The Handmaid's Tale, #2
The Testaments
by Margaret Atwood
Contents
14
Overview
After her father’s wedding to Paula, Agnes attends Religion class where Aunt Vidala teaches the brutal story of the concubine cut into twelve pieces as a warning against female disobedience. Becka is traumatized, prompting Aunt Estée to recast the tale as noble sacrifice, exposing Gilead’s manipulation. Agnes comforts Becka, who quietly vows never to marry, signaling resistance.
Summary
Shortly after Agnes’s father marries Paula, a disturbing lesson occurs in Religion class, taught by Aunt Vidala at the Vidala School. The classroom is dominated by Founders’ portraits, reinforcing hierarchy and reverence, especially for Baby Nicole and Aunt Lydia.
Aunt Vidala gathers the girls close and tells the story of the concubine who ran away, framing it as divine punishment for female disobedience. When the concubine is handed to violent men and found dead, Aunt Vidala declares this a just consequence and a warning that women must honour male authority.
Becka, sitting beside Agnes, is devastated and asks how the concubine died. As Becka breaks into sobs, Agnes seeks permission to comfort her. Concerned about Becka’s influential father, Aunt Vidala leaves to fetch help.
Aunt Estée arrives to calm the class and reframes the story: the concubine “sacrificed” herself to save the traveller, presenting female suffering as noble duty. She soothes the girls with cookies and emphasizes that men sacrifice in war while women sacrifice in other ways, embedding gendered obedience.
While the others resume composure, Becka quietly declares she will never marry. Shunammite dismisses her distress, but Agnes hears Becka’s refusal, marking a private act of resistance shaped by the regime’s coercive teachings.
Who Appears
- AgnesNarrator; observes Religion class, comforts Becka, and notes Gilead’s manipulative framing of female obedience.
- Aunt VidalaReligion teacher; uses the concubine story to enforce obedience and justify punishment for disobedient women.
- BeckaAgnes’s classmate; traumatized by the story, comforted by Agnes, resolves never to marry.
- Aunt EstéeCalled in to calm the class; reframes the tale as noble female sacrifice and soothes the girls.
- ShunammiteClassmate; dismisses Becka’s distress and parrots conformity, insisting everyone marries.