The Handmaid's Tale, #2
The Testaments
by Margaret Atwood
Contents
63
Overview
Disguised in unfamiliar civilian clothes, Agnes and Nicole meet a paid driver and continue their escape at night through drizzle and winding roads. Agnes grapples with shame over the clothing, homesickness, and fear she may die before meeting her mother. Despite the driver’s drinking, they press on, and Agnes dreams of Becka’s silent presence.
Summary
Agnes changes into unfamiliar underwear and jeans provided by their contact, feeling the garments are illicit and “gender treachery” by Gilead’s standards. Nicole reassures her that the jeans are for girls and urges speed, emphasizing that Gilead’s rules no longer apply to where they are going.
They meet their contact, an older man in a battered pickup who admits he is being paid and resents the risk. Despite the smell of alcohol, he drives quickly through drizzle on a winding road, while the sisters squeeze together in the front seat.
As the landscape passes in moonlit silhouettes and scattered houses, Agnes grows homesick for her former household and reflects on the loss of Tabitha and the harsh care of Aunt Lydia. She fears dying before reaching Canada and meeting her real mother, who, to her, is still only a torn picture and an absence.
Exhausted, Agnes falls asleep and dreams that Becka rides silently beside her. The dream underscores Agnes’s anxiety and longing for support as their flight continues into the night.
Who Appears
- Agnes JemimaNarrator; struggles with wearing jeans, reflects on mothers and danger, dreams of Becka.
- NicoleSister; practical and brisk, reassures Agnes about clothes, pushes them to keep moving.
- DriverOlder man paid to transport them; smells of alcohol but drives fast through drizzle.
- BeckaAppears in Agnes’s dream, silent presence symbolizing comfort and unresolved worry.