The Testaments, Margaret Atwood (sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale)
If you haven’t read The Handmaid’s Tale and plan to, then stop reading here unless you enjoy spoilers. This book is the sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. The Testaments is definitely not a stand alone. You must read The Handmaid’s Tale first.
The Handmaid’s Tale left us hanging for thirty-four years wondering what ever happened to Offred after she was thrown into that infamous black van. Was she taken to prison or brought to freedom? What ever happened to the baby she carried? We were left to draw our own conclusions. We now have closure.
The Testaments take place fifteen years after The Handmaid’s Tale, and is structured differently. The Testaments is based on the accounts of three different characters: Aunt Lydia, Agnes, and Daisy. Unlike The Handmaid’s Tale, this sequel provides detailed points of view and witness testimonies from each of them.
Aunt Lydia, the abusive oppressor we met in the first novel, now takes center stage. She is portrayed in a whole new light, with many more details. When Gilead was becoming established, Aunt Lydia was one of many women rounded up and taken to prison. While there, she lived in deplorable conditions, suffered unthinkable abuse, and witnessed atrocities. After being broken down, these women were given a choice: either be killed or join the regime. As we well know, Lydia chose the latter, rose to power and inflicted the same brutalities on Handmaids under her supervision. It is that very power, however, that she now uses to help overthrow Gilead.
Agnes is the teenaged daughter of wealthy and powerful Commander Kyle in Gilead. She is loved and cherished by her mother, Tabitha. When Tabitha dies, Commander Kyle remarries Paula – a cruel, selfish woman with no maternal feelings for Agnes. As is the tradition in Gilead, Agnes is being groomed to become the young wife of a commander. Paula, wanting Agnes out of her home as soon as possible, takes center stage in the arranged marriage process with no regard for her step-daughter’s happiness or well-being. As Agnes reluctantly prepares for her new life, a vague early childhood memory of running through a wooded area while holding a woman’s hand resurfaces. As other events begin to unfold, Agnes puts the pieces of her life together and discovers the truth about her history and family. She learns that she was adopted and renamed after being taken away from her biological mother – a Handmaid who has since gone missing.
Daisy is a rebellious teenage girl unknowingly living under a protective secret identity in Canada. Against her parents’ wishes, she sneaks off to an anti-Gilead human rights rally one day; a decision that would change her life forever. Shortly thereafter, her parents are murdered and everything Daisy thought she knew about her life begins to unravel. Her real name isn’t Daisy. Her parents were not really her parents. Her real mother is a Handmaid who escaped Gilead years ago. She later discovers she has a half-sister in Gilead. As Daisy processes her true identity, she is faced with a monumental decision: either remain safely in Canada or risk everything in the fight to bring down Gilead.
The Testaments show us the powerful force of women, once silenced, daring to rise up and fight back. Their stories of life in Gilead are chronicled in detailed, historical testimonies, which are widely studied and analyzed years later (this was an awesome detail!). Most of these women were victims who had their families ripped apart, loved ones killed, and then risked their lives to escape and help others do the same. The accounts of familiar characters from the first novel are poignant, heartbreaking, and an ever-present reminder of a society gone horribly awry at the hands of corrupt and evil people.
Aunt Lydia’s character development was much more in depth than it had been in The Handmaids Tale. I didn’t like this character, but I did enjoy Atwood’s description of her redemption – despite the fact that I was constantly grappling with whether or not to trust her. We cannot erase the pain and suffering she caused in The Handmaid’s Tale in order to save herself, so it is difficult to see her as a total victim or as a hero. Yet, when corruption in Gilead escalated, we did see her evolve to the point of being a paramount participant in the resistance movement. Aunt Lydia’s power in Gilead was used to aid the very people who were once her victims, so her transformation is forever colored by her earlier choices and actions.
Margaret Atwood has done a brilliant job of expanding on The Handmaid’s Tale. The development of three central, yet very different, characters was extremely detailed and well-done. Atwood expertly demonstrated the downfall of a democracy, the injustices of a society ripped to shreds at the hands of the corrupt and powerful, and the ensuing fight for human preservation. This book is poignant, well organized and extremely well-written. If you enjoyed The Handmaid’s Tale, then The Testaments is an absolute must read for adults.
“A woman is like a tea bag. You can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water” – Eleanor Roosevelt
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