“Blessed be the fruit” is a common phrase used in the dystopian novel and subsequent television series, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” by Margaret Atwood. The story takes place in a totalitarian society called Gilead, where women’s rights are stripped away, and a group of women called Handmaids are forced to bear children for the ruling class.
In the context of the story, “blessed be the fruit” is a greeting that Handmaids are required to use when greeting one another. The phrase is used as a reminder of their duty to bear children, which is considered a sacred duty in Gilead.
The phrase has religious connotations, as it is reminiscent of a passage from the Bible: “Blessed is the fruit of thy womb,” which refers to the baby Jesus. This religious reference ties in with the religious themes present in the novel and TV series, as Gilead is portrayed as a theocracy, with religion used as a tool to control the population.
The phrase “blessed be the fruit” is also a way of reinforcing the idea that the Handmaids’ bodies are not their own, but rather are considered property of the state. By forcing them to bear children, the ruling class is able to control the Handmaids and use their bodies for their own purposes.
Overall, “blessed be the fruit” is a phrase used in “The Handmaid’s Tale” to reinforce the religious and patriarchal themes present in the story. It serves as a reminder of the Handmaids’ duty to bear children, and reinforces the idea that their bodies are not their own, but rather are the property of the state.