The handmaid's conversation

While working on some of the study questions, the question that really intrigued me was the question about discussing the shifts in vocabulary that help fortify power in Gilead.

The more I looked into this question, the more I realized the handmaids all have an "acceptable" way to speak to each other, which ultimately proves the power of the government. There is not a lot these women can say to each other, and they must be careful saying anything of real meaning, which is a shame, but a main idea of the power struggle in the novel.

(Chapter 4 - Page 19)
“Blessed be the fruit,” she says to me, the accepted greeting among us.
“May the Lord open,” I answer, the accepted response.
…….
“The war is going well, I hear,” she says.
“Praise be,” I reply.
“We’ve been sent good weather.”
“Which I receive with joy.”

This conversation is not a way most people would talk to each other. The government controlling Gilead is highly totalitarian and slightly theocratic. Women are suppressed in many ways, but the ultimate idea of freedom of speech, something we all definitely take for granted, is completely gone.

It's also interesting to see how Offred also uses conversation as a way to rebel against the government. Even if it is telling stories to herself, making up the endings as she goes along, she still has the opportunity to control something. Offred is obedient on the outside. She does what she's told. Inside, however, she has every intention of controlling herself and her life.

Offred has an internal and external conversation with herself and others, and they play opposite roles, which is an intriguing way of showing rebellion and obedience at the same time. She knows what she has to do to survive, but she also knows she needs to get out of Gilead at the same time.