The Handmaid's Tale, #2
The Testaments
by Margaret Atwood
Contents
40
Overview
Paula confronts Agnes at Ardua Hall to force her marriage to Commander Judd, but Agnes, coached by Becka, feigns instability. Aunt Lydia privately pressures Paula, securing Commander Kyle’s signature transferring Agnes to the Aunts. After navigating interviews with the Founding Aunts, Agnes is conditionally accepted. Lydia plans Shunammite as Judd’s new Wife, binding Agnes to future reciprocity.
Summary
Agnes meets Paula at the Schlafly Café after Aunt Lydia insists on a proper, in-person assurance of Agnes’s “calling.” Paula rages that Agnes has dishonoured her father by refusing Commander Judd. Following Becka’s advice, Agnes theatrically smashes a teacup and invokes Divine Will, unsettling Paula and undermining the marriage push.
Paula asserts that the Aunts need Commander Kyle’s approval and orders Agnes home. Aunt Lydia arrives, takes Paula aside, and says something that leaves Paula shaken. That afternoon Commander Kyle signs the transfer granting the Aunts authority over Agnes, ending the immediate threat of forced marriage.
Agnes then undergoes interviews with the Founding Aunts. With Aunt Elizabeth, Agnes professes a general renunciation of marriage and a wish to serve all women, earning conditional acceptance. Aunt Helena, disinterested, defers to Aunt Lydia’s decision. With Aunt Vidala, Agnes displays strategic meekness and reverence for the Aunts’ literacy, winning a grudging smile and favorable view.
Finally, Agnes faces Aunt Lydia, fearful the offer might be withdrawn. Instead, Aunt Lydia deems Agnes wise to refuse Judd and reveals she has proposed Shunammite as a more suitable Wife for him. Agnes acknowledges Shunammite would welcome the advantages. Aunt Lydia formally welcomes Agnes to Ardua Hall, reminds her to be grateful, and hints that Agnes may one day repay the help she has received.
Who Appears
- AgnesNarrator; rejects marriage to Judd, feigns instability, passes Founding Aunt interviews, and is conditionally accepted at Ardua Hall.
- Aunt LydiaIntervenes to secure Agnes’s transfer, endorses refusal of Judd, proposes Shunammite for Judd, demands future reciprocity.
- PaulaConfronts Agnes to force marriage; is unnerved by Agnes’s outburst and Lydia’s pressure; leaves defeated.
- Aunt ElizabethFounding Aunt; approves Agnes’s conditional acceptance after hearing her renunciation of marriage.
- Aunt VidalaFounding Aunt and former teacher; tests Agnes’s meekness and sanctity, then signals reluctant approval.
- Aunt HelenaFounding Aunt; disengaged, defers to Aunt Lydia’s decision on Agnes.
- Commander KyleSigns the formal permission transferring authority over Agnes to the Aunts.
- Commander JuddIntended groom; rejected by Agnes; targeted by Lydia to marry Shunammite instead.
- ShunammiteAgnes’s former schoolmate; proposed by Aunt Lydia as Judd’s new Wife for greater advantages.
- BeckaAgnes’s friend; advises Agnes to act unstable and coaches her for the Aunt interviews.