---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No empire imposed by force or otherwise…"
description: "\"“No empire imposed by force or otherwise has ever been without this feature: control of the indigenous by members of their own group. In the case of Gi..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fa/margaret-atwood-40_faith_no-empire-imposed-by-force-or-otherwise_579252.jpg"
---

#  No empire imposed by force or otherwise has ever been…

![“No empire imposed by force or otherwise has ever been without this feature: control of the indigenous by members of their own group. In the case of Gilead, there were many women willing to serve as Aunts, either because of a genuine belief in what they called "traditional values", or for the…” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fa/margaret-atwood-40_faith_no-empire-imposed-by-force-or-otherwise_579252.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fa/margaret-atwood-40_faith_no-empire-imposed-by-force-or-otherwise_579252.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fa/margaret-atwood-40_faith_no-empire-imposed-by-force-or-otherwise_579252.jpg)

> ““No empire imposed by force or otherwise has ever been without this feature: control of the indigenous by members of their own group. In the case of Gilead, there were many women willing to serve as Aunts, either because of a genuine belief in what they called "traditional values", or for the benefits they might thereby acquire. When power is scarce, a little of it is tempting.””

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Power structures rely on co‑opted insiders; even oppressive regimes enlist members of the dominated group to enforce control.

**In simple terms:** Oppressive regimes use insiders to maintain control.

Key Takeaway

Watch for insiders who legitimize oppression.

Themes

power control collaboration gender politics

Mood

cautious critical reflective

Type

analytical political

When to use this quote

- political movements
- corporate cultures
- community leadership
- reform initiatives

Key Concepts

co‑optation legitimacy social hierarchy

Questions to Reflect On

- Who benefits from the power you hold?
- How can you prevent co‑optation?

A Different Perspective

Even with insiders, resistance can arise from within.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Aunts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aunts/) [Control Indigenous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control-indigenous-4765247/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Gilead Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gilead-women-4765249/) [Indigenous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indigenous/) [Serve Aunts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serve-aunts-4765248/) [Traditional values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traditional-values/)

## Related quotes

> [“A return to traditional values. Waste not want not. I am not being wasted. Why do I want?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/a-return-to-traditional-values-waste-not-want-not-i-am-not-being/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“This is the kind of touch they like: folk art, archaic, made by women, in their spare time, from things that have no further…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/this-is-the-kind-of-touch-they-like-folk-art-archaic-made-by-women-in/)

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> [Aunts offer kids an opportunity to try out ideas that don't chime with their parents and they also demonstrate that people can get on,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/aunts-offer-kids-an-opportunity-to-try-out-ideas-that-don-t-chime/)

[Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/)

> [Whenever I've not known what to do, I've always gone back to the Carter Family because there was nothing like singing with my aunts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlene-carter/whenever-i-ve-not-known-what-to-do-i-ve-always-gone-back-to-the/)

[Carlene Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlene-carter/)

> [“Aunts are to be a pattern and example to all aunts; to be a delight to boys (and girls) and a comfort to their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-isay/aunts-are-to-be-a-pattern-and-example-to-all-aunts-to-be-a-delight-to/)

[Dave Isay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-isay/)

> [The best aunts aren't substitute parents, they're co-conspirators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-gregory/the-best-aunts-aren-t-substitute-parents-they-re-co-conspirators/)

[Daryl Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-gregory/)

> [We're good at taking care of little kids, and spend a lot of energy teaching them things like how to read. But when kids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/we-re-good-at-taking-care-of-little-kids-and-spend-a-lot-of-energy/)

[Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/)

> [“Don’t they put aunts in Turkey in sacks and drop them in the Bosphorus?’ ‘Odalisques, sir, I understand. Not aunts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/don-t-they-put-aunts-in-turkey-in-sacks-and-drop-them-in-the/)

[P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/)

> [My parents had become adults during the Great Depression, as had many of my aunts and uncles, so I got stories from all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-r-lansdale/my-parents-had-become-adults-during-the-great-depression-as-had-many/)

[Joe R. Lansdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-r-lansdale/)

> [I grew up with a posh English accent, and all my aunts sounded as if they came out of a Merchant Ivory movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kwan/i-grew-up-with-a-posh-english-accent-and-all-my-aunts-sounded-as-if/)

[Kevin Kwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kwan/)

> [I had aunts who played piano and sang and also were entertainers, so music was very much a part of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianne-reeves/i-had-aunts-who-played-piano-and-sang-and-also-were-entertainers-so/)

[Dianne Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianne-reeves/)

> [ The disinterest \[of my two great-aunts\] in anything that had to do with high society was such that their sense of hearing ... put… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-disinterest-of-my-two-great-aunts-in-anything-that-had-to-do-with/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [I have always maintained the importance of Aunts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-have-always-maintained-the-importance-of-aunts/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [“Amish children are usually named after aunts or uncles or some other relation. Keeps the family names going.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-price/amish-children-are-usually-named-after-aunts-or-uncles-or-some-other/)

[Sarah Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-price/)

> [My only way of getting my uncles' attention or aunts' attention or whoever's attention was by dancing and singing around the house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-g/my-only-way-of-getting-my-uncles-attention-or-aunts-attention-or/)

[Becky G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-g/)

## More by Margaret Atwood

> [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/)

[margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Simon walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

[Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

## More Aunts quotes

> [My only way of getting my uncles' attention or aunts' attention or whoever's attention was by dancing and singing around the house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-g/my-only-way-of-getting-my-uncles-attention-or-aunts-attention-or/)

[Becky G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-g/)

> [“Amish children are usually named after aunts or uncles or some other relation. Keeps the family names going.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-price/amish-children-are-usually-named-after-aunts-or-uncles-or-some-other/)

[Sarah Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-price/)

> [I have always maintained the importance of Aunts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-have-always-maintained-the-importance-of-aunts/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [ The disinterest \[of my two great-aunts\] in anything that had to do with high society was such that their sense of hearing ... put… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-disinterest-of-my-two-great-aunts-in-anything-that-had-to-do-with/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [I had aunts who played piano and sang and also were entertainers, so music was very much a part of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianne-reeves/i-had-aunts-who-played-piano-and-sang-and-also-were-entertainers-so/)

[Dianne Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianne-reeves/)

> [I grew up with a posh English accent, and all my aunts sounded as if they came out of a Merchant Ivory movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kwan/i-grew-up-with-a-posh-english-accent-and-all-my-aunts-sounded-as-if/)

[Kevin Kwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kwan/)

> [My parents had become adults during the Great Depression, as had many of my aunts and uncles, so I got stories from all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-r-lansdale/my-parents-had-become-adults-during-the-great-depression-as-had-many/)

[Joe R. Lansdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-r-lansdale/)

> [“Don’t they put aunts in Turkey in sacks and drop them in the Bosphorus?’ ‘Odalisques, sir, I understand. Not aunts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/don-t-they-put-aunts-in-turkey-in-sacks-and-drop-them-in-the/)

[P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/)

> [We're good at taking care of little kids, and spend a lot of energy teaching them things like how to read. But when kids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/we-re-good-at-taking-care-of-little-kids-and-spend-a-lot-of-energy/)

[Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/)

> [The best aunts aren't substitute parents, they're co-conspirators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-gregory/the-best-aunts-aren-t-substitute-parents-they-re-co-conspirators/)

[Daryl Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-gregory/)

> [“Aunts are to be a pattern and example to all aunts; to be a delight to boys (and girls) and a comfort to their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-isay/aunts-are-to-be-a-pattern-and-example-to-all-aunts-to-be-a-delight-to/)

[Dave Isay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-isay/)

> [Whenever I've not known what to do, I've always gone back to the Carter Family because there was nothing like singing with my aunts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlene-carter/whenever-i-ve-not-known-what-to-do-i-ve-always-gone-back-to-the/)

[Carlene Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlene-carter/)

> [Aunts offer kids an opportunity to try out ideas that don't chime with their parents and they also demonstrate that people can get on,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/aunts-offer-kids-an-opportunity-to-try-out-ideas-that-don-t-chime/)

[Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/)

> [Across the board, from my mother to my father to my aunts and uncles, everybody has always given me a lot of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-lee/across-the-board-from-my-mother-to-my-father-to-my-aunts-and-uncles/)

[Amos Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-lee/)

> [Quite honestly, if we do manage to destroy the planet with our devil-may-care attitude to natural resources, I'd suggest we leave, as a dossier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariella-frostrup/quite-honestly-if-we-do-manage-to-destroy-the-planet-with-our-devil/)

[Mariella Frostrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariella-frostrup/)

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