2.6.3

Chapter 16

Test yourself

Chapter 16 - Summary and Key Quotations

The ceremony takes place this evening. The Commander tries to impregnate Offred while his wife is on the same bed, "taking part".

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Penetration

  • Offred lies on the bed and has the bottom half of her torso exposed. She lies between the legs of Serena Joy as they hold hands.
  • The Commander then penetrates Offred. She wonders how to feel about this experience.
  • She feels detached from the process. This reflects that it definitely isn't "making love". But she also feels it isn't "rape".
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Serena Joy dismisses Offred

  • When it is over, the Commander swiftly leaves and Serena Joy coldly dismisses Offred.
  • Offred wonders whether it is really Serena Joy who suffers in the process more than she does.
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Key quotations

  • “The rings of her left hand cut into my fingers. It may or may not be revenge.”
  • “Below the Commander is fucking. What he is fucking is the lower part of my body. I do not say making love, because it is not what he's doing. Copulating too would be inaccurate.”
    • Offred uses the explicit and shocking word "fucking" to show how physical and unpassionate this act is.
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Key quotations (cont.)

  • "This is not recreation"
    • There seems to be a pun on the word "recreation" The Commander is not having sex for pleasure; he's trying to make a baby because Gilead needs children to carry on the state.
  • "An improvement on the previous one, who smelled"
    • Women can't choose their sexual partners in Gilead. So their experiences aren't always pleasant.
  • “Which of us is it worse for, her or me?”

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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