chapter 10 Flashcards
Amazing Grace
-Intertextual Reference
Amazing grace - A hymn written by the eighteenth century cleric John Newton. It
is ironic that even a hymn is banned in Gilead if it contains the word ‘free’.
Freedom would have been a particularly poignant concept for Newton as he was a
slave trader before his conversion to Christianity.
I feel So Lonely
- I feel so lonely - These words are from a song, Heartbreak Hotel, made popular
by Elvis Presley in 1956. In view of Offred’s sad memories in chapter 9 about the
hotel she stayed in with Luke, this may have a particular poignancy. It is ironic that
Gilead bans both hymns and popular songs. The banning of music by
fundamentalist groups is not a recent phenomenon
Underwhore Party and Pornomarts
an underwhore party – Moira’s pun on ‘underwear party’ simultaneously suggests
Moira’s lively, nonconforming attitude and the moral laxity of the time before Gilead,
also evident in Moira’s reference to Pornomarts. It also foreshadows Moira’s own future
clothing, as a prostitute at Jezebel’s
- Pornomarts - This portmanteau word suggests to the reader that pornography was as
readily available in the time pre-Gilead as any other commodity available in e.g. a
supermarket.
“a hard little cushion… FAITH”
a hard little cushion … FAITH’ - Presumably this would once have been one of three, with the
other two being HOPE and CHARITY.
- This alludes to a famous phrase from the Bible about the importance of faith, hope and love (charity
in older translations) in 1 Corinthians 13:13.
- Hope and charity (from the Latin, ‘caritas’, ‘love’) are missing from the world in which Offred finds
hersel
Faith has been overlooked
- ‘Faith…has been overlooked’ - this suggests to the reader that the rulers of Gilead expect their
citizens to have religious faith but have exterminated love and hope from human life. - Offred shows us that love and hope are the two qualities which keep her humanity and individuality
alive.
