Chapter 19

Chapter 19 - Summary

Offred opens the chapter by dreaming that her daughter is running up to meet her, but as she picks up her child, she realises it is a dream.

The Birthmobile arrives

This dream then merges into one of her mother.
A siren then wakes Offred up.
The siren is from the Birthmobile. This is a red vehicle that comes around to collect Handmaids when one of them is going to give birth. This time it is Ofwarren who is giving birth, so Offred is collected to attend the ceremony of the birth.

"Unbaby"

In the Birthmobile, Offred wonders whether the child will be healthy or whether it will be what Gilead calls an "Unbaby".
An "Unbaby" is a child born with severe abnormalities which is killed straight away.
The reader learns that the cause of Unbabies is the high level of toxic pollution that infects Gilead.

Ofwarren's birth

The Handmaids arrive at Ofwarren's house and enter whilst doctors wait outside because they are forbidden to enter unless it is an emergency.
The reader also learns that women are not allowed any painkillers when giving birth in Gilead. Another Birthmobile, coloured blue, arrives. It carries the Wives of the Commanders separately.

Chapter 19 - Key Quotations

Here are six quotations from Chapter 19:

Birth Day

Atwood separates the two words in 'birthday' to highlight the significance of this day for the Handmaids, who live to give birth.

Egg quotations

“Under the skirt is the second egg, being kept warm … I think that this is what God must look like: an egg.”
“Pleasure is an egg.”
“If I have an egg, what more can I want?”
- Eggs are a recurrent theme. We're constantly reminded that they're a key component of a women's reproductive cycle. The narrator's feelings toward eggs hints at the significance of eggs in Christianity: birth and rebirth.

Egg (cont.)

At one moment, Offred wonders if she needs to desire anything else if eggs can contain pleasure and God.
- But Offred also worries that Gilead has given her the egg and such feelings so that she doesn't desire anything. Gilead has even managed to undermine philosophical thoughts.

"Can't have them taken out"

Abortion is illegal in Gilead.
Atwood is referencing pro-abortion / pro-life debates that divide countries like America.

"Toxic molecules"

“The air got too full, once, of chemicals, rays, radiation, the water swamped with toxic molecules.”
- Atwood is a keen environmentalist. Her other novels - including Oryx and Crake and Year of the Flood - examine how human technology could affect humans and nature.

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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