2.12.1
Chapter 31
Chapter 31 - Summary and Key Quotations
Chapter 31 - Summary and Key Quotations
As Offred returns from her shopping trip, she sees Nick and receives a sign that the Commander wants to see her again.
Serena Joy's proposition
Serena Joy's proposition
- As she enters the house, she passes Serena Joy who questions if she is pregnant yet. When Offred tells her that she isn't, Serena Joy surprises Offred by claiming that the Commander is probably unable to create a child and suggests that perhaps Offred should sleep with Nick to try to get pregnant.
Serena Joy's offers
Serena Joy's offers
- Unsure of whether this is a test or a trick, Offred agrees to try to keep Serena Joy happy, and, due to her obedience, Serena Joy offers to show Offred a photograph of her daughter and gives her a contraband cigarette to smoke.
Key quotations
Key quotations
- "Jezebel's"
- Jezebel was a depraved Israeli queen who features in the Bible in 1 Kings.
- In The Handmaid's Tale, Jezebel's is a nightclub/brothel. The women in Jezebel's offer men sex and are viewed as corrupt. There is irony in this - they are essentially sex-slaves.
- "September First will be Labour Day"
- An American holiday celebrating employees. Atwood satirises this idea by celebrating women giving birth in Gilead.
Key quotations (cont.)
Key quotations (cont.)
- "They'd throw buns at her"
- Moira is talking about a past time when male undergraduates had difficulty accepting a girl scholar. Offred is taken aback as when she was young, women were treated as equals at University. This shows that Gilead has digressed to a situation where women can't be educated.
- "Something chokes in my throat"
- Offred's brief feelings of ‘collusion' with Serena Joy disappear when she realises that Serena Joy has always known the whereabouts of her child.
1Author Background
1.1Margaret Atwood
2Chapter Summaries
2.1Chapter 1: Night I
2.2Chapters 2-6: Shopping II
2.3Chapter 7: Night II
2.4Chapters 8-12: Waiting Room IV
2.5Chapter 13: Nap V
2.6Chapters 14-17: Household VI
2.7Chapter 18: Night VII
2.8Chapters 19-23: Birth Day VIII
2.9Chapter 24: Night IX
2.10Chapters 25-29: Soul Scrolls X
2.11Chapter 30: Night XI
2.12Chapters 31-39: Jezebel's XII
2.13Chapter 40: Night XIII
2.14Chapters 41-45: Salvaging XIV
2.15Chapter 46: Night XV
2.16Historical Notes
3Dedications & Epigraph
3.1Dedications & Epigraph
4Context
4.1Setting
4.2Literary Context & Genre
4.3Political Context
4.4Historical Context
4.5Parallels: Read World & Gilead
4.6Religious Context
5Narrative Structure & Literary Techniques
5.1Narrative Structure
5.2Literary Techniques
6Themes & Imagery
6.2Imagery
7Characters
7.1Female Characters
7.2Male Characters
8Readings
8.1Readings of The Handmaid's Tale
Jump to other topics
1Author Background
1.1Margaret Atwood
2Chapter Summaries
2.1Chapter 1: Night I
2.2Chapters 2-6: Shopping II
2.3Chapter 7: Night II
2.4Chapters 8-12: Waiting Room IV
2.5Chapter 13: Nap V
2.6Chapters 14-17: Household VI
2.7Chapter 18: Night VII
2.8Chapters 19-23: Birth Day VIII
2.9Chapter 24: Night IX
2.10Chapters 25-29: Soul Scrolls X
2.11Chapter 30: Night XI
2.12Chapters 31-39: Jezebel's XII
2.13Chapter 40: Night XIII
2.14Chapters 41-45: Salvaging XIV
2.15Chapter 46: Night XV
2.16Historical Notes
3Dedications & Epigraph
3.1Dedications & Epigraph
4Context
4.1Setting
4.2Literary Context & Genre
4.3Political Context
4.4Historical Context
4.5Parallels: Read World & Gilead
4.6Religious Context
5Narrative Structure & Literary Techniques
5.1Narrative Structure
5.2Literary Techniques
6Themes & Imagery
6.2Imagery
7Characters
7.1Female Characters
7.2Male Characters
8Readings
8.1Readings of The Handmaid's Tale
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