2.14.1
Chapter 41
Chapter 41 - Summary and Key Quotations
Chapter 41 - Summary and Key Quotations
Offred says that she has continued to have sexual liaisons with Nick. Serena Joy doesn't know about this.
Offred's feelings around Nick
Offred's feelings around Nick
- Offred feels content with Nick. She has shared her real name with him during their lovemaking sessions.
- She feels unfaithful to Luke. But the warmth and companionship she feels when she's with Nick is too strong for her to end this risky relationship.
- The reader notices that Offred has started to feel complacent in her role as Handmaid. She no longer wishes for escape or rebellion because of her connection with Nick.
"Salvaging" and puns
"Salvaging" and puns
- "Salvaging"
- In the Philippines, this word describes being executed without trial - the opposite of the usual connotations of ‘salvaging' (saving).
- "I tell, therefore you are"
- These words originate from Descartes, a 17th-century French philosopher. He realised that, as he was thinking about existence, he must exist.
- "So I will myself to go on"
- A pun - Offred is describing the effort of telling a story about her own debauchery.
"Real name... Freedom"
"Real name... Freedom"
- "I tell him my real name and feel that therefore I am known"
- Names are such an important aspect of identity that Gilead takes away names and Handmaids are just Of(Commander) + their tattooed number.
- Offred feels more like she's an actual person when she tells Nick her proper name.
- "I no longer want to leave, escape, cross the border to freedom"
- This goes back to the idea of context determining everything. Freedom means different things to Offred at different times.
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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