household Flashcards
‘kneeling near the chair with the footstool were serena joy will shortly enthrone herself ‘
spatial deixis - power imbalance
subservient
knows protocol
worships her
‘i would like to steal something from this room. i would like to take some small things’
wants to feel powerful
test her own bravery
small act of rebellion
‘a shot of a prisoner with a stubbled and dirty face, flanked by two angels in their neat black uniforms’
on going religious wars with other sects
biblical language - façade that they’re doing something good
‘children of ham’
taking them and deporting them
‘the commander knocks at the door
only he can read the bible
links back to the middle ages where only men could access books
‘serena has begun to cry’
husband will have sex with another woman
foreshadows what will happen
’ i do not say making love, because this is not what he’s doing. copulating too would be inaccurate because it would imply two people and only one is involved’
forced consent
warped - new sex
is it sexual assault?
‘the commander fucks, with a regular two four marching stroke, on and on like a tap dripping. he is preoccupied, like a man humming to himself in the shower without knowing’
procedural
perfunctory - no pleasure
human nature
’ i would see his open eyes’
detaches herself from the situation
can’t be happening to her
‘kissing is forbidden between us. this makes it bearable’
no intimacy
no personal connection - just doing her job
‘straight as an effigy’
symbol of a person
inside she’s already dead
women should be careful what they wish for - serena campaigned for the creation of gilead
‘i rub the butter over my face’
symbol of hope
rebellion
associated with femininity
‘we are containers, its only the insides of our bodies that are important’
experience of all women in gilead
objectified
‘i stare up at the blind plaster eye in the middle of the ceiling which stares back down at me, even though i can’t see it’
paranoid about constant surveillance - how gilead maintains it’s control
fear of technology’s power
‘what i would like to do is steal a knife from the kitchen, but i’m not ready for that’
stealing would give her power
scared of the consequences - knows the risks she’s taking
