Chapter 2
English Lit: Edexcel A Level The Handmaid's Tale, topic 2.2.1
Chapter 2: Summary
Offred, our narrator, describes her single room in the house she's been placed in as a Handmaid - the Commander's house.
Commander's house and uniform
- She describes it in detail, and moves down into the kitchen, detailing everything she can see in this late Victorian house.
- The reader is told that she has to dress in full Handmaid's uniform, which consists of a red full body smock and a white "winged" headpiece which stops them "seeing, but also from being seen".
- She also wears red gloves so that hardly any skin can be seen.
Cora and Rita - Marthas
- In the kitchen, the reader is introduced to Cora and Rita who are "Marthas" - servants who carry out domestic duties.
- Offred wishes she could join in with the gossip, but she is isolated from these women. She is only allowed to speak to them when she is collecting the tokens she needs to get food at the shops.
Colonies and Unwomen
- In this chapter, the Marthas briefly mention the "colonies" and the existence of "Unwomen".
- They mention these as a kind of warning about the alternative lives they could be living if they were not servants.
Chapter 2 - Key Quotations
Here are five key quotations from Chapter 2:
"They've removed anything..."
- "They've removed anything you could tie a rope to"
"I try not to think too much"
"...Reduced circumstances..."
- "For ladies in reduced circumstances. For that is what we are now. The circumstances have been reduced; for those of us who still have circumstances"
"...I long for it"
- "How I used to despise such talk. Now I long for it
"I hunger..."
- "I hunger to commit the act of touch"
Test yourself on Chapter 2
What's the significance of the white "winged" headpiece the Handmaids wear?
What word is repeated in this quotation?
"For ladies in .... circumstances. For that is what we are now. The circumstances have been ....; for those of us who still have circumstances"What does Offred say she used to "despise" but "now I long for it"?