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Unreliable Narrator
Definition of Verbal Irony
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. When there's a hurricane raging outside and someone remarks "what... read full definition
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. When there's a hurricane raging... read full definition
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean... read full definition
Chapter 7
Explanation and Analysis—Free Will:
In Chapter 7, Offred describes her nighttime routine and thoughts to the viewer, depicting this time as the only truly free time she possesses. Her freedom comes with conditions, however—such strict conditions, in fact, that it might as well not be freedom at all. Offred uses verbal irony to convey her simultaneous frustration and gratitude for this evening time:
The night is mine, my own time, to do with as I will, as long as I am quiet. As long as I don't move. As long as I lie still. The difference between lie and lay. Lay is always passive.
The verbal irony in this passage emphasizes Offred's true lack of freedom in her current condition. The nighttime is her "own time," yet all she can do is be quiet and lie still. Despite this, the freedom to think during this time is important to Offred, presenting her with the opportunity to lose herself to memory and pondering in an environment relatively free from observation by others. Under such an oppressive regime, having time to think to herself is perhaps one of the only things saving Offred from completely succumbing to religious propaganda. In this way, despite her restrictions, Offred fends off the colonization of her mind.
Related Themes:
