Language is a weapon. In Margaret Atwood's dystopian masterpiece, words aren't just for talking; they are tools of absolute control. You've heard it a thousand times. Praise be. It’s catchy. It’s creepy. It’s everywhere from protest signs at the Supreme Court to ironic memes on your Instagram feed. But if you look closer at how The Handmaid's Tale quotes "praise be" and other liturgical snippets, you realize they aren't just religious set dressing. They are the linguistic bars of a very real cage.
Gilead doesn't just take your bank account and your name. It takes your vocabulary. By forcing women like Offred to speak in pre-approved scripts, the regime effectively lobotomizes free thought. Honestly, it’s brilliant in the worst way possible. If you can’t say "I’m angry" or "This is wrong," and can only respond with "Praise be," your brain eventually starts to cramp up. It’s a forced performance of gratitude for a life that is objectively miserable.
The Chilling Mechanics of Praise Be
The phrase "praise be" is usually paired with "Blessed be the fruit." The standard response? "May the Lord open." It sounds like a greeting, but it's actually a checkpoint. When Offred and Ofglen walk to the market, these phrases act as a verbal handshake to ensure neither is a rebel. They are checking each other’s programming.
Margaret Atwood didn’t just pull these out of thin air. She famously stated that she didn't put anything into the book that hadn't already happened in history. The use of "Praise be" mirrors the way extremist regimes—and even some high-control religious groups—use repetitive "thought-terminating cliches." These are words that exist to stop a conversation rather than start one. When someone says "Praise be" after hearing about a successful execution or a new pregnancy, there is no room for nuance. You can’t argue with a blessing.
It’s about the erasure of the individual. In the Hulu series, Elisabeth Moss plays Offred with a face that says a million things while her mouth stays shut or utters these empty phrases. That’s the tension. The "Praise be" quotes in The Handmaid’s Tale represent the gap between the internal human soul and the external political mask. It’s a mask made of holy words.
More Than Just Religious Talk
People often mistake Gilead for a purely religious project. It's not. It's a political project using religion as a skin-suit. "Praise be" is the brand.
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Consider the scene where a Handmaid is told she is pregnant. The room erupts in "Praise be." Is it a celebration of life? No. It’s a celebration of a biological resource being successfully harvested. The quote becomes a way to sanitize the horrific reality of state-sanctioned sexual slavery. By slapping a "Praise be" on it, the Commanders make the grotesque feel divine. It’s gaslighting on a national scale.
The Power of Subversion
What's really fascinating is how the characters occasionally flip the script. In the later seasons of the show and sections of the The Testaments (Atwood's 2019 sequel), "Praise be" starts to sound different.
Sometimes it's spat out with enough venom to kill a snake. Sometimes it's used as a code among the Marthas. When a rebel character says "Praise be" after hearing a high-ranking Commander has been killed, the meaning flips 180 degrees. It’s no longer a submissive prayer; it’s a victory lap. This is what linguists call "reappropriation." The oppressed take the language of the oppressor and turn it into a knife.
Why We Can't Stop Quoting It
Why did "Praise be" stick? Why not "Under His Eye"? Well, "Under His Eye" is a threat. It’s a reminder of surveillance. But "Praise be" is more insidious because it’s a lie. It’s the requirement to be happy about your own oppression.
In our current world, we see versions of this in "toxic positivity" or corporate-speak. We’re told to "lean in" or be "gratefully employed" even when the conditions are garbage. While we aren't living in Gilead, the resonance is there. That’s why the quotes from The Handmaid's Tale like "praise be" have such a long shelf life. They remind us that the first step to losing your freedom is losing the right to say how you actually feel.
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The Historical Mirror
Atwood looked at the 17th-century Puritans. She looked at the cultural revolution in Iran. She looked at the American Right. She saw that in every case, control of women started with control of their public speech. In the 1600s, "scolds" (women who talked back) could be put in a "ducking stool" or forced to wear a "brank’s bridle"—a metal mask that held the tongue down.
"Praise be" is the modern, literary version of a brank’s bridle. It doesn’t need metal; it just needs the threat of the Wall. If you don't say the words, you're an "Unwoman." You go to the Colonies to shovel toxic waste until your skin falls off. Suddenly, "Praise be" doesn't seem like such a hard thing to say.
Beyond the Script: Key Quotes That Define the Vibe
While "Praise be" gets the headlines, it works in tandem with a specific set of Gilead-approved slogans. You sort of have to understand the whole ecosystem of their speech to get why "Praise be" is so heavy.
- "Blessed be the fruit." This is the setup. It’s the "hello." It frames the woman entirely by her reproductive potential.
- "May the Lord open." The response. It’s a prayer for a pregnancy, regardless of whether the woman wants it.
- "Under His Eye." The goodbye. It serves as a reminder that God—and the Secret Police—are watching.
- "Nolite te bastardes carborundorum." This is the antidote. "Don't let the bastards grind you down." It’s fake Latin, but it’s the most important quote in the franchise. It’s the secret, messy, "un-Praise be" thought that keeps the Handmaids sane.
The Cultural Impact of the Phrase
Nowadays, you’ll see "Praise be" used in political commentary. When a law is passed that restricts reproductive rights, Twitter (or X, whatever) lights up with Handmaid's Tale quotes. It’s a shorthand. It’s a way of saying, "We see where this is going."
But there’s a danger in overusing it. If we use "Praise be" for every minor political disagreement, we dilute the sheer horror of what Atwood was describing. Gilead isn’t just "annoying politics." It’s the total erasure of the human person.
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The quote is a mirror. It asks us: How many times a day do you say something you don't mean just to fit in? How many times do you use "professional" language to mask a messy reality? We all have our own little versions of "Praise be."
The Actionable Truth Behind the Fiction
Understanding the weight of these quotes isn't just for English majors or TV junkies. It's a lesson in media literacy and psychological self-defense. If you want to resist the kind of "thought control" depicted in the show, you have to be intentional about your own language.
Diversify your intake. Read things that challenge the "accepted" way of speaking. If you find yourself using the same five buzzwords at work or in your social circle, stop. Try to describe your reality in "plain English" instead of scripts.
Watch for the "Sanitization" of Language. In Gilead, a forced ceremony is called "The Ceremony." An execution is a "Salvaging." In the real world, "collateral damage" means dead civilians. "Downsizing" means people losing their livelihoods. When you see language being used to make something ugly sound "holy" or "necessary," that’s your "Praise be" red flag.
Protect the "Internal Room." Offred survives because she keeps a space in her head where Gilead isn't allowed. She remembers the smell of old perfume, the way her daughter's hair felt, and words like "star-lust." She keeps her vocabulary alive in the dark.
Support Independent Art. The reason The Handmaid’s Tale hits so hard is that it was written by someone who refused to follow the "scripts" of her time. Supporting writers, journalists, and artists who speak truth—even when it's uncomfortable—is the best way to ensure we never have to say "Praise be" for real.
The quotes aren't just lines from a script. They are a warning. Language is the first thing to go, but it's also the first tool of the resistance. Use yours wisely. Avoid the pre-packaged response. Don't let the bastards grind your vocabulary down.