Space-time. We get the idea once again of space to be filled, like the space between parentheses from chapter 13. And time to be filled. Remembering from the previous chapter that intelligent women in Gilead have no intellectual outlet, we can further understand Offred’s frustration, and she will bring this up again later in the chapter. Offred, in this spare time, plays with words again. She’s like an invalid who can’t get her own food. But she’s also “invalid” and not a real person with freedom. This brings her to the idea of the “invalid” passport that caused the problems at the border with her escape with Luke and her daughter. We get more backstory of the attempted escape of Luke, Offred, and baby. We get a nice contrast between the mangy stuffed animals in the car with her daughter (trapped) and with the free birds she and the guards witness in the air above. Interestingly, they land on the bridge by which the three would be escaping. She prays for escape to a god she knows isn’t there. Or is it god...