The Handmaid's Tale, #2
The Testaments
by Margaret Atwood
Contents
71
Overview
Aunt Lydia addresses a future reader as she concludes her secret manuscript. She declares Gilead’s downfall imminent, confirms her messengers have departed, and resolves to kill herself before the Eyes can interrogate her. She hides the pages in a book as footsteps approach, sealing her legacy.
Summary
Aunt Lydia closes her holograph by addressing a future historian, anticipating judgment for her compromises and calculating that her account may be preserved or destroyed. She imagines the reader’s diligence and disdain, acknowledging the moral stains of her choices and the constraints that shaped them.
Assessing the moment, Aunt Lydia declares it too late for Gilead to avert collapse and too late in her life to witness it. On a moonlit night, she notes the Eyes’ skeletal faces and confirms that her messengers have already departed with the necessary materials.
Resolute, Aunt Lydia plans a swift suicide by morphine to avoid torture and the risk of revealing more under duress. She prepares to hide her manuscript inside a volume of Cardinal Newman, invoking “In my end is my beginning,” and listens as approaching footsteps and an imminent knock signal the Eyes’ arrival.
Who Appears
- Aunt LydiaNarrator; completes her manuscript, sends messengers, hides it, and prepares to commit suicide as the Eyes close in.
- The EyesGilead’s secret police; spotted on night watch and approaching to arrest or interrogate Lydia.
- Imagined future readerA young historian Lydia envisions, the intended audience and judge of her testament.