Paratext Flashcards
1
Q
Dedication: Mary Webster
A
- one of Attwood’s Puritan ancestors
- hanged as a witch in the 17th century, but survived and was allowed to go free
- like Offred, she was a woman who successfully flouted state law.
2
Q
Dedication: Perry Miller
A
- Attwood’s Director of American Studies at Harvard
- he was knowledgeable about Puritan history
3
Q
Epigraph 1: “Give me children, or else I die.”
A
- from Genesis
- provides the biblical precedent for sexual practices in Gilead
- raises issue of women exploiting other women
- women are only regarded as sexual and domestic commodities
4
Q
Epigraph 2: “I fortunately fell upon this proposal”
A
- Swift’s satirical essay ‘A Modest Proposal’
- a desperate plea for improving the conditions in Ireland through satirical suggestions of cannibalism and treating women and children as cattle
- Attwood immediately signals her satirical intentions to draw attention to her concerns
5
Q
Epigraph 3: In the desert there is no sign that says, Thou shalt not eat stones.
A
- humans will always find a way to survive, even if it is ridiculous
6
Q
Introduction written by Atwood
A
‘We heard the voice of a book speaking to us.’
(learning from mistakes, literature being vital to our world)
