2.8.2
Chapter 20
Chapter 20 - Summary and Key Quotations
Chapter 20 - Summary and Key Quotations
In this chapter, the Handmaids gather in a birthing room with the Aunts and Ofwarren. They help her deal with her labour pains.
Giving birth and the Red Centre
Giving birth and the Red Centre
- In a separate room, the Wives surround the Wife of Warren as she pretends to be in labour.
- The Commander, Warren, is absent from the whole experience.
- Offred remembers some of the teachings from the Red Centre, where the Aunts showed videos of women being brutalised and raped. The Handmaids were told that they must make sacrifices now so that the women who come after them can benefit.
Video of the "Unwomen"
Video of the "Unwomen"
- The Aunts show a video of the "Unwomen" too. It shows women protesting against government rule. The Aunts are very critical of these women.
- Offred watches the film and notices her mother, much younger than she can remember her, holding a banner in a feminist rally.
- Offred remembers the moment at the Red centre when she noticed that Moira had gone missing at breakfast.
Key quotations
Key quotations
- "Sacrifices … men revile you"
- Adapted from the Bible: the original quotation (Matthew 5:11) says Jesus' followers should be thankful when persecuted for their beliefs as they'll get their reward in Heaven.
- "That was what they thought of women, then.”
- Aunt Lydia suggests the only alternative to life in Gilead is the kind of abuse shown in the films they watch.
- "A man is just a woman’s strategy for making other women"
- Offred's mother doesn't believe in romantic love.
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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