Characters in the novel
The narrator whose patronymic name states to whom she belongs
Who is Offred?
A system in which men hold most political and social power.
What is patriarchy?
An imaginary place or state in which everything is extremely bad or unpleasant (the opposite of utopia)
What is dystopia?
A public execution disguised by a positive-sounding name.
What is a Salvaging?
Fertile women assigned to bear children for elite men.
Who are the Handmaids?
Offred's rebellious friend who escapes from the Red Center.
Who is Moira?
Hatred of, prejudice against, or oppression of women.
What is misogyny?
a heavenly symbol of femininity and fertility
What is the moon?
The crime for which many homosexual men are executed.
What is Gender Treachery?
Older women who train and discipline Handmaids.
Who are the Aunts?
The Wife who once worked as a conservative public speaker.
Who is Serena Joy?
A political system governed by religious authority.
What is a theocracy?
This symbol represents surveillance and the state's power to watch citizens.
What is the Eye?
A religious greeting in Gilead emphasizing fertility?
What is "Blessed be the fruit"
Domestic servants who cook and clean in Commanders' households.
Who are the Marthas?
The resistance member who becomes Offred's walking partner and reveals the existence of Mayday.
Who is Ofglen?
The government's use of fear, surveillance, and violence to maintain control.
What is authoritarianism?
The title given to seven of the novel's 15 sections
What is "Night"?
The name of someone who carries out abortions, often illegally.
What is an Angel Maker?
Low status women dressed in striped dresses
Who are the Econowives?
The men who offer to impregnate Offred
Who are the doctor, the Commander (Fred) and Nick
The belief that women's primary purpose is reproduction.
What is pronatalism?
The genre which Margaret Atwood uses to feature an alternative reality in The Handmaid's Tale
What is speculative fiction?
A language strategy in which harsh realities are disguised by pleasant or religious terms such as Salvaging, Particicution and Ceremony.
What is a euphemism?
A baby born with severe abnormalities, that is, what Gilead more commonly calls an "Unbaby."
What is a shredder?