Quotessence
Home / Books / The Handmaid’s Tale

The Handmaid’s Tale

Book by Margaret Atwood · 3 quotes · Dystopia, Feminism, Chapter 19

Filter quotes by topic

AllDystopiaFeminismChapter 19FearForgivenessHeavenHellPainPowerResistanceSexSilenceSummerSunTraumaWomenActivismAgeAmericaApartment

The Handmaid’s Tale Quotes

“But if you happen to be a man, sometime in the future, and you've made it this far, please remember: you will never be subjected to the temptation or feeling you must forgive, a man, as a woman. It's difficult to resist, believe me. But remember that forgiveness to is a power. To beg for it is a power, and to withhold or bestow it is a power, perhaps the greatest. Maybe none of this is about control. Maybe it isn't really about who can own whom, who can do what to whom and get away with it, even as far as death. Maybe it isn't about who can sit and who has to kneel or stand or lie down, legs spread open. Maybe it's about who can do what to whom and be forgiven for it. Never tell me it amounts to the same thing.”

MenPowerForgivenessPatriarchyDystopia
Book:The Handmaid’s Tale
Create image

“I guess that's how they were able to do it, in the way they did it, all at once, without anyone knowing beforehand. If there had still been portable money, it would have been more difficult. It was after the catastrophe, when they shot the president and machine-gunned the Congress and the army declared a state of emergency. They blamed it on the Islamic fanatics at the time. I was stunned. Everyone was, I know that. It was hard to believe, the entire government gone like that. How did they get in, how did it happen? That was when they suspended the Constitution. They said it would be temporary. There wasn't even any rioting in the streets. People stayed home at night, watching television, looking for some direction. There wasn't even an enemy you could put your finger on.”

AmericaWomens RightsDystopiaCoup D éTatDisenfranchisement
Book:The Handmaid’s Tale
Create image