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Chapter 15 & 16

English Lit: Edexcel A Level The Handmaid's Tale, topic 9.1.8

Chapter 15 - Key Quotations

Here are four key quotations from Chapter 15:

"An incendiary device"

"An incendiary device"

  • Like in many totalitarian regimes, books are banned in Gilead.
  • In the Middle Ages, the Church in Europe did not allow the Bible to be translated into the vernacular, which meant laymen couldn't read it.
  • Offred is aware that the Handmaids accessing words would threaten the Gilead authorities.
  • It's clear that the Gilead authorities misuse and pervert the Bible to justify their evil intentions.
"It must be hell"

"It must be hell"

  • "Still, it must be hell, to be a man, like that. It must be just fine. It must be hell. It must be very silent.”
  • Offred is aware that the Commander, like the women he controls, is a victim of the regime in Gilead.
"Blessed are the meek"

"Blessed are the meek"

  • “Blessed are the meek. Blessed are the silent. I knew they made that up, I knew it was wrong, and they left things out too.”
  • Offred is aware of how the Gilead authorities adapt the Bible for their own purposes.
The Eyes

The Eyes

  • "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth"
  • The Commander ends the prayers by reminding the women that the Eyes - the state spies - are constantly watching them.
  • This quotation is taken from Zechariah 4:10.

Chapter 16 - Key Quotations

Here are five key quotations from Chapter 16:

Key quotations

Key quotations

  • “The rings of her left hand cut into my fingers. It may or may not be revenge.”
  • “Below the Commander is fucking. What he is fucking is the lower part of my body. I do not say making love, because it is not what he's doing. Copulating too would be inaccurate.”
  • Offred uses the explicit and shocking word "fucking" to show how physical and unpassionate this act is.
Key quotations (cont.)

Key quotations (cont.)

  • "This is not recreation"
  • There seems to be a pun on the word "recreation" The Commander is not having sex for pleasure; he's trying to make a baby because Gilead needs children to carry on the state.
  • "An improvement on the previous one, who smelled"
  • Women can't choose their sexual partners in Gilead. So their experiences aren't always pleasant.
  • “Which of us is it worse for, her or me?”

Test yourself on Chapter 15 & 16

  • Where is this quotation taken from?

    "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth"

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