2.4.3
Chapter 10
Chapter 10 - Summary and Key Quotations
Chapter 10 - Summary and Key Quotations
Offred says that most popular songs have become illegal in Gilead. She remembers lyrics to songs she used to sing. She reminisces about her previous life and her college days with Moira.
Aunt Lydia's sermon
Aunt Lydia's sermon
- Her memories of sexual freedom blend with a sermon from Aunt Lydia about how sexual liberation only brought sin.
- Offred wonders whether her past ignorance is why somewhere like Gilead was able to be created.
FAITH and desire to prank
FAITH and desire to prank
- Back in the room, she comments on how the only word she is allowed to read is FAITH, which is embroidered on a cushion in her room.
- She looks out of the window and sees the Commander stepping into a car, driven by Nick. She thinks back to the pranks she and Moira used to play in college and rebelliously wishes she had a water balloon to throw down on the Commander.
- She also realises she is curious about the Commander and feels "complicated" emotions towards him.
Key quotations
Key quotations
- "The spectacles women used to make of themselves"
- Aunt Lydia speaks out against sexual liberation.
- "We lived in the blank white spaces at the edge of the print"
- Offred, Moira, etc. lived in the margins of society. They didn't recognise themselves in the people they saw in the newspapers.
- "I ought to feel hatred for this man. I know I ought to feel it, but it isn"t what I feel"
- Offred's complex feelings for the Commander.
Key quotations (cont.)
Key quotations (cont.)
- "FAITH. It is the only thing they have given me to read"
- This reflects the tight control Gilead has over language.
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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