter 13, pg. 82)

Group forming is an important aspect in Gilead, things like the particicutions, the obligatories walks, births, marriages are all preformed in groups. This simply is because group pressure is a very powerful and efficient way to control people. This method is also used in the red centre and it shows how the handmaid’s are ‘trained’ and why the Gilead society is so effective.

2.“I used to think of my body as an instrument, of pleasure, or a means of transportation, or a

implement for the accomplishment of my will.” (Chapter 13, p.83)

This quote is from Chapter 13, when Offred sits in the bath and contrasts the way she used to think about her body to the way she thinks about it now. Offred’s thought show how accepted she has become of Gilead’s attitude toward women, which treats them not as individuals but how they are objectified as a tool to bare children. This quote shows how internalized Offred has become with the society and therefore this quote is very important to the story.

 3.“The fact is that I’m his mistress. Men at the top have always had mistresses, why should things be any different now?”(Chapter 26, p. 172)

On the other hand this is a very controversial quote to the others ones, most of the important quotes are about the changes in the society while this one is about the similarities. It is about Offred realizing she is the Commander’s mistress and I believe this somehow gives her faith as she realizes that there are still things like there used to be. That no matter how much has changed, there are still some clichés left.

4.“Every night when I go to bed I think, In the morning I will wake up in my own house and

things will be back the way they were. It hasn't happened this morning, either.” (Chapter 31, p.209)

Hope is one of the themes throughout the novel and is clearly pictured in this quote. Offred

talks about how hope (and illusion) keep reviving every evening, only to be defeated again

and again by reality. It shows that even in a situation like this people can still believe, dream

and especially hope.

5.“There is something reassuring about the toilets. Bodily functions at least remain democratic. Everybody shits, as Moira would say.” (Chapter 39, pg. 263)

I chose this quote because it might not be the most beautiful quote written throughout the book, however because I thought it had a couple of important function though. First of all it is something which pulls the attention of the reader, because all the language used in the book is poetic and thoughtful, while this quote is quite blank and blunt.Second of all it clearly shows the contrast between Moira and Offred and they’re way of thinking while at the same time the quote is about how similar everybody still is.