Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - Summary

Offred enters the old University town with her double, Ofglen, and realises that this is where she used to live with her husband Luke and her child before the creation of the Republic of Gilead.

Econowives

Offred thinks about her past and all the freedoms she used to take for granted.
She comments on seeing Marthas and widows in the street but also Econowives, who wear red/blue/green striped cheap dresses and have to perform all the functions of the other women in Gilead but for men who are of a lower status than Commanders.

Is Gilead more "safe"?

Offred thinks about a time in past society when women wore different clothes and were afraid of being attacked by men.
She wonders whether Gilead, where life for women has been made more "safe", really does offer more freedom than life before.
The reader then learns Gilead's peculiar names for shops - each one is a reference to the Bible.
There's the Lilies of the Field, the shop where Handmaids buy their "habits" (dresses) and which Offred remembers used to be a cinema.

Milk and Honey and oranges

Offred and Ofglen go into Milk and Honey, the grocery store. Offred notices that there are oranges available. This suggests that there must be a form of rationing in Gilead for certain foods.
She sees many Handmaids and Guardians in there and wishes she could catch a glimpse of her old friend Moira.

Commotion - pregnant Handmaid

A commotion is caused by a pregnant Handmaid entering the shop. This causes the other women to feel a lot of jealousy and bitterness.
Offred realises that the pregnant woman, who goes by the patronym of Ofwarren, is the woman she met in the Red centre called Janine.
Offred and Ofglen then go into All Flesh, the butchers, and buy meat which is very expensive and a luxury item in Gilead.

Japanese tourists

As they leave All Flesh, they bump into a group of Japanese tourists who ask for a photo of the Handmaids and ask if they are happy, through a translator.
Offred seems mesmerized by the clothing that the Japanese ladies wear, commenting on how sexually provocative their clothes are compared with the clothing worn by the Handmaids.
She refers to their clothing style as "Westernised" and seems shocked by how provocative and indecent it seems.

Offred answers the question

Offred answers the tourists' question with "Yes, we are very happy" because she says to the reader "What else can I say?"

Chapter 5 - Key Quotations

Here are five key quotations from Chapter 5:

"Doubled, I walk the street"

"Freedom to and freedom from"

According to Aunt Lydia, 'freedom to' is the kind of freedom the Handmaids had before the creation of Gilead, where women were raped and harassed.
The Aunt advocates freedom from instead. This means freedom from all those negative things. This idea presents Gilead as a kind of salvation for these women.

"We were a society dying...

"We were a society dying, said Aunt Lydia, of too much choice"
- Aunt Lydia suggests that too much choice leads to people making the wrong decisions (i.e. giving in to debauchery and sin).

"...an object of envy..."

"She's a magic presence to us, an object of envy and desire, we covet her"
- The women are talking about Ofwarren, who is pregnant.
- The women can only save themselves from death by becoming pregnant.

"...taken so little time..."

"We are fascinated, but also repelled. They seem undressed. It has taken so little time to change our minds, about things like this"

Offred is talking about the provactive appearance of the Japanese tourists.

1Author Background

1.1Margaret Atwood

1.1.1Margaret Atwood

2Chapter Summaries

2.1Chapter 1: Night I

2.1.1Chapter 1

2.2Chapters 2-6: Shopping II

2.2.1Chapter 2

2.2.2Chapter 3

2.2.3Chapter 4

2.2.4Chapter 5

2.2.5Chapter 6

2.3Chapter 7: Night II

2.3.1Chapter 7

2.4Chapters 8-12: Waiting Room IV

2.4.1Chapter 8

2.4.2Chapter 9

2.4.3Chapter 10

2.4.4Chapter 11

2.4.5Chapter 12

2.5Chapter 13: Nap V

2.5.1Chapter 13

2.6Chapters 14-17: Household VI

2.6.1Chapter 14

2.6.2Chapter 15

2.6.3Chapter 16

2.6.4Chapter 17

2.7Chapter 18: Night VII

2.7.1Chapter 18

2.8Chapters 19-23: Birth Day VIII

2.8.1Chapter 19

2.8.2Chapter 20

2.8.3Chapter 21

2.8.4Chapter 22

2.8.5Chapter 23

2.9Chapter 24: Night IX

2.9.1Chapter 24

2.10Chapters 25-29: Soul Scrolls X

2.10.1Chapter 25

2.10.2Chapter 26

2.10.3Chapter 27

2.10.4Chapter 28

2.10.5Chapter 29

2.11Chapter 30: Night XI

2.11.1Chapter 30

2.12Chapters 31-39: Jezebel's XII

2.12.1Chapter 31

2.12.2Chapter 32

2.12.3Chapter 33

2.12.4Chapter 34

2.12.5Chapter 35

2.12.6Chapter 36

2.12.7Chapter 37

2.12.8Chapter 38

2.12.9Chapter 39

2.13Chapter 40: Night XIII

2.13.1Chapter 40

2.14Chapters 41-45: Salvaging XIV

2.14.1Chapter 41

2.14.2Chapter 42

2.14.3Chapter 43

2.14.4Chapter 44

2.14.5Chapter 45

2.15Chapter 46: Night XV

2.15.1Chapter 46

2.16Historical Notes

2.16.1Historical Notes

3Dedications & Epigraph

3.1Dedications & Epigraph

3.1.1Dedications

3.1.2Epigraph

4Context

4.1Setting

4.1.1Setting

4.2Literary Context & Genre

4.2.1The Canterbury Tales & The Scarlet Letter

4.2.2Links to Dystopian Fiction

4.3Political Context

4.3.1Berlin & Iran

4.3.2The New Right in America

4.4Historical Context

4.4.1Puritan New England

4.5Parallels: Read World & Gilead

4.5.1The Underground Femaleroad

4.5.2Children of Ham & Soul Scrolls

4.5.3Offred's Tattoo, Salvaging & Illegal Abortions

4.5.4Unwomen, Colonies & Giving Away Offred's Daughter

4.6Religious Context

4.6.1Religious Context

5Narrative Structure & Literary Techniques

5.1Narrative Structure

5.1.1Narrative Structure

5.2Literary Techniques

5.2.1Literary Techniques

5.2.2Colour Symbolism

6Themes & Imagery

6.1Themes

6.1.1Survival & Language

6.1.2The Female Body

6.2Imagery

6.2.1The Garden & Doubles

7Characters

7.1Female Characters

7.1.1Offred & Moira

7.1.2Offred's Mother, Ofglen & Ofwarren

7.1.3Serena Joy & Aunt Lydia

7.2Male Characters

7.2.1The Commander

7.2.2Nick & Luke

8Readings

8.1Readings of The Handmaid's Tale

8.1.1Eco-Criticism

8.1.2Complacency

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