The Testaments

Shortly after her father marries Paula, Agnes is in Religion Class. Aunt Vidala tells the girls the story of the Concubine Cut into Twelve Pieces, one of the most important Bible stories. The story concerns a concubine, comparable to a Handmaid, who ran from her owner back to her father’s house. The father apologizes for his disobedient daughter and a fellow citizen generously invites the man to spend the night. Some other men demand that the citizen give the owner (called “the traveler”) to them for “lustful and sinful things.” Instead, the generous father and the kind traveler put the concubine outside the door where they find her dead the next morning.

Becka tearfully asks how she died, and Aunt Vidala replies, “Many men doing lustful things all at once will kill a girl” (78). Aunt Vidala continues that the concubine deserved this punishment from God for being disobedient and that this story illustrates how women should not rebel against the men above them. Becka becomes hysterical, and Aunt Vidala cannot continue the story that day. Aunt Vidala is concerned, since Becka’s father is the best dentist in Gilead, so she goes to get Aunt Estée. Aunt Estée soothingly tells Becka that another way to think about the story is that the concubine wanted to make amends for her disobedience, and she nobly sacrificed herself to save the kind traveler. Becka calms down, and Aunt Estée offers the girls cookies to cheer them up.

Shunammite whispers to Becka that she is being a baby, but Becka says that she will never get married. Shunammite retorts that everyone must get married. Agnes later learned the rest of the story: the traveler cut the concubine into 12 pieces and sent them to each of the Tribes of Israel and how that led to a war with the Tribe of Benjamin.

Agnes’s family receives a Handmaid, Ofkyle, a few months after Paula marries her father. Shunammite tells Agnes that Handmaids do not need real names, since they are all sluts. Aunt Vidala teaches them that Handmaids perform an important service to the community, so the girls should not call them sluts or treat them rudely. Agnes knows that Handmaids can have babies, while many Wives cannot, and it seems that all women want one. Aunt Vidala claims that a baby gives a woman purpose.

Agnes realizes that the arrival of the Handmaid means that Paula wants a baby, and she doesn’t consider Agnes her child. Agnes wonders why Commander Kyle no longer seems to consider her his child either. She feels invisible.

Agnes is entering puberty, and her body is changing. Aunt Vidala had prepared her class about these changes, but Agnes still doesn’t feel reassured. She knows that soon blood will come out between her legs, as part of God’s plan, and she wonders why God is preoccupied with blood. The rules and dangers of having a female body overwhelm Agnes. She’s noticed her diminished status among the other schoolgirls, who no longer defer to her. Only Becka still wants to sit next to her.

Shunammite unceremoniously tells Agnes at lunch one day that her mother was not her “real” mother, her real mother was a “slut” who ran away with Agnes when she was little. The Gilead officials caught Agnes’s mother and gave Agnes to Tabitha. Shunammite says that her Martha heard this from Agnes’s Martha, who heard it from Paula. Agnes realizes that Shunammite has already told the other girls and this is the reason they’re shunning her.

Agnes thinks about the fairytale Tabitha always told her and how it was partially true. The hand she had held had been that of her real mother as they ran. Agnes still believes that Tabitha chose her: “She chose me, and she cherished me. She loved me. That part was real” (85). Agnes realizes why her family has gotten a Handmaid: Paula and Commander Kyle want a true child of their own.

Imagining how pleased the other girls must be to see her fall from favor, Agnes understands that the Aunts must have known also, since Aunts derive their power from knowing secrets. Agnes thinks that the powerful Aunt Lydia must know the most secrets if she’s a real person, as Agnes has never seen her. Agnes tries to pray to Aunt Lydia at night instead of God, to help save her from her unhappiness, but praying to a woman proves “too unthinkable.”

Agnes is dazed from learning about her mother, so she pricks her finger while doing embroidery. The other girls mock her and laugh. Aunt Estée helps Agnes bandage her finger and soak the blood out of the embroidery, which she says is a woman’s duty: “That was a talent women had because of their special brains, which were not hard and focused like the brains of men but soft and damp and warm and enveloping, like…like what? She didn’t finish the sentence” (87). Agnes imagines she has warm mud in her head.

After school, Agnes confronts Zilla about her mother. Zilla criticizes Shunammite harshly, which is unlike her. Zilla admits that Paula claims that the story is true. Agnes says this means Tabitha was not her mother. Zilla says that Tabitha was Agnes’s mother because she loved her the most and that the Marthas are also her mother, as they love her and have her best interests at heart. This sounds to Agnes too close to what Aunt Vidala says about having the students’ best interests at heart, which usually comes before a punishment.

Agnes asks if the officials killed her real mother. Zilla says they would not have done that, since she could have babies. She likely went to the Rachel and Leah Centre, and she is sure the Aunts changed her mother’s mind about her sins. No one could know where Agnes’s mother is now, since Handmaids have their names changed and you can hardly see their faces, so they all look the same. Agnes realizes her mother is a Handmaid and this is why Shunammite called her a slut. It’s a common belief that Handmaids were sluts before the coup, and they are just continuing this path as Handmaids.

After this, Agnes closely watches Ofkyle. Agnes knows that being a slut means that Ofkyle had “gone with” men other than her husband, though she is not sure what that entails. Agnes sneaks into Ofkyle’s room and sees a picture that had belonged to Tabitha. Paula is purging visible reminders of Tabitha from Commander Kyle’s sight, which makes Agnes hate her even more. Agnes fantasizes that Ofkyle is her real mother, though she knows that is silly. There are no clues to Ofkyle’s identity or personality in her room. 

Ofkyle becomes pregnant. Paula is glowing with happiness and is nicer to Agnes on the few occasions they encounter each other. Zilla says that pregnancy is not to be discussed till after the third month. When Agnes asks why, Zilla replies that if it is an “Unbaby,” it will be evident by that point. News spreads about the pregnancy and Agnes’s status at school rises again. The three-month mark comes, and Ofkyle appears relieved. Agnes feels that this unborn baby is consuming all the love in the family, so there will be none left for Agnes, who is jealous that the baby will have a mother.

Present-day Agnes recounts that at this time, another event took place that would later impact her life choices:

Now that I am older and have seen more of the outside world, I can see that it might not seem that significant to some, but I was a young girl from Gilead, and I had not been exposed to these kinds of situations, so this event was not trivial to me (94).

Agnes is at the dentist, Becka’s father, for her yearly checkup. Paula says that with preparations for the baby, it would be a waste of a Martha’s time, so Agnes goes alone. Agnes feels grown up being by herself. Dr. Grove pokes around her mouth as usual, then comments that her teeth are perfect, and she is getting to be a big girl. He then places his hand on her breast. Agnes is shocked, thinking that it was true about men and their lustful rampages. She doesn’t know what to do, so she pretends nothing is happening. When Dr. Grove pinches her nipple, Agnes tries to get out of the dentist chair, but his hand is pinning her down. He tells her that it is about time she saw “one of these” and undoes his trousers: “He took hold of my right hand and positioned it on this part of himself” (96). After he has finished, Dr. Grove calls her a good girl and reminds her to brush and floss twice a day.

Agnes escapes from the dentist’s office, sick to her stomach. She cannot tell the Aunts about this, since Dr. Grove is a well-respected dentist visited the Gilead elites. Agnes cannot betray Becka, who would feel humiliated. Agnes knew of other girls who had reported inappropriate behavior by men, and received punishment for lying.

At home, Agnes tells Zilla she is not feeling well. Zilla says that she should have gone with Agnes, but everyone agrees that Dr. Grove is the best dentist. This makes Agnes realize that Zilla knows what happened to her and is warning her not to say anything. Agnes wonders if Paula knows about Dr. Grove also and purposefully sent Agnes alone so that he would defile her.

As Ofkyle’s pregnancy advances, the household continues to rejoice, and Agnes spends her time listening in on conversations. Other Wives send their Handmaids to the house to see how Ofkyle is doing. Agnes sees wonder, hope, envy, longing, and despair on their faces as they touch Ofkyle’s swollen belly. Paula invites the other Wives over for tea, so she can show Ofkyle off to them.

Agnes watches Ofkyle’s face and sometimes catches a glimpse of emotion in her ordinarily blank expression. Agnes feels angry as she listens in at Ofkyle’s door in secret, thinking about how as a young child, she had was taken away from her own mother, just as they would give this baby to Paula. The Aunts teach that this is how they do things and that sacrifices are for the good of Gilead, but Agnes cannot see how this is right. Agnes doesn’t blame Tabitha, and she hopes that Tabitha’s spirit is still watching over her, still loving her.

Finally, the Birth Day arrives. Agnes is at home because she had gotten her first period and is suffering with cramps. The Birthmobile arrives with Handmaids, and Wives pour out of their cars. Two Aunts arrive, older ones that Agnes doesn’t recognize, one of whom is carrying a midwife’s bag.

Though she is not supposed to witness the birth, Agnes creeps down to her hiding place. The Wives are drinking champagne in the living room, while the Handmaids are with Ofkyle in the master bedroom. After hours of groaning and chanting, Agnes hears one of the Aunts shouts into her Computalk that she needs assistance. Agnes looks out the window and sees a “real” doctor run up the steps. She hears him swear, which she has never heard before.

The baby is a healthy boy named Mark. Ofkyle is dead, as the doctor had to cut her open to save the baby. After the Wives and Handmaids have left, Agnes sits in the kitchen with the Marthas, who comment that the baby will need a wet nurse. Zilla says how sad it was for “that poor girl.” Agnes goes upstairs and finds Ofkyle is still lying wrapped in a sheet in her own room. Agnes uncovers her face and kisses her on the forehead, promising to never forget her. Present-day Agnes says that she kept that promise. Years later, she found Ofkyle’s little grave marker in the Handmaid cemetery. Years after that, when she gained access to a Bloodlines Genealogical Archives file, Agnes found records of who Ofkyle had been. Her name had been Crystal.

There is a small funeral for Ofkyle, and Agnes attends, since she is officially a woman now. The legendary Aunt Lydia is in attendance and gives a speech, praising Ofkyle for making the ultimate sacrifice and redeeming her former life of sin. Agnes doesn’t cry, having cried already, and all she can think is that they had cut Ofkyle open to save the baby, Ofkyle hadn’t volunteered. 

Now Agnes’s status at school is worse than ever, as a Handmaid dying is seen as bad luck. The older girls whisper a chant that says that if a Handmaid dies in Birth, you will suffer a curse, so Agnes is accursed.

Paula enjoys the prestige of having a baby, but is not particularly motherly, so baby Mark spends his time with the new Ofkyle in the kitchen with the Marthas, who dote on him. Agnes spends her time brooding in her room. The Marthas tell her that soon she will have a baby of her own, which will make her happy, but Agnes doesn’t believe she will ever be happy.