The Handmaid's Tale: Chapters 1–7

by Margaret Atwood
In this dystopian novel, America is a totalitarian theocracy in which young women are conscripted to serve the political elite.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–17, Chapters 18–24, Chapters 25–30, Chapter 31–Historical Notes

Click here to explore our lists for the novel's sequel, The Testaments.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. palimpsest
    a manuscript on which more than one text has been written
    Dances would have been held there; the music lingered, a palimpsest of unheard sound, style upon style, an undercurrent of drums, a forlorn wail, garlands made of tissue-paper flowers, cardboard devils, a revolving ball of mirrors, powdering the dancers with a snow of light.
  2. decorum
    propriety in manners and conduct
    But even if I were to ask, even if I were to violate decorum to that extent, Rita would not allow it.
  3. fraternize
    be on friendly terms with someone, as if with a brother
    The Marthas are not supposed to fraternize with us.
  4. pedantic
    marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning
    He said there was no corresponding word that meant to behave like a sister. Sororize, it would have to be, he said. From the Latin. He liked knowing about such details. The derivations of words, curious usages. I used to tease him about being pedantic.
  5. servile
    submissive or fawning in attitude or behavior
    He’s too casual, he’s not servile enough.
  6. whimsical
    determined by chance or impulse rather than by necessity
    He has a French face, lean, whimsical, all planes and angles, with creases around the mouth where he smiles.
  7. undulate
    move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
    That is the landscape I focus on, a field of oblongs, gently undulating where the earth beneath has buckled, from decade after decade of winter frost.
  8. wheedle
    influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
    She said, Think of yourselves as seeds, and right then her voice was wheedling, conspiratorial, like the voices of those women who used to teach ballet classes to children, and who would say, Arms up in the air now; let’s pretend we’re trees.
  9. nondescript
    lacking distinct or individual characteristics
    A shape, red with white wings around the face, a shape like mine, a nondescript woman in red carrying a basket, comes along the brick sidewalk towards me.
  10. orthodox
    adhering to what is commonly accepted
    During these walks she has never said anything that was not strictly orthodox, but then, neither have I. She may be a real believer, a Handmaid in more than name.
  11. menial
    relating to unskilled work, especially domestic work
    The Guardians aren’t real soldiers. They’re used for routine policing and other menial functions, digging up the Commander’s Wife’s garden, for instance, and they’re either stupid or older or disabled or very young, apart from the ones that are Eyes incognito.
  12. furtively
    in a secretive manner
    Nobody talks much, though there is a rustling, and the women’s heads move furtively from side to side: here, shopping, is where you might see someone you know, someone you’ve known in the time before, or at the Red Center.
  13. mesmerized
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    I’m looking down, at the sidewalk, mesmerized by the women’s feet.
  14. anachronism
    an artifact that belongs to another time
    These bodies hanging on the Wall are time travelers, anachronisms. They’ve come here from the past.
  15. disconsolate
    sad beyond comforting; incapable of being soothed
    It was cold, our breaths came out in front of us, there were no leaves on the trees; gray sky, two ducks in the pond, disconsolate.
Created on Tue Dec 06 16:50:53 EST 2016 (updated Tue Aug 12 10:18:27 EDT 2025)

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