The Handmaid's Tale, #2
The Testaments
by Margaret Atwood
Contents
19
Overview
Agnes faces superstition-fueled isolation at school after Ofkyle’s death, viewed as both cursed and blessed because baby Mark lived. At home, Paula enjoys the status of a male infant but delegates care to a wet nurse, now renamed Ofkyle, while Marthas dote on the child. Agnes resists the enforced celebration and retreats inward.
Summary
Agnes describes how her standing at the Vidala School worsens after Handmaid Ofkyle’s death. She recalls the school’s official religion taught by Aunts and the girls’ shadow religion of games and songs, including morbid chants like “Hanging,” which normalize execution and fertility themes among children.
Among older girls, whispered rhymes assign curses linked to outcomes at Birth. Because Ofkyle died during Mark’s delivery, Agnes is considered accursed, yet also oddly blessed because the baby survived. The girls avoid Agnes; Huldah averts her gaze, Becka quietly shares food, and Shunammite distances herself out of fear or envy.
At home, all attention centers on the newborn, Mark. Paula enjoys the prestige of a male infant and briefly exhibits him socially, then hands him off to a wet nurse—formerly Oftucker, now renamed Ofkyle. The Marthas cherish Mark, fussing over his baths and vitality.
Agnes is expected to join in the adoration, told she will be happy once she has a baby of her own. Doubting that promise, Agnes avoids the household cheer, retreats to her room, and broods over the unfairness of her situation.
Who Appears
- AgnesNarrator; ostracized at school after the Handmaid’s death and withdraws from home’s baby-centered cheer.
- PaulaAgnes’s stepmother; enjoys status from baby Mark, displays him, then delegates care to a wet nurse.
- MarkNewborn son; survives the Birth that killed the Handmaid and becomes the household’s focus.
- BeckaSchool friend; avoids Agnes publicly but secretly shares food in quiet solidarity.
- ShunammiteFormer friend; pulls away from Agnes, possibly from fear or envy.
- HuldahClassmate; visibly avoids Agnes due to the superstition around Ofkyle’s death.
- Ofkyle (wet nurse)Formerly Oftucker; now wet nurse for Mark and renamed Ofkyle.
- MarthasHousehold servants; dote on Mark and celebrate his vigor.