"Spring has now been undergone. The tulips have had their moment and are done, shedding their pedals one by one, like teeth." (153)
Spring is the time of year for awakenings; of birth and new life. Spring is also considered the prime years of someone's life to bear children. In Atwood's book, Offred realizes that her prime time is coming to an end, in both her menstrual cycle and her life, and that summer is beginning. The petals of her womb are shedding, and the tulips, meaning her child-bearing organs, have expired. The usage of "teeth" is used cleverly, in the sense that as people get older they are more prone to losing them, and, as stated in the New Oxford American Dictionary, they can be a genuine force or effectiveness of a body. Whether it is Offred, the Commander, or the both of them, one of those options is certain- one of them has lost their reproductive teeth.
New Oxford American Dictionary
I love the language in the opening setnences -- this is strong thinking; maybe "reproducTIVE?" -- careful about getting caught up in definitions for your sources -- though in HT, definitions certainly play an important part, the multiple definitions of certain words coming to bear
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