2.12.2

Chapter 32

Test yourself

Chapter 32 - Summary and Key Quotations

Rita gives Offred a match to light her cigarette. Offred wonders whether she should enjoy smoking a cigarette or whether she should use the match to burn down the house.

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Commander opens up

  • Offred spends more time with the Commander. He begins to relax more and drink alcohol. This leads to him being freer in what he discusses.
  • He tells Offred that society changed because of women's financial independence. He says that it made men feel belittled and emasculated when women had jobs and were economically independent of men.
  • He says stopping women from working and making them financially dependent made women more sexually attractive to men.
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"Buried" in life

  • After their meeting, Offred lies in bed staring at the ceiling where a chandelier used to hang.
  • She wonders whether her predecessor is safer in death then she is alive. She says that she feels "buried" in life.
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Key quotations

  • "He's way up there"
    • The Commander is among the most influential people in Gilead.
  • "What I think doesn't matter"
    • Offred knows the Commander doesn't care about her opinion. He simply wants confirmation that the creators of Gilead were correct.
  • "Better never means better for everyone"
    • The Commander tries to justify the Gilead regime.

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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