2.4.4
Chapter 11
Chapter 11 - Summary and Key Quotations
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.
The doctor's proposition
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.
"Sterile"
"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.
Key quotations
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.
Key quotations (cont.)
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.
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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