The Testaments

Margaret Atwood

“That was nine years ago. Since then my statue has weathered: pigeons have decorated me, moss has sprouted in my damper crevices. Votaries have taken to leaving offerings at my feet: eggs for fertility, oranges to suggest the fullness of pregnancy, croissants to reference the moon. I ignore the breadstuff—usually they have been rained on—but pocket the oranges. Oranges are so refreshing.” pg. 4

“‘He’s not a real Guardian,’ she said. ‘Aunt Lydia’s not a moron.’ She took the orange out of her pocket and began peeling it. The crisp scent filled the air. ‘Want some?’ she asked me. ‘You can have half.’

‘No thank you,’ I said. ‘It’s not right to eat it.’ It had been a sacred offering of a kind after all. She ate the whole orange.” pg. 359

“I didn’t want to think about husbands any longer. ‘But what if I want to?’ I said. ‘Make the bread?’ My feelings were hurt: it was as if they were closing a circle around themselves, keeping me out. ‘What if I want to make the bread myself?’

‘Well, of course, your Marthas would have to let you do that,’ said Zilla. ‘You’d be the mistress of the household. But they’d look down on you for it. And they’d feel you were taking their rightful positions away from them. The things they know how to do best. You wouldn’t want them to feel that about you, would you, dear?’” pg. 21

“Sundown brought sandwiches, one each. Mine was egg salad. I am ashamed to say I gobbled it up with relish.” pg. 118

“Ada came from the kitchen. She brought me a sandwich on a plate: chicken salad. I said I wasn’t hungry.” pg. 128

“Aunt Beatrice ordered in pizza for lunch, which we had with ice cream from their freezer. I was surprised that they were eating junk food: wasn’t Gilead against it, especially for women?

‘It’s part of our test as Pearl Girls,’ said Aunt Dove. ‘We’re supposed to sample the fleshpot temptations of the outside world in order to understand them, and then reject them in our hearts.’ She took another bite of pizza.” pg. 269

“After a while, the woman brought me a cup of hot sweet tea and a chocolate chip cookie, and asked if I was all right and if I needed anything else, and I said no. But she came back anyway with one of the blankets, a green-and-blue one, and tucked it around me.” pg. 123

“We would follow Aunt Lise’s instructions and think about arranging flowers in a vase, and it would all be over quickly, and maybe we would even have real babies, by ourselves, without Handmaids. She asked if I would like an oatmeal cookie, and she sent the Martha for some. I took one and nibbled at it, though I was not hungry.” pg. 233