Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale is an adaptation of Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel. The series depicts a dystopian society where fertile women act as reproductive surrogates for influential figures known as handmaids.
Elizabeth Moss stars as the lead character, June Osborne, a handmaid who struggles to survive in the oppressive world of Gilead.
While this award-winning show centers around a society no one would want to be a part of, there's no denying that the show is profoundly compelling and packed with intriguing quotes.
Here's the scoop on the best quotes from The Handmaid's Tale!
1. "They should have never given us uniforms if they didn't want us to be an army." - June
2. “They all think I’m crazy, but I’m not.” – Janine
3. "Now I'm awake to the world. I was asleep before." – June
4. “You can’t change anything about this. It’s going to end the same no matter what you do so there’s no point trying to be tough or brave.” – Nick
5. "There was an Offred before me. She helped me find my way out. She's dead. She's alive. She is me." – June
6. “My name Is Moira. Not Ruby, a**hole.” – Moira
7. “You’re absolutely right. But sometimes we have to do what is best for everyone, not what is fair.” – Aunt Lydia
8. "Better never means better for everyone.” – Fred
9. "Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. Don't let the bastards grind you down." – Offred
10. "Even the righteous need a little show business." – Serena
11. “Sterile. That’s a forbidden word. There is no such thing as a sterile man anymore. There’s only women who are fruitful and women who are barren.” – June
12. “Blessed be the Fruit Loops.” – Erin
13. “Love isn’t real, it was never anything more than lust with a good marketing campaign.” – Fred
14. "Never mistake a women’s meekness for weakness.” - Mrs. Castillo
15. "The world can be quite an ugly place. But we cannot wish that ugliness away. We cannot hide from that ugliness." - Aunt Lydia
16. "I can do anything I want." – Janine
17. “Moira, you wouldn’t stand for this sh*t. You wouldn’t let them keep you in this room for two weeks. You’d find a way out. You’d escape.” – June
18. “We are handmaids.” – June
19. “It reminds me of a poem I read once.” – June
20. “When they slaughtered Congress, we didn’t wake up. When they blamed terrorists and suspended the Constitution, we didn’t wake up then either. They said it would be temporary. Nothing changes instantaneously. In a gradually heating bathtub, you’d be boiled to death before you knew it.” – June
21. “I know the way out: black van, feet first.” – Moira
22. “I’ve learned that he likes it when I flirt. And I like it when he lets me win. We’re a match made in heaven.” – June
23. “The most painful thing in this entire ugly incident is the ingratitude.” – Aunt Lydia
24. “God knows what's in your heart.” – Serena
25. “Is this enough for you, this bullsh*t life? Is this what you want? You want to polish his car and... once in a while, try to get a handmaid pregnant? Is that enough for you?” - June
26. “We are handmaids.” – June
27. “We're being stupid. You know we're being stupid. It's too dangerous.” - Nick
28. “No, it isn't.” - June
29.“ You could end up on the wall.” - Nick
30.“But at least someone will remember me. In this place. At least someone will care when I'm gone. That's something.” - June
31. “What have I learned, after 34 games?” – June
32. “Whatever punishment these girls had to endure was for the greater good. They deserve to be honored just like everyone else.” – Aunt Lydia
33. “You won’t want what you cannot have.” – Aunt Lydia
34. “Red’s my color.” – June
35. “You think I prayed for this? You think I prayed to bring a baby into this house?” - June
36. “And we do honor them. But you don’t put the bruised apples at the top of the crate, do you?” – Serena
37. "This will become ordinary." - Aunt Lydia
38. “Someone once said that men are afraid women will laugh at them. Women are afraid men will kill them.” – June
39. “We can try for a boy this time.”- Fred
40. “Go f*ck yourself, Fred.” - June
41. “She will obey his word.” – Serena
42. “She cannot read his word.” – June
43. “Soon you will be leaving us for new homes, a new family. And they won’t judge you for your looks, or your clothes or your ability to sound clever.” - Aunt Lydia
44. “I stretch out my arms to him, but he slips away. Like a ghost at daybreak. And I am left here.” – Offred
45. “If you had done better research, you would know I would never betray my country.” – Serena
46. “I thought you already did.”- Mark
47. “In reduced circumstances the desire to live attaches itself to strange object” – June
48. “Now, a tune to remind everyone who’s listening—American patriot or Gilead traitor—that we are still here. Stars and stripes forever, baby.” - Oprah
49. “Blessed be the fruit.” – June
50. “May the force be with you.” – Janine
51. “Every love story’s a tragedy if you wait long enough.” – Fred
52. “I don’t need oranges. I need to scream.” – June
53. “There’s always someone, even when there is no one.” – June
54. “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum, b*tches.” - June
55. “We must treat these girls respectfully, in a godly fashion, despite the moral stain from their lives before.” – Andrew Pryce
56. “It was true, I took too much for granted; I trusted fate, back then” – Offred
57. “How easy it is to invent a humanity, for anyone at all.” – June
58. “If it’s a story I’m telling, then I have control over the ending” – June
59. “It’s hard making it in a society that only cares about profit and pleasure.” – Andrew Pryce
60. “There’s always a black market, there’s always something that can be exchanged.” – June
61. Mayday can't use me anymore. But you can help them." - Emily
62. “Goodness. You look like the wreck of the Hesperus.” - Aunt Lydia
63. “What are you doing here?” – June
64. “I feel safer when we're together. Handmaids always walk in twos, remember?” – Janine
65. “You said you weren't gonna be any trouble.” - Joseph
66. “Yeah, I lied.” – June
67. “Pray for Gilead.” – Moira
68. “I will not be that girl in the box." – June
69. “It's not rocket science. All remaining fertile women should be collected and impregnated. By those of superior status, of course.” - Commander Guthrie
70. “You're talking about concubines!” - Andrew Pryce
71. “I don't care what you want to call it.” - Commander Guthrie
72. “The wives would never accept it.” - Fred
73. “That's a non-issue.” - Commander Guthrie
74. “We won't succeed without their support. You know that.” - Fred
75. “Maybe the wife should be there. For the act. It would be less of a violation. There is scriptural precedent.” - Andrew Pryce
76. “Act may not be the best name. From a branding perspective. The Ceremony?” - Fred
77. “Sounds good. Nice and godly. The wives will eat that sh*t up.” - Commander Guthrie
78. “After they finished their questions, they gave me a choice: the Colonies or Jezebel's.” - Moira
79. "We're gonna find a way to get you out of here, okay?" - June
80. “No one's made a move yet here, but I can't help feeling there's a target on my back.” - Fred
81. “ I suppose that's what happens when you're the boss.” - June
82. “You do understand me, don't you.” - Fred
83. “It's like walking in the past, don't you think?” - Fred
84. “I thought these kinds of places were forbidden.” - June
85. "Officially.” - Fred
86. “Unofficially?” - June
87. “Oh, we turn a blind eye. Everyone's human, after all. Now, let's get you a drink.” - Fred
88. “Praised be his mercy. He's answered our prayers.” - Serena
89. “Some of us retain an appreciation for the old things.” – Fred
90. “Maybe she’s just keeping me occupied until the black van arrives.” – June
91. “That look on your face is thanks enough.” – Fred
92. “How hard would I have to press those shears into her neck before seeing blood?” – June
93. “I just find the whole thing so impersonal.” - Fred
94. “You miss this? Lists of made up problems.” – Fred
95. “We had choices then.” – June
96. “Now you have respect. You have protection. You can fulfill your biological destinies in peace.” – Fred
97. “Biological destiny?” – June
98. “Children. What else is there to live for?” – Fred
99. “Up for some excitement? I thought maybe we could do something different tonight.” - Fred
100. “Monopoly?” - June
If you enjoyed these quotes from The Handmaid's Tale, get ready because Hulu has renewed the series for another season!
Which quote from The Handmaid's Tale is your favorite?
For the scoop on more quotes, check out these articles:
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