9.1.7

Chapters 13 & 14

Test yourself

Chapter 13 - Key Quotations

Here are five key quotations from Chapter 13:

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Offred's boredom

  • "These pictures [of nineteenth-century harems] were supposed to be erotic... they were paintings about suspended animation; about waiting, about objects not in use. They were paintings about boredom.

    But maybe boredom is erotic, when women do it, for men"
    • Like the women in the pictures, Offred is in "suspended animation". She is also an object. She isn't being used - and she's unable to use the parts of herself that make her a woman rather than an object.
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Dancing simile

  • "Behind my closed eyes thin white dancers flit gracefully among the trees, their legs fluttering like the wings of held birds".
    • This simile suggests that Offred is like a dancer who is, on the one hand, very rehearsed in their job and, on the other hand, very restricted from letting go and flying free.
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Loony bin

  • “This is a loony bin, Moira said”
    • Moira's speech is often frank and anarchic.
    • Loony bin is a dysphemism for a mental hospital.
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Whose fault?

  • Janine … gang-raped... whose fault …?
    • Atwood draws on the much-discussed issue of whether women arousing men who later rape them are in some part responsible for the rape.
    • In 2005, a survey by Amnesty International found that lots of people thought a woman who was drunk or wearing revealing clothing when she was raped was responsible for the rape.
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Offred's escape

  • "I'm running, with her, holding her hand"
    • Offred's memory of running with her daughter is very vivid as it is in the present tense.
    • The reader relives Offred's fear as she and Luke try to escape with their daughter.
    • Atwood creates a vivid sense of Offred's state of panic from "She's too young" to "carried away" by using one long sentence over nine lines.

Chapter 14 - Key Quotations

Here are six key quotations from Chapter 14:

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Key quotations

  • "I don't sit, but take my place, kneeling, near the chair with the footstool where Serena Joy will shortly enthrone herself"
    • The different positioning of Offred and Serena Joy reflects the power imbalance between them.
    • "Kneeling" represents submission - Offred accepts her passive state and servile life.
  • "As if I’m a piece of furniture"
    • Offred feels objectified and used by Serena Joy.
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Key quotations (cont.)

  • “Household: that is what we are. The Commander is the head of the household. The house is what he holds. To have and to hold, till death do us part.”
    • Offred plays with language: she thinks about the different meanings of the word ‘hold'.
    • ‘To have and to hold' is part of the wedding vows found in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer.
  • “He's so close that the tip of his boot is touching my foot"
    • Offred makes physical contact with Nick. This shows the importance of touching.
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Key quotations (cont.)

  • “They only show us victories, never defeats.”
  • “Who knows if any of it is true? It could be old clips, it could be faked.”
    • Atwood explores the idea that governments use propaganda and all media outlets spread news according to their own agendas.
    • In George Orwell's 1984, a large government department manipulates ‘news' material.

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

9Recap: Main Quotes

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