2.10.2

Chapter 26

Test yourself

Chapter 26 - Summary and Key Quotations

The next Ceremony date comes around. Offred admits that, because of her secret scrabble meetings with the Commander, she now feels more self-conscious when he is having sex with him in front of Serena Joy.

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The Commander's mistress

  • Offred thinks back to the film about the SS Officer. She feels like she is now the Commander's mistress.
  • Even though she is just being used for her fertility, Offred feels like she is now worth more to the Commander because of their secret meetings, which makes her feel a slight sense of happiness.
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Key quotations

  • "I also felt guilty about her. I felt I was an intruder, in a territory that ought to have been hers.”
    • Offred's guilt is about Serena Joy's position as the Wife during sex.
  • "From the way I was speaking to him"
    • Offred is breaking out of what has been a predominantly silent state up to this point.
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Key quotations (cont.)

  • "To him I am not merely empty"
    • Offred's relationship with the Commander has changed drastically. She is regaining some self-worth and individuality.

Jump to other topics

1Author Background

1.1Margaret Atwood

2Chapter Summaries

3Dedications & Epigraph

3.1Dedications & Epigraph

4Context

5Narrative Structure & Literary Techniques

6Themes & Imagery

7Characters

8Readings

8.1Readings of The Handmaid's Tale

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