Chapter 4
English Lit: Edexcel A Level The Handmaid's Tale, topic 2.2.3
Chapter 4 - Summary
This chapter switches into the present tense as Offred describes walking out of the house to go shopping. She sees one of the Guardians cleaning the Commander's car.
Recognising Nick
- She recognises this man as Nick, who she knows lives above the garage. He is such low status that he isn't even prescribed a woman to live with.
- As Offred looks at him, he winks at her. This causes her to look away because this is an offensive act of flirtation.
- She wonders whether he is being friendly, flirtatious or even if he is an "Eye", which we find out later means an informer.
Offred waits for Ofglen
- Offred waits on the corner of a street for another Handmaid to join her for the journey to the shops. This is because Handmaids cannot walk around alone.
- Offred reflects on how this is meant to be for their protection, but she wonders whether it is actually so that they can both keep an eye on each other.
- Offred's "double" arrives, called Ofglen, who speaks in scripted speech based on religious phrases ("Praise be").
Youthful Guardians
- On their way to the shops, they have to stop at a checkpoint to have their papers checked by the Guardians.
- Offred notices how young the Guardians are and realises they are nearly as powerless as the Handmaids. She realises Gilead doesn't just control female sexuality but also the urges of the lower status men too.
Using sexuality as power
- Offred imagines using her sexuality as a form of power over the men.
- As she leaves the checkpoint, she makes sure to "move my hips a little", knowing that the men are watching and yet helpless to act on their sexual feelings.
Chapter 4 - Key Quotations
Here are seven key quotations from Chapter 4:
"Perhaps he is an eye"
"Think of yourselves as seeds"
"She is my spy, as I am hers"
"...ravenous for news..."
- "I'm ravenous for news, any kind of news; even if it is false news"
"...tiny peepholes"
- “Such moments are possibilities, tiny peepholes"
- Offred says this when she makes eye contact with one of the Guardians when passing through the checkpoint.
"My red shroud"
"...I am not ashamed..."
- "I find I am not ashamed after all. I enjoy the power"
- Offred says this after she has moved her "hips a little" in front of the Guardians.
Test yourself on Chapter 4
When is Offred's narrative set in Chapter 4?
What does Nick do when Offred looks at him in Chapter 4?
What does Offred notice about the Guardians in Chapter 4?
What's the missing word from this quotation describing Ofglen?
"She is my ____, as I am hers"What is Offred describing in this quotation from Chapter 4?
"I find I am not ashamed after all. I enjoy the power"