Chapter 24

Chapter 24 - Summary

Offred returns to her room. She tells the reader that she wants to keep her clothes on so she can think and "take stock" of her situation.

Physical details

She calls herself by the patronym of Offred and tells the reader she is 33, has brown hair, is five foot seven and has viable ovaries.
After the meeting with the Commander, she realises that regardless of whether this is a trap or an opportunity, she needs to follow where this relationship is going to try to work out who she is and where she is destined to go.

SS Officer documentary

She also says she can remember a documentary that her mother showed her about a woman who was a mistress of an SS Officer in the Holocaust.
She remembers the woman being interviewed and saying that her lover was not a "monster", yet she committed suicide a few days later.

Hides in her wardrobe

Offred says that she cannot stop laughing and climbs into her wardrobe so no one can hear here.
She sees the scratched out "Nolite te bastardes carborundorum" left by the previous handmaid and touches it.

Chapter 24 - Key Quotations

Here are four key quotations from Chapter 24:

Secret name and context

“I must forget about my secret name. My name is Offred now, and here is where I live.”
- Offred acknowledges that, for survival, she must deny her former identity. She must keep her real name to herself.
“Context is all”
- By repeating this phrase, Atwood stresses how changes in context influence attitudes and behaviours. Scrabble was once "the game of old men and women", but, now that it's forbidden, is "desirable".

"Invent a humanity"

“How easy it is to invent a humanity, for anyone at all"
- Pieixoto says that Gilead society was "subject to factors from which we ourselves are happily more free. Our job is not to censure but to understand" (Historical Notes). By referencing the Nazis in this chapter, Atwood encourages us to question how much we should accept attitudes like this.

"Opening"

"The sound of my own heart, ... opening"
- The final word of the chapter ("opening") implies potential hope of expansion for Offred's current restricted life.

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

Jump to other topics