2.12.6

Chapter 36

Test yourself

Chapter 36 - Summary and Key Quotations

Offred is back with the Commander who has been drinking again. Offred is given a tacky outfit made of feathers and sequins to wear, which would be illegal by Gilead standards.

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"Evening rental"

  • Offred is given some makeup which is also contraband.
  • The Commander sneaks Offred out of the house. She is hidden by Serena Joy's blue cloak. He whisks her away in his car, chauffeur driven by Nick.
  • They end up in an alley behind a building and Nick arranges to meet them later to take them home.
  • They get out of the car and the Commander tells Offred that she is an "evening rental".
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"Feathers... Freedom..."

  • "A handful of feathers … cups … covered in purple sequins"
    • A similar outfit features in another of Atwood's novels, Year of the Flood. It's worn by women who work in 'Scales and Tails' – another nightclub/brothel.
    • Atwood is clearly concerned by the exploitation of ladies who work in such establishments.
  • "Freedom … is relative"
    • Offred's life is so restrained that even minor rebellions give her pleasure.
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"A tag"

  • "He slips around my wrist a tag … ‘an evening rental'"
    • The Aunts claim that women are admired in the state. But in places like Jezebel's they are like commodities that can be bought/sold.

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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