Revision document produced by an A* English Literature A-level student containing key quotes, relevant historical and literary context, and critic quotes for every theme in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. This will save a student from countless hours of researching which could instead be used for prac...
Society of informers The SS were one of the most feared Hannah can “sense the The Eyes “operate from a space of
“Perhaps he is an Eye” organisations in Nazi Germany, with thousands of cameras behind the mirrors” observation much more clandestine,
- Unknown, physical force which is both overt and covert, members who wore all-black uniforms, ran the and “the watchers behind the menacing and violent” (Cooper)
placed at every level of society, logos are a constant reminder concentration camps and eliminated Hitler’s cameras” - unsettled by
political opponents. inanimate objects, constant “through a mechanism of diffuse but
“She is my spy, as I am hers” “set to trap me” uncertainty - Eyes are official omnipresent surveillance,
- Stifling fear of being turned in by someone, during initial Modern Western culture is centred on spies but Offred is also handmaids become a collective
reaction with Ofglen her lack of trust is clear, even slight appearances eg rise of selfies and social media, reminded through the property” (Dalke and Blankenship)
deviations from the standardised discourse could be complicit in own surveillance, vulnerable to decorations in the - Gilead imposes ownership of
dangerous as they would suggest she is not completely scrutiny and judgement Commander’s household the population through its
committed to Gilead, even unsure after revelation of Mayday (When She Woke) constant focus on fertility
- Surveillance cannot remove all
“The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth” “You can’t call your life your levels of identity to the point of
- Doubts everyone’s intentions, overwhelmed by constant own” in Efrafa and “in return subconscious thought,
surveillance, difficult to have private conversations you have safety” (Watership meaning individuality is
- Theocracy = surveillance through God, ultimate omnipresent Down) preserved
power which influences society to conform, Gilead is a highly
patriarchal and misogynistic theocratic police state “What do you know that we “Under Gilead's discipline, Offred is
should know?” - propaganda rapidly being stripped of what
“We are being looked at, assessed, whispered about” from televisions, no privacy or capacity she did have to act”
trust, evokes guilt (Is This (Stillman and Johnson)
“Handmaids at the front, where everyone can keep an eye on us” Your Day to Join the - Her behaviour is under tight
Revolution?) control
“It’s a mistake to hang back too obviously… it stamps you as
lukewarm, lacking in zeal” “The regime enforces the power of
the gaze in the form of a ubiquitous
Panopticon” - Malcorps
Methods - Citizens believe surveillance is
“Last week they shot… a Martha” “Each has a submachine gun slung constant - theocracy so being
ready, for whatever dangerous or subversive acts they think we might judged by God
commit”
- Guardians are perhaps the most obvious manifestation of
surveillance who make it impossible to escape, restrict the
movement of the public - constant monitoring evokes a sense
of restriction
- Visualisation of the power of the government while citizens
, are objects and not afraid to remind citizens of their place
“fumbling in her robe, for her pass” deemed as suspicious
diverging behaviour
“Floodlights mounted… barbed wire… broken glass”
- The Wall creates imagery of imprisonment, trapped by
Gilead’s expectations for fertility, caged animal, collective
societal gaze on her womb
“The precautions are for those trying to get out”
“Is the room bugged…?” “You’re always safest out of doors, no mikes”
- Free from overt technology unlike in 1984 but there is still an
uncertainty, become obedient and internalise the discipline
Privacy
“She knocks… it means she thinks I have some of what we used to
call privacy left”
“We have ceremonies of our own, private ones”
Concealed Emotions
“I can’t start to cry”
“We’ve been warned not to look too happy”
“Emotion inappropriate to the occasion… it could be fatal”
“She knows enough not to react” (Moira)
, Power and Control
AO1 Quotes AO3 Historical AO3 Literary AO5 Quotes
Handmaids/Offred Red dresses and tattoos worn by the “The ceremonial pollen marks of In Gilead sex is “A matter of
“Blessed are the silent” handmaids are a reference to the yellow the Melissae priestesses” - pure political power” (Booker)
- Handmaids are subjected to degraded theology which is used as a bands worn by Jews in Nazi Germany - repressive hierarchy illustrated
tool to oppress women, loss of power due to loss of speech, Gilead creates a hierarchy of importance and through clothing motif, duty The veil “helps render the
restricts their speech to set phrases in an attempt to subjugate them worthiness, uniform underlines their enforced on bees through Handmaids anonymous, it
into docile bodies subservience, Handmaids also lose their physical identity (The Bees) makes them nun-like, ostensibly
- Bible forms basis of propaganda as Gilead is a theocracy - names and those who are not useful in pure, chaste and virginal…
“Commanders of the Faithful” are given authority and portrayed as Gilead (infertile) are sent to the Colonies "Cram them full of actively disempowering them”
figures as importance through the modification of previously (concentration camps). non-combustible data... they'll (Coad)
meaningful religious terms, conceals grotesque levels of misogyny feel they're thinking" - Beatty
running throughout Gilead The legally-prostituted Handmaids are based highlights how the government “Offred’s power is in language”
- “The Ceremony” disguises rape, modification of discourse is on the Nazi’s Lebensborn Programme, a manipulates the populace into (Beran)
designed specifically by Gilead in order for the male Commanders breeding program designed to promote an believing it has intellectual
to assert their authority, desire for male dominance 'Aryan future' and combat Germany’s falling freedom whereas it actually “Those who lack power always
birth rates. One element of the scheme controls their thoughts, falsely see more than they say.”
“Voice of a monotone, voice of a doll” involved members of the SS 'mating' with believe they are happy and have (Atwood)
suitable German women. They also control over their lives so accept - easier to observe than
“They’ve removed anything you could tie a rope to” window “only opens kidnapped Aryan children to populate the the society they live in to act
partly” Nazi 'Third Reich'. (like Offred’s daughter). (Fahrenheit 451)
- Preventative measures assert power and control, room is not only “The language of Gilead is the
void of individuality but also freedom, her room is searched regularly When writing her novel ‘The Handmaid’s phallocentric word made flesh”
causing a lack of trust and privacy - she constantly fears occupants Tale’, Atwood took interest in a press item (LaCombe)
of the house reporting her which reported on a Catholic congregation in
New Jersey being taken over by a
“Yours is a position of honour” - made to believe they have power fundamentalist sect; these fears of the spread
of fundamentalism are illustrated through the
“I would like to steal something… it would make me feel that I have power” male theocratic government in Gilead, which
manipulates Bible passages to fit its ideology
“You are unfit, but you want the best for her. Don’t you?” and indoctrinate the populace.
“What I have on him is guilt” Puritanism’s ideal is a utopian society with
traditional values but this can lead to
“I now had power over her… and I enjoyed that” oppression, theocracy and patriarchy
“It’s a bargaining session, things are about to be exchanged” Mary Webster was demonised, attacked,
- The Scrabble game demonstrates Offred’s first attempt of regaining tortured and nearly murdered by her
a sense of control as she lets him win - makes Fred believe he has community for the sin of being an
, complete control over the game whereas he is actually being independent woman who didn’t conform to
manipulated the repressive expectations of appearance
and behaviour that were placed on women in
“The tattoo...a cattle-brand. It means ownership” 17th century New England. Women were
- Tattoo marks her as a commodity penalised for not conforming to the societal
norm much like Handmaids are sentenced to
“I go through the ritual politeness of asking. It makes me feel more in control” the Colonies for being infertile - people in
Gilead can also be killed by being hung on
the Wall or sent to the Colonies due to their
The Commander differences or unfaithfulness to the regime.
“He dangled it before me like fishbait… I felt myself leaning forward” “he
found pleasure in seeing me do it” “he must have known how painful it was to
me, to be reminded of the former time”
“The Ceremony”
- ritual of state power and ownership, Commander observes the
process, reproductive slavery
“There is no such thing as a sterile man any more”
“He steps forward into the room anyway… looks us over as if taking
inventory”
“There’s no doubt about who holds the real power”
“It must amuse him, this fake subservience”
“He wishes to diminish things, myself included” - true as later refers to
Jezebel’s as “our little club”
“He is showing off to me… perhaps he’s reached that state of intoxication
which power is said to inspire”
“Just another crummy power trip” - seeing Handmaids dressed up pleases
Commanders, even though Offred previously thought similarly she defends
him mentally “Surely his motivations are more delicate”
“The Commander, for a change, is waiting”
Serena Joy/Wives
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