THT StudyGuide Ch.31-41 Flashcards
America’s two important holidays are the Fourth of July and Labour Day? What do they celebrate now, and how have they been changed in Gilead?
July 4 = Independence Day; Labour Day = celebration of the workers. Independence Day has been abolished; USA no longer exists. Labour Day is a celebration of labour as in childbirth.
Why would Offred like to be able to have a fight with Luke?
She wants back even the bad times; the simple normality of the way things were before. Fighting is better than nothing; at least he would be there. It implies an equal partnership; she is unable to fight with the Commander because her position is too precarious. And then there was the pleasure of making up.
Why is the reference to Cubans ironic?
Cuba is Communist and its regime is seen as repressive by most Americans today. Here, they are the voice, via “Radio Free America”, of progress: “All that filth about universal daycare.”
What is the reason the Commander gives to justify the revolution?
The problem wasn’t only with the women, he says. The main problem was with the men. There was nothing for them anymore… I’m not talking about sex, he says. That was part of it; the sex was too easy… You know what they were complaining about the most? Inability to feel. Men were turning off on sex, even. They were turning off on marriage.
“You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs,” says the Commander. [222/206] Napoleon used this analogy to justify the carnage he caused as he built his empire. What does it suggest about the Commander?
A ruthlessness, and sense of certainty in his rightness; a sense of superiority over others. A lack of understanding of human needs. Arrogance and a patronising attitude.
How old are the girls being married?
some no more than 14
How does the Commander at the Prayvaganza justify the subjugation of women?
Biblical authority.
What does Ofglen ask Offred to do?
Spy on the Commander; find out what is happening at Government level.
The Commander sneers at the idea of love. Why is it so important to Offred?
“It was the central thing; it was the way you understood yourself…”
It was painful and exciting and beautiful and sometimes frightening. It helped her define herself; her love for Luke was the centre of her life.
Ironically, Offred’s mother would agree with the Commander. Aunt Lydia certainly does.
Towards the end of the chapter, Offred says, “I am a blank.” Quote the other phrases she uses that say the same thing.
“… washed me away… I have been obliterated… I am only a shadow… have been erased.”
How does the Commander justify the existence of places like Jezebel’s?
“Everyone’s human, after all.” (Though not women, apparently.) “You can’t cheat nature.” Men like variety in their sexual partners. (Same old rationalisations.
“What’s the point?” asks Moira when Offred wants to hear her story. “But she knows there is a point.” What is it?
Stories need to be told. They are our knowledge of the past, of ourselves. Our history must not be lost
What is the “Underground Femaleroad”?
A way in which women were smuggled out of Gilead, a pun on the old “underground railroad” along which escaped slaves were smuggled to freedom.
What kinds of work do the women in the Colonies do? Who does Moira say gets sent there?
Clean up toxic dumps and radioactive waste. Dead bodies after battles. Possibly horticultural work.
Old women. (This explains Offred’s earlier observations about the decline in the numbers of widows.) Failed Handmaids, incorrigibles – i.e. those who won’t accept the new system. And some men, including gays.
What does Moira say are the advantages of working at Jezebel’s?
Plenty of other women, a lesbian’s paradise; and it is encouraged.
