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The Handmaid’s Tale (2017-2025) is a dystopian political drama that follows the story of June/Offred (Elizabeth Moss) in Gilead, formerly America. The show delves into the lives of a handful of fertile women who are forced to bear children for barren women in a totalitarian society ruled by religious beliefs.
Based on Margaret Atwood's book The Handmaid's Tale, the series has a nuanced take on women's rights and bodily autonomy told from the lens of political upheaval and the tight noose of governmental laws. Its timeless themes coincide with real-life events, blurring the line between real life and dystopia.
The Handmaid's Tale promises and delivers memorable quotes, some impactful, some funny, but mostly introspective.
Disclaimer: All opinions in this article belong solely to the writer.
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Memorable lines from The Handmaid's Tale that fans love
1) "Now I'm awake to the world. I was asleep before. That's how we let it happen."- June (season 1, episode 3)
June describes how America, once the land of the free, turned into the dystopian Gilead:
"Now I'm awake to the world. I was asleep before. That's how we let it happen. When they slaughtered Congress, we didn't wake up. When they blamed terrorists and suspended the constitution, we didn't wake up then, either. Nothing changes instantaneously. In a gradually heating bathtub, you'd be boiled to death before you knew it."
This quote establishes important context for the premise of The Handmaid's Tale. The world stood by idly and watched the changes happen, confident that things wouldn't change too much. But with every gradual change, they were heading straight to their doom.
June has no choice but to be awake and alert to her reality in present-day Gilead. She has lost her life, her husband Luke, and her daughter Hannah, and must stay alive to get back to them someday. Resigned to her fate, she compares her life to a gradually heating bathtub.
2) "If they didn't want an army, they shouldn't have given us uniforms."- June (season 1, episode 8)
Most of The Handmaid's Tale focuses on small and big rebellions from the women in red. Simmering with rage, they need no motivation to fight back against the system that forces them to be child-bearers for men they do not know or care about. So when June says:
"It's their own fault. If they didn't want an army, they shouldn't have given us uniforms."
Fans immediately understand that an upheaval is stirring in Gilead's underbelly. The line is at once hopeful and chilling, establishing the course of the next few seasons of the show.
3) "Better never means better for everyone"- Commander Waterford (season 1, episode 5)
June is assigned as a handmaid to Commander Waterford and his wife Serena. In one of their conversations, he says:
"Better never means better for everyone. It always means worse, for some."
While he might be saying this about Gilead and the system he helped create in their dystopic reality, the quote from The Handmaid's Tale resonates as societal commentary. Betterment at the cost of someone's misery seems inevitable, and this dialogue nudges fans to consider the real-world implications.
4) "This may not be ordinary to you now, but after a time it will."- Aunt Lydia (Season 1, Episode 1)
Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) is tasked with training the handmaids and teaching them Gilead's ways. She accepts her new role wholeheartedly, believing the new order is the best way to honor the Lord's ways. So when she says,
"This may not be ordinary to you now, but after a time it will."
It might feel like solace without the context of The Handmaid's Tale, but the premise makes it haunting. The quote implies that with a little coaxing and some time, human beings are capable of getting used to even the worst conditions.
5) "America wasn't Gilead until it was, and then it was too f*cking late."- June (season 5, episode 10 )
Anti-refugee sentiment in Canada urges June to reconsider running away to some other haven. After she gets attacked and almost killed, she fears for her and her family's safety. When Luke tells her Canada isn't Gilead, June gravely reminds him:
"America wasn't Gilead until it was, and then it was too f*cking late."
This goes back to June being alert to her surroundings, cognizant of every minute change. This dialogue in The Handmaid's Tale shows that her self-preservation skills have increased tremendously since pre-Gilead.
6) "Blessed be the fruit loops"- Erin (season 2, episode 3)
The Handmaid's Tale often threw funny quips fans' way, giving hope in a morbid time. Erin, who was once a handmaid, escapes with the rebels to Canada, where she lives with Luke and Moira. Initially mute from all the trauma, her character serves as a relic of what would become of the handmaids.
As a playful twist of the Gilead greeting "Blessed be the fruit" (referring to fertile women), Erin says, while eating cereal:
"Blessed be the Fruit Loops."
She breaks her silence with a rebellious joke, making the dialogue iconic in the show's six-season run.
7) "No mother is ever completely a child's idea of what a mother should be."- June (season 2, episode 3)
In this episode of The Handmaid's Tale, June's difficult past with her feminist-activist mother is explored. Her mother opposes her wedding, saying she is settling without thinking about it. An angry June argues with her. In present-day Gilead, June reminisces about her mother's role in her life:
"No mother is ever completely a child's idea of what a mother should be. And I suppose it works the other way around as well. But... despite everything... we didn't do badly by one another. We did as well as most. I wish my mother were here so I could tell her I finally know this. So I could tell her I forgive her. And then ask Hannah to forgive me."
June's dialogue rings true for all mothers and daughters who try to break the cycle of their predecessors. But life is a vicious circle, and June realizes she judged her mother harshly. Her realization hits hard, having lost both her mother and daughter to Gilead.
8) "I have sinned plenty, but you...you are the gender traitor."- Moira (season 3, episode 12)
Moira delivers Nichole to Serena for her allocated baby bonding time while in a sophisticated prison that does not paint a picture of the Waterfords' misdeeds. In an epic confrontation that was a long time coming, Moira stands up for herself and the rest of the handmaids by putting Serena in her place:
"I have sinned plenty but you... you are the gender traitor."
In this episode of The Handmaid's Tale, she reminds Serena not to get too comfortable in her skin because she turned against her own kind for power. Her compliance with Gilead's creation and subsequent treatment of June earned Moira's wrath.
9) "Nolite te b*stardes carborundorum. Don't let the b*stards grind you down"- Writing on the wall (season 1, episode 4)
Serena punishes June for lying about her pregnancy by locking her up in her room. June notices the Latin phrase (although the phrase isn't entirely Latin, but a play on Latin words) scratched on the wall, and her mind wanders to her time at the Red Center with Moira:
"Nolite te b*stardes carborundorum."
The phrase is a nod to Margaret Atwood's book The Handmaid's Tale and signifies rising against Gilead's tyrannical rule, irrespective of what the women go through. It is a symbol of their resistance.
10) "We believe the women."- Canadian diplomat (season 2, episode 9)
The Waterfords travel to Canada to initiate diplomacy. Nick finds Luke and hands over all the handmaid's letters to him. These letters paint a lesser-known picture of the women's plight under Gilead. When Luke and Moira publish them on the internet, the Canadians refuse to talk to the Waterfords.
When Commander Waterford brushes the letters off as exaggerated, the Canadian diplomat sternly replies:
"We believe the women."
It is a haunting moment in The Handmaid's Tale that exposes Gilead to the outside world, but the quote resonated with fans for its support of women's struggles worldwide.
Season 6 episode 1 of The Handmaid's Tale premiered April 6th on Hulu. Stream all episodes now!
