So the “salvaging” has been done and we get a number of mixed images related to the three bodies hanging on the wall, all corresponding to flesh/meat and things that were once free and could fly. “Meatshop” reminds the reader of the “All Flesh” shop and that humans are made of meat, as are animals which we consume. “Flightless birds” plays on the idea of birds symbolizing freedom, which women in Gilead once had, but have no more. The same for the image of angels with wings, hanging to death — a contrast to the little angels from chapter 30. (Tangentially, I’m reminded of a line from It’s a Wonderful Life where we learn that “every time a bell rings, an angel’s received its wings.” That movie moment is quite a contrast from the bell tolling, the death knell, in the previous chapter.) Offred further describes the scene in a surreal way, as if it were an arranged, or choreographed ballet. One thing the reader is sure of is that it is for show — not for showbiz but to stage...