The Handmaid's Tale, #2
The Testaments
by Margaret Atwood
Contents
3
Overview
The child narrator recalls life at six or seven: a Gilead-themed dollhouse, a distant father, and schooling by Aunts that naturalizes male authority and female limitation. She hides the Handmaid doll, fears real Handmaids, and enacts petty rebellion against an Aunt doll. Bedtime prayers stir anxiety about angels, death, and her soul, revealing internalized fear and control.
Summary
The narrator, about six or seven, remembers loving her adoptive mother Tabitha and playing with a detailed dollhouse mirroring their Gilead home. Blank books prompt a lie—books are decorations—typifying Tabitha’s protective inventions to keep the child safe.
The dollhouse family tracks her reality: a silent Commander father figure, Marthas serving, and a forbidden study. In life, Commander Kyle is distant and his study is off-limits; at school Aunt Vidala and Aunt Estée rationalize male authority by belittling female intellect, ending questions with ridicule.
Public outings reveal Handmaids walking two by two; the girls are told not to look or ask. A Handmaid doll is boxed away because “we already had me,” hinting at the child’s status and Tabitha’s deflections. The girls are barred from swings to prevent immodesty, reinforcing gendered restriction and the narrator’s lingering wish.
In private play, the narrator locks the Aunt doll in the cellar, a small act of vengeful rebellion she now records to be honest about her faults and motives. She credits Tabitha with teaching self-honesty despite necessary lies.
Each night Tabitha sings a prayer about angels and death. The narrator imagines Angels as armed men, which alarms her; she worries about inflaming male urges and fears dying in sleep. She visualizes her soul as a tiny version of herself, equating it with the “treasure” Aunts warn must be guarded to avoid damnation, exposing how fear and doctrine shape her inner world.
Who Appears
- Narrator (child)Six or seven, recalls dollhouse play, fears Handmaids, resents Aunts, questions teachings, and worries about angels, death, and her soul.
- TabithaLoving adoptive mother; invents protective lies, plays and prays with the child, teaches self-honesty.
- Commander KyleDistant father; his study is forbidden and symbolizes male authority and secrecy.
- Aunt VidalaReligious instructor; asserts male superiority, suppresses questions, instills fear about guarding the soul.
- Aunt EstéeCrafts teacher; ridicules girls’ curiosity with jokes, enforces modesty and obedience.