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Changed line(s) 139,140 (click to see context) from:
** Wives give birth to Daughters, Econowives probably give birth to Econodaughters. Who might become eligible to be Wives if their fertility seems good. Fertility testing for single women before marriage will probably separate the Econodaughters into Marthas and those suitable for marriage. (Doubtless their potential fertility is also a factor in moving out of the Econo class.)
*** In the sequel, ''The Testaments,'' it's confirmed that Econowives do give birth to Econodaughters, but that Econodaughters can move above their status if a man from the ruling echelon finds them attractive enough to marry.
*** In the sequel, ''The Testaments,'' it's confirmed that Econowives do give birth to Econodaughters, but that Econodaughters can move above their status if a man from the ruling echelon finds them attractive enough to marry.
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** Wives give birth to Daughters, Econowives probably give birth to Econodaughters. Who might become eligible to be Wives if their fertility seems good. Fertility testing for single women before marriage will probably separate the Econodaughters into Marthas and those suitable for marriage.
*** In the sequel, ''The Testaments,'' it's confirmed that Econowives do give birth to Econodaughters, but that Econodaughters can move above their caste if a man from the ruling echelon finds them attractive enough to marry. (Doubtless their potential fertility is also a factor in moving out of the Econo class.)
*** In the sequel, ''The Testaments,'' it's confirmed that Econowives do give birth to Econodaughters, but that Econodaughters can move above their status if a man from the ruling echelon finds them attractive enough to marry.)
*** In the sequel, ''The Testaments,'' it's confirmed that Econowives do give birth to Econodaughters, but that Econodaughters can move above their caste if a man from the ruling echelon finds them attractive enough to marry. (Doubtless their potential fertility is also a factor in moving out of the Econo class.
*** In the sequel, ''The Testaments,'' it's confirmed that Econowives do give birth to Econodaughters, but that Econodaughters can move above their status if a man from the ruling echelon finds them attractive enough to marry.
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Changed line(s) 139 (click to see context) from:
** Wives give birth to Daughters, Econowives probably give birth to Econodaughters. Who might become eligible to be Wives if their fertility seems good. Fertility testing for single women before marriage will probably separate the Econodaughters into Marthas and those suitable for marriage.
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** Wives give birth to Daughters, Econowives probably give birth to Econodaughters. Who might become eligible to be Wives if their fertility seems good. Fertility testing for single women before marriage will probably separate the Econodaughters into Marthas and those suitable for marriage. (Doubtless their potential fertility is also a factor in moving out of the Econo class.)
*** In the sequel, ''The Testaments,'' it's confirmed that Econowives do give birth to Econodaughters, but that Econodaughters can move above their status if a man from the ruling echelon finds them attractive enough to marry.
*** In the sequel, ''The Testaments,'' it's confirmed that Econowives do give birth to Econodaughters, but that Econodaughters can move above their status if a man from the ruling echelon finds them attractive enough to marry.
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A little correction on New Englander Puritans
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**** But transcript evidence shows near-universal female literacy in New England by 1790, and there are many writings specifically created by Puritan women about their religion. There were no arranged marriages in Puritan New England, either - the women chose whether to marry any given suitor.
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** The book focuses on a very narrow section of society, and the show only widens a little. The purpose of the Handmaids isn't to increase the whole population, but to provide children for the elite who aren't having their own. Regular families are having kids, the lack of abortion and contraceptives will boost the population as a whole (plus the fact that wives are meant to be at home and can't work will give many a reason to have a child they may have put off if they had a career). If the point was 'more babies' then any fertile woman would be encouraged (or forced) to have as many male partners as possible until she had as many babies as possible (maybe with some Lebensborn programmes popping up). No, the purpose of the Handmaids is just to provide the Commanders with children, or die trying to protect their egos.
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** Propaganda makes people do nonsensical things. During the early Communist years in China, official stories went out about miraculous harvests where farmers had planted thousands of crops into tiny spaces, not giving them the room they needed to grow or enough nutrients in the soil. Real farmers, with generations of experience, heard about this and the officials in their regions accused them of not doing enough to produce more food: forcing farmers who knew better to strangle their crops by over-sowing seeds. The result? Famine, the exact opposite of what they were trying to achieve. A similar thing is going on in Gilead: miraculous claims that good citizens don't get sick, the idea that if you do, you must be doing something wrong, and never getting accurate information about it to the point where even someone who is an expert on the subject makes the wrong choice because the only evidence is that the thing is true, a good citizen can make this happen even if the goal is really impossible.
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[[folder: Possibly cutting Esther's tongue out]]
*Lydia being a sadistic, often mentally unstable, person is clear, but I really can't figure out what her twisted logic even is in this instance. When Lillie spoke out against stoning Janine, she was punished for convincing others 'to sin' by being unable to speak anymore. It's possible Lydia thought Esther would be so traumatised she'd become compliant, but if that didn't work, then, she'd have an angry girl who might not be able to even taste food anymore, might find it physically painful to even have things in her mouth, might have difficulty chewing/swallowing, and thus, consume less than needed even if she does comply with instructions to eat/drink, and who hell, might be allergic to something, deliberately consume this thing she's allergic to, and then, if she survived, others could be potentially be, 'Well, she couldn't orally tell anyone, she couldn't write it down, she's already been punished so much for not consuming food/drinks, so...' I do try not to expect logic from characters like Lydia, but seriously, how did she think taking something permanently out of Esther's mouth would force Esther to put things in said mouth?
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*Lydia being a sadistic, often mentally unstable, person is clear, but I really can't figure out what her twisted logic even is in this instance. When Lillie spoke out against stoning Janine, she was punished for convincing others 'to sin' by being unable to speak anymore. It's possible Lydia thought Esther would be so traumatised she'd become compliant, but if that didn't work, then, she'd have an angry girl who might not be able to even taste food anymore, might find it physically painful to even have things in her mouth, might have difficulty chewing/swallowing, and thus, consume less than needed even if she does comply with instructions to eat/drink, and who hell, might be allergic to something, deliberately consume this thing she's allergic to, and then, if she survived, others could be potentially be, 'Well, she couldn't orally tell anyone, she couldn't write it down, she's already been punished so much for not consuming food/drinks, so...' I do try not to expect logic from characters like Lydia, but seriously, how did she think taking something permanently out of Esther's mouth would force Esther to put things in said mouth?
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my last post was a bit mean spirited; this gets the point across better while adding a new angle.
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** It's pretty obvious, at least in the show, why so many women toe the party line, so to speak; it appears for every one of them, there's at least one [[{{Mooks}} Guardian]] with body armor and an assault rifle, ready to shoot them if they ever step out of line. Give me [[OffscreenDarkMatter infinite manpower, resources and money,]] and have anyone who might be able to oppose me physically vanish into thin air, and I'm sure I could get the whole country singing the praises of the Flying Spahgetti Monster. Why anyone besides "Incel" losers would want to be a soldier for Gilead, and what happened to everyone else is another question, one that the show and book doesn't seem interested in answering, because the premise is "what if the USA was a the worst society possible for women?" not "how could the USA become the worst society possible for women, and how would women still maintain their dignity in such an environment."
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** It's pretty obvious, at least in They're probably based on the show, why so many women toe the party line, so to speak; it appears for every one of them, there's at least one [[{{Mooks}} Guardian]] with body armor and an assault rifle, ready to shoot them if they ever step out of line. Give me [[OffscreenDarkMatter infinite manpower, resources and money,]] and have anyone who might be able to oppose me physically vanish into thin air, and I'm sure I could get the whole country singing the praises female supporters of the Flying Spahgetti Monster. Why anyone besides "Incel" losers would want Iranian Islamic Regime, some of whom worked in roles like the Secret Police. Whether there'd be enough of [[BoomerangBigot these]] in this context to be a soldier for Gilead, constitute an entire caste, and what happened to everyone else not just the odd PsychoSupporter though, is another question, one that the show and book doesn't seem interested in answering, because the premise is "what if the USA was a the worst society possible for women?" not "how issue, but you could ask the USA become the worst society possible for women, same thing about Gilead's legions and how would women still maintain their dignity in such an environment."legions of soldiers they've recruited.
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*** This, but also keep in mind, they had committed infidelity against a ''Commander''. If she had been an ordinary Econowife, it would probably have been enough to sentence her to become a Handmaid. Waterford doesn't even intercede on his wife's behalf when they maim her for reading because he knows that if he ''doesn't'' allow her to be maimed, that means the woman he's supposed to be able to control can flagrantly disregard the laws, which makes him (and by extension, the other Commanders and thus the government itself) look weak, and Gilead '''cannot''' afford to appear weak. Killing Eden and Isaac, a fallen woman and a disloyal serviceman respectively (the two most disposable types of person in Gilead), refusing to admit that they'd sinned against the government can ''only'' be dealt with by execution. Anything else would undermine the importance and power of the Commanders.
