The Handmaid's Tale critical quotes (ao5) Flashcards
Gilead - Wagner-Martin
“the novel is a prediction…”
the novel is a prediction of the cultures so frightened by normal sexuality that it codified and prescribed all such procreation and created heirarchies of life and death around it
Gilead - Howell
“Atwood’s feminist concerns are plain…”
Atwood’s feminist concerns are plain here but so too are her concerns for basic human rights
Gilead - Malak
“one of the novel’s successful aspects concerns the skillful…”
one of the novel’s successful aspects concerns the skillful portrayal of a state that in theory claims to be founded on Christian principles. yet in practice, miserably lacks spirituality and benevolence
Gilead - Reshmi
“[Offred’s] body is…”
[Offred’s] body is segmented and her value is determined on the basis of her reproducive ability
Gilead - Coomi
“legitimises it’s racist and sexist policies…”
legitimises it’s racist and sexist policies as having a biblical precedent
Women/Offred - Goldblatt
“the work women do…”
the work women do, conspires to maintain the subjection of their own kind
Women/Offred - Wagner-Lawlor
“Offred is politically…”
Offred is politically complacent before the takeover
Women/Offred - Daniels and Bowen
“every step, every mouthful of food…”
every step, every mouthful of food, every move is observed, reported, circumvented or approved
Women/Offred - Gottilieb
“since the dystopian regime denies its subjects…”
since the dystopian regime denies its subjects’ free will, the central character can not be made responsible for his/her ultimate defeat in the repressive system that overpowers individuals
Women/Offred - Weiss
“whilst [Offred] does not belong to the upper levels of Gilead’s…”
whilst [Offred] does not belong to the upper levels of Gilead’s power heirarchy, she is no less responsible for its destruction of freedom
Women/Offred - Wisker
“it is ironic that the handmaid’s, who entire purpose it is to…”
it is ironic that the handmaid’s, who entire purpose it is to reproduce, are expected to wear the white winged headdresses of nuns in extreme orders
Women/Offred - Rigney
“personification of religious sacrifice…”
personification of religious sacrifice, temple prostitutes doomed to a kind of Purdah in perpetuity
Atwood - Becker
“Atwood’s strongest manifesto for freedom from the press…”
Atwood’s strongest manifesto for freedom from the press - its abolition in the novel signfies an end to individual freedom and human rights
Atwood - Becker
“Atwood belongs…”
Atwood belongs to those writers of contemporary world literature who… addresses pressing global issues
Atwood - MacPherson
“Atwood sees herself as ‘not a propagandist but an observer’…”
Atwood sees herself as ‘not a propagandist but an observer’ her work merely reflects the reality of uneven distribution of power between men and women
Atwood - Atwood
“what is really needed for really good…”
what is really needed for really good tyranny is an unquestionable idea or authority
Atwood - Atwood
“giving a woman a voice and an inner life will…”
giving a woman a voice and an inner life will always be considered feminist by those who think women ought not to have these things
Male characters - Stokwisz
“Proffesor Piexoto’s fascination with…”
Proffesor Piexoto’s fascination with male politics serves to irritate readers into recognising the evils of male domination
Male characters - Cavalcanti
refers to the ceremony as…
“the monthly rape… which synthesises the institutionalised humiliation, objectification and ownership of women in Gilead”
Male characters - Atwood
“no society…”
no society ever strays completely far from its roots
Male characters - Rigney
“he is a kind of Orpheus to her Eurydice…”
he is a kind of Orpheus to her Eurydice, as he brings her out of the world of the dead
Male characters - Miner
“[Offred] wants to imagine these men as unique; Luke as…”
[Offred] wants to imagine these men as unique; Luke as her real love, the Commander as her Gileadean sugar daddy, Nick as her illicit love… but the novel’s only significant male characters are in fact eerily similar”
Male characters - Miner
“after Offred begins her affair with Nick…”
after Offred begins her affair with Nick, she loses all interest in Mayday and in the possibility of escape… whatever political commitment Offred might be capable of making vanishes in light of her commitment to romance
Male characters - Atwood
“some people think that…”
some people think that the society in the handmaid’s tale is one in which all men have power, and all women don’t. That is not true”
Male characters - Howells
“Atwood’s choice of a female narrator…”
Atwood’s choice of a female narrator turns the traditionally masculine dystopian genre upside down”
Male characters - Stokwisz
“when Offred meets the Commander in frequent rendezvous…”
when Offred meets the Commander in frequent rendezvous in his office, we see that it is all too easy to create a humanity for someone…she feels sympathy for him
Male characters - Stockwisz
“the relationship…”
the relationship with the Commander is still a game of sexual power
Male characters - Stockwisz
“the doctor is another ambiguous…”
the doctor is another ambiguous figure who represents the evils of a patriarchal structure, he is prepared to abuse his power for his own sexual gain
Moira - Thompson
“Moira is Offred’s…”
Moira is Offred’s rebel alter ego
Moira - Irvine
[Moira’s costume] “she simultaneously…”
she simultaneously parodies the demeaning nature of the female outfits in Hugh Hefner’s former bunny clubs, she also stands for the irrepressible return of everything the Republic has attempted to obiterate”
Offred’s storytelling - Howells
“by irony of history…”
by irony of history, it is Offred the silenced Handmaid who becomes Gilead’s principle historian when that oral ‘herstory’ is published 200 years later
Offred’s storrytelling - Rigney
“[Offred’s] responsibility is to report to chronicle her time…”
[Offred’s] responsibility is to report to chronicle her time, to warn another world… communication is imperative; she must assume a future audience
Offred - MacPherson
“Offred is not…”
Offred is not heroic, she is, instead, a passive everywoman, awaiting rescue
Women/Offred - Atwood
“the control of women and babies…”
the control of women and babies has been a feature of every repressive regime on the planet
