“Aunt Elizabeth kneels, with an outspread towel to catch the baby, here’s the crowning, the glory, the head...” (126)
Atwood uses the words “crowning” and “glory” in two ways here. “The crowning glory” is a common phrase used to describe something that one is very proud of. This makes complete sense, because having a child is the one thing a Handmaid can be proud of. “Crowning” also is a stage of birth, when the top of the baby’s head first appears. This definition also works because a woman has just given birth.
"Definition of Crowning Glory from Cambridge Dictionary Online: Free English Dictionary and Thesaurus." Cambridge Dictionary Online: Free English Dictionary and Thesaurus - Cambridge University Press. Web. 04 Sept. 2011. <http://dictionary.cambridge.org/ dictionary/british/crowning-glory>.
that last line -- what work is it doing? this feels like it is missing something -- what might be Atwood's bigger point beyond the text?
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ReplyDelete4. Atwood uses the words “crowning” and “glory” in two ways here. “The crowning glory” is a common phrase used to describe something that one is very proud of. This makes complete sense, because having a child is the one thing a Handmaid can be proud of. Also, glory and pride are emotions that Handmaids never truly experience, so to them this experience would be similar to that of a king. “Crowning” also is a stage of birth, when the top of the baby’s head first appears. This definition also makes sense with the context, because the birth of a child is being described here.