The Handmaid's Tale, #2
The Testaments
by Margaret Atwood
Contents
5
Overview
Agnes learns, through school gossip and her household Marthas, that her mother Tabitha is dying. The Aunts discourage intimacy and curiosity, but the truth emerges despite them. Two nights later Tabitha dies, leaving Agnes devastated and newly aware of adult evasions and the limits of prayer in Gilead.
Summary
At school, Aunts Estée and Vidala warn against best friends and secrets. During lunch, Shunammite tells Agnes that Tabitha is dying, citing Martha gossip. A class exchange about “adulteress” exposes the Aunts’ punitive teachings and the girls’ ignorance; Becka’s timid question draws a chilling response.
Agnes denies Shunammite’s claim, clinging to Tabitha’s prayers for her pain to end. Disturbed, Agnes returns home and confronts the Marthas—Zilla, Vera, and Rosa—who gently confirm Tabitha’s terminal condition, assuming Agnes already knew. Agnes collapses in tears, facing the reality the adults had softened as a “condition.”
Two nights later, Tabitha dies. Agnes learns the news in the morning, cycles through anger at the secrecy, and then grief, feeling a part of herself cut away. She tries to believe in the guardian angels from their song but cannot fully accept the comforting image, recognizing a deeper disillusionment.
Who Appears
- Agnes JemimaNarrator; learns her mother is dying from gossip and Marthas, then mourns Tabitha’s death with anger and grief.
- ShunammiteAgnes’s assertive schoolmate; spreads the news of Tabitha’s impending death and pressures Agnes to accept it.
- TabithaAgnes’s mother; gravely ill, prays for her pain to end, dies two nights later.
- Aunt VidalaStrict instructor; condemns best friends and warns of punishments, chilling Becka with talk of adulteresses.
- Aunt EstéeInstructor; discourages cliques, tries to soften fear, redirects lunch talk to obedience and gratitude.
- BeckaTimid classmate; asks what an adulteress is, exposing the girls’ innocence and the Aunts’ harsh doctrine.
- ZillaSenior Martha; gently confirms Tabitha’s terminal condition to Agnes.
- VeraMartha; affirms Tabitha’s endurance and acknowledges the household’s awareness of the illness.
- RosaMartha; bluntly states Tabitha is a good woman and shares the truth with Agnes.