The passage from "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood reflects on the dehumanizing experience of individuals in a controlling society. Comparing people to pearls suggests that they are treated as valuable objects, but this comes with the cost of being molded by another's perception and judgment. The act of defining these individuals by "adjectives" highlights how their identity is stripped away and dictated by authority, leading to a sense of suffering.

The reference to pearls being "congealed oyster spit" contrasts the beauty often associated with pearls with the unpleasant reality of their origin. This imagery serves to emphasize the idea that what is deemed precious can have dark or gritty beginnings. It encapsulates the theme of how people may be viewed as beautiful on the surface while being subjected to exploitation and control beneath.