Chapter 22
English Lit: Edexcel A Level The Handmaid's Tale, topic 2.8.4
Chapter 22 - Summary and Key Quotations
Offred arrives home and goes to her room. She is exhausted but she can't sleep. She starts to recall what happened to Moira, after piecing together what she had heard from stories.
Moira's story
- Moira managed to escape after forming a plan which involved blocking a toilet and asking Aunt Elizabeth to come and check.
- When Moira cornered her in the toilet and threatened her with a knife, she managed to tie the Aunt up and escape dressed as her. After Moira's escape, Aunt Lydia asks Janine to become her spy to make sure no other Handmaids try to rebel.
- The news of Moira's escape excited and frightens the women equally.
Key quotations
- "A different story, a better one"
- Atwood repeatedly stresses the idea that Offred's story is a ‘reconstruction'.
- "The Aunts are allowed to read and write"
- The other women are not allowed literacy because Gilead considers it dangerous. Reading is heavily restricted. The Commander is only allowed a Bible.
Key quotations about Moira
- "A loose woman"
- Moira is loose because she has empowered herself and escaped. Moira may also be 'loose' (in terms of being sexually unrestrained) because she rejects the sexual repression Gilead imposes. We later find out that Moira is a lesbian.
- “The audacity is what we liked”
- Moira's audacity gives the others hope.
Test yourself on Chapter 22
What's the missing word from this quotation describing Moira?
“The ____ is what we liked”Which quotation is used of Moira in Chapter 22?