2.4.4

Chapter 11

Test yourself

Chapter 11 - Summary and Key Quotations

Offred is taken to visit the doctor. She now has to go every month to check for ovulation and fertility.

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The doctor's proposition

  • She lies on the table and has her head and shoulders sectioned off so the doctor can't see her face.
  • He checks her body for signs of ovulation and then, surprisingly, asks if she wants him to have sex with her to get her pregnant.
  • He tells her she doesn't have long, and Offred considers the offer but is unsure of whether it is a trap or what would happen if she was found out.
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"Sterile"

  • The doctor says that most of the Commanders are "sterile" and Offred is shocked because no men are sterile in Gilead, "officially".
    • This shows how the blame for infertility is firmly placed on the shoulders of women in Gilead.
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Key quotations

  • "It intersects me...he deals only with a torso"
    • The doctor doesn't regard Offred as an individual.
  • "He's said a forbidden word. Sterile".
  • "No such thing as a sterile man"
    • In Gilead, only women can be blamed when couples cannot conceive. This reflects the opinions of some older civilisations - e.g. Jacob criticises Rachel's infertility in the Old Testament.
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Key quotations (cont.)

  • "He could ... report me"
    • The doctor has total control over Offred. She can reject him here, but he could take total control of her by raping her.
  • "Give me children or else I die"
    • This references Genesis 30 when Rachel demands children. In the context of Gilead, die actually means I shall be executed.

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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