The Handmaid's Tale, #2
The Testaments
by Margaret Atwood
Contents
20
Overview
Aunt Lydia assesses Gilead’s northern escape problem, entertains a harsh crackdown from rival Aunts, and relays Commander Judd’s successes against Mayday while hinting at traitors within Gilead—even Ardua Hall. Shifting to her origin, she recounts the post-coup roundup of professional women, forced confinement, and the public execution of detainees to enforce terror and compliance.
Summary
Aunt Lydia reflects on Ardua Hall’s seasonal calm while sharpening her rivalry with Aunt Vidala, promising to stay steps ahead. She outlines Gilead’s persistent emigration problem via permeable northern borders and the clandestine aid networks rooted in Maine and Vermont.
Aunts Elizabeth, Helena, and Vidala present “Operation Dead End,” a severe plan to trap fleeing Handmaids. Lydia, outwardly supportive, passes it to Commander Judd. After raids in Upstate New York net suspected Mayday associates, Lydia privately shares Judd’s news: two top Mayday operatives in Canada have been killed with Pearl Girl help; Aunt Adrianna is a casualty, Aunt Sally likely safe.
Lydia then discloses a serious breach—Mayday received inside information from traitors within Gilead—and pointedly urges vigilance even at Ardua Hall, unsettling her rivals. She notes dwindling supplies and resumes her memoir, returning to the moment of mass detention at a stadium.
In the flashback, Lydia and Anita are herded with other professional women—judges, lawyers, and nearby, doctors—deprived of belongings, food, and bathrooms under armed guard in blistering heat. The captors distribute water but forbid speech, using humiliation and pain to weaken resistance.
As a terror display, twenty blindfolded women are arranged on the field; ten kneel, and all are executed by trained gunmen after a pious oration. The detainees are forced to watch in silence, learning that dissent will be crushed. That night they are moved to filthy locker rooms with lights left on, where Lydia recognizes that “mercy” is absent; control and convenience govern.
Who Appears
- Aunt LydiaNarrator; maneuvers rival Aunts, reports on Mayday kills, warns of internal traitors; recalls her stadium detention and executions.
- Aunt VidalaRival Aunt; co-authors Operation Dead End; zealous, suspicious; target of Lydia’s calculated warnings.
- Aunt ElizabethCo-authors Operation Dead End; eager for harsher controls and credited raids.
- Aunt HelenaCo-authors Operation Dead End; endorses crushing escapes; seeks reassurance from Vidala.
- Commander JuddPower broker; claims credit for raids; informs Lydia that two Mayday operatives were killed.
- Aunt AdriannaPearl Girl operative; reported casualty during the operation against Mayday leaders.
- Aunt SallyPearl Girl operative; believed safe after the Canadian Mayday strikes.
- AnitaFellow detainee with Lydia during the coup roundup; seated with judges and lawyers.