Chapter 11
English Lit: Edexcel A Level The Handmaid's Tale, topic 2.4.4
Chapter 11 - Summary and Key Quotations
Offred is taken to visit the doctor. She now has to go every month to check for ovulation and fertility.
The doctor's proposition
- She lies on the table and has her head and shoulders sectioned off so the doctor can't see her face.
- He checks her body for signs of ovulation and then, surprisingly, asks if she wants him to have sex with her to get her pregnant.
- He tells her she doesn't have long, and Offred considers the offer but is unsure of whether it is a trap or what would happen if she was found out.
"Sterile"
- The doctor says that most of the Commanders are "sterile" and Offred is shocked because no men are sterile in Gilead, "officially".
- This shows how the blame for infertility is firmly placed on the shoulders of women in Gilead.
Key quotations
- "It intersects me...he deals only with a torso"
- The doctor doesn't regard Offred as an individual.
- "He's said a forbidden word. Sterile".
- "No such thing as a sterile man"
- In Gilead, only women can be blamed when couples cannot conceive. This reflects the opinions of some older civilisations - e.g. Jacob criticises Rachel's infertility in the Old Testament.
Key quotations (cont.)
- "He could ... report me"
- The doctor has total control over Offred. She can reject him here, but he could take total control of her by raping her.
- "Give me children or else I die"
- This references Genesis 30 when Rachel demands children. In the context of Gilead, die actually means I shall be executed.
Test yourself on Chapter 11
What's the missing word?
"No such thing as a ____ man"Which quotation from Chapter 11 references the Bible?