Quotes Flashcards
HT: ‘Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children or else I die.’
This epigraph sets up the theme of fertility and reproductive control.
Raises the idea that women pro-create for the benefit of the patriarchy that pervades Gilead.
The life-death decision for women is emphasised through the imperative ‘give’.
Reference to Rachel and Leah is also further explored in the novel as the Red Centre (which is how it is referred to by the handmaids) is called the Rachel and Leah Centre.
Jacob had two wives, Rachel and Leah, which links to the polygamy of the Commanders.
It is a male narrative voice as it is from Genesis 30:1-3.
F: “I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body”
This quote reveals Victor Frankenstein’s obsessive drive to transcend natural limits by reanimating the dead. The phrase “worked hard for nearly two years” highlights his single-minded dedication, while “infusing life into an inanimate body” emphasizes the unnatural act he attempts. This ambition ties directly to galvanism, a theory popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, which suggested that electrical currents could revive lifeless tissue. Galvani’s experiments with frogs’ legs, twitching when exposed to electricity, inspired Frankenstein’s pursuit to create life through similar means. In this context, galvanism becomes both a scientific inspiration and a justification for his dangerous experiment, reflecting the era’s fascination with overcoming death through science.
