Original artwork, not a still
The Handmaid's Tale ‧ 1985
The greeting of Gilead, The Handmaid's Tale (1985)
Under His Eye.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
A pious farewell that also works as a threat: someone is always watching. The phrase passed from the novel into politics and protest, worn on placards by marchers dressed as Handmaids. People use it to flag surveillance and religious control of women's lives.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for The Handmaid's TaleShow the scene
Under His Eye is the standard greeting and farewell between Gileadeans in The Handmaid's Tale (1985), a phrase for the ever-present gaze of God and of the Eyes, the regime's watchers. Margaret Atwood started the novel in West Berlin in spring 1984 and finished it in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Offred, the narrator, hears it at the end of encounters, while the response given for a Handmaid's greeting is Blessed be the fruit.
Sources (2)
- Gilead sayings (Handmaid's Tale wiki)Sayings in GileadReference checked
- The Handmaid's Tale (Wikipedia)Writing and backgroundReference checked
Context reviewed
