" 'Blessed be the fruit,' she says to me, the accepted greeting among us." (19)

        This is an allusion to a section of the Bible, called Deuteronomy : 4. The line it is alluding to is "Blessed be the fruit of your womb, the produce of your soil and the offspring of your livestock, the issue of your herds and the young of your flocks!" The meaning behind this prayer is abundance, and "the fruit of your womb" means abundance of children. This is the Handmaids' greeting because they are hoping that their companions become pregnant and have children, so that they will not become Unwomen and be forced to live in the colonies. The Biblical greeting shows just how much of a theocracy society has become- the women were brainwashed to learn Christian values whether they truly believed in them or not.

Source: Knight, Kevin. "Deuteronomy 28." New Advent Bible. New Advent, n.d. Web. 30 Aug              2010. <http://www.newadvent.org/bible/deu028.htm>