2.15.1
Chapter 46
Chapter 46 - Summary and Key Quotations
Chapter 46 - Summary and Key Quotations
After finding out about Ofglen's death and Serena Joy's revelation, Offred is sat in her room, thinking.
Nick storms Offred's room
Nick storms Offred's room
- Offred thinks her fate is similar to that of her predecessor, who committed suicide. She counts her as her "double".
- When there is a break in the text, Offred says that she hears a van pull up outside. She expects to see strangers, working as Eyes, storm into the room to arrest her. Instead, Nick enters, dressed in uniform.
Nick come to 'save' Offred
Nick come to 'save' Offred
- At first, she thinks she has been betrayed by him.
- But then he calls her by her real name and mentions Mayday. He says that they have come to save her.
- She is led away, seemingly in disgrace, to a van where she wonders whether she really is going to be saved or whether this "is my end".
- She steps into the darkness of the van to be taken away.
"Our misery... real name"
"Our misery... real name"
- "To put her out of her misery ... out of our misery"
- Offred sees parallels between hers and Serena Joy's dire lives.
- "My real name. Why should this mean anything?"
- Offred cherishes her "real name" as a way of keeping her identity. This cliffhanger ending means we don't know whether Nick has used Offred's real name to betray or save her.
"Darkness... the light"
"Darkness... the light"
- "And so I step up, into the darkness within, or else the light"
- Atwood ends on a dramatic cliffhanger. We are left to decide for ourselves whether Offred has met her end or found freedom.
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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