The Handmaid's Tale, #2
The Testaments
by Margaret Atwood
Contents
36
Overview
Agnes’s engagement to Commander Judd is finalized despite her private revulsion and fleeting thoughts of escape or suicide. Paula manages appearances, while Aunts set the wedding for two weeks and prepare the dress and invitations. The chapter cements Agnes’s powerlessness and heightens the stakes of her impending marriage.
Summary
Agnes weighs fleeing but realizes she knows nothing of geography or survival, and fears both God’s disapproval and male predation. With options narrowing, she even contemplates suicide methods she’s heard about, but the Marthas monitor her closely and offer hollow platitudes, making self-harm unlikely.
As her decision week ends, Paula and Commander Kyle secure the outcome they prefer: Agnes’s engagement to Commander Judd. During Judd’s formal visit, Paula orchestrates Agnes’s responses, and Judd’s chaste kiss fills Agnes with revulsion and dread about the wedding night. Paula portrays Agnes as modest to smooth the arrangement.
The wedding Aunts—Lorna, Sara Lee, and Betty—return to measure Agnes for a “classical” dress and trousseau, discussing veils and whether to include lace. Paula presses for restraint, signaling her desire to finalize the match and move Agnes out. The date is set for two weeks hence, with guests to be invited verbally by the Aunts.
Left to reckon with the timetable, Agnes counts down the remaining fourteen days, feeling doomed and powerless as the machinery of her marriage accelerates beyond her control.
Who Appears
- Agnes JemimaNarrator; considers escape and suicide, then is engaged to Commander Judd and dreads the wedding.
- PaulaStepmother; pushes Judd match, manages Agnes’s behavior, prioritizes swift wedding and appearances.
- Commander JuddPowerful suitor; formal visit confirms engagement; his kiss intensifies Agnes’s fear and revulsion.
- Commander KyleHousehold patriarch; supports Paula in securing Agnes’s engagement to Judd.
- Aunt Sara LeeWedding arranger; advocates a classical dress, helps plan invitations and timeline.
- Aunt LornaWedding arranger; suggests sedatives, assists with dress planning and guest list.
- Aunt BettyWedding arranger; notes Agnes looks tired, wistfully mentions the house, helps with plans.
- ZillaMartha; discourages suicide as faith failure, quietly monitors Agnes.
- RosaMartha; blunt about suicide’s mess, watches Agnes and offers platitudes.
- VeraMartha; recounts a girl’s suicide by sash, shows limited sympathy and powerlessness.