The Testaments

Agnes is one of the narrators of the story. Though she has a happy childhood, her adoptive mother, Tabitha dies and her father, Commander Kyle, marries cruel Paula. Paula is eager to rid herself of Agnes, resulting in Agnes becoming an Aunt and positioning her to assist in the downfall of Gilead. She is the daughter of the revolutionary Handmaid, Offred, and the half-sister of the famous Baby Nicole.

Indoctrinated by the Gileadean system, Agnes is concerned about the opinions of others, fears sexual encounters, and does not speak out in her defense. For example, when Dr. Grove molests her, feels partially responsible and refuses to tell anyone. When she learns how Gilead manipulates people through religion, Agnes has a crisis of faith, though she remains devout. Her love for Becka, and then for her sister Nicole, causes her to find strength and courage she did not think she had. Reuniting with her mother and her sister brings joy and fulfillment to Agnes at the end of the story.

Daisy is the third narrator of the story. She is nearly 16 at the beginning of her story. Unbeknownst to her, she is the daughter of the revolutionary Handmaid, Offred, and half-sister of Agnes. When Gilead Angels kill her adoptive parents in Toronto, she learns that she is Baby Nicole, a symbol to both Gilead and anti-Gilead forces.

Daisy is a good-hearted, sarcastic young woman. She grew up sheltered by her Mayday operative parents but is athletic and yearns to be social. She has trouble fitting into the mold of a Supplicant because she’s naturally vivacious and carefree and dislikes being told what to do. Ironically, prior to discovering her identity, Daisy wrote a paper suggesting that the Canadians return Baby Nicole to satiate the Gileadeans. Though she sometimes whines in her role as a revolutionary, her new identity brings new reserves of strength and bravery that she had not known she possessed. Nicole isn’t religious and struggles with Agnes’s devoutness, but comes to appreciate that it is part of who Agnes is. It is through Nicole’s courage and tenacity that she and Agnes survive their ordeal in the inflatable boat and make it to safety. In the end, Nicole reunites with their mother, whom she instinctively recognizes.

Becka is Agnes’s classmate, first at the Vidala School and later at the Rubies Premarital Preparatory School. Becka is the daughter of a Handmaid and the pedophile and prominent dentist, Dr. Grove. She is treated poorly at home and at school and is very timid. Having been molested by her father since she was four years old, the prospect of marriage terrifies Becka, causing her to attempt suicide. Instead of marrying, she becomes a Supplicant, where Aunt Lydia pairs her with Agnes, and the two become as close as sisters. She sacrifices herself for Agnes and Nicole, drowning in the water cistern to buy the sisters more time. Agnes and Nicole erect a statue to Becka, in gratitude for her love and sacrifice.

Becka shows considerable growth throughout the story. As a young girl, she is fearful and dejected, distressed by stories, such as the Concubine Cut into Twelve Pieces, in a way that Agnes does not understand. Becka finds the resolve to reject the pressures of marriage, choosing death over sexual subjugation. Becka continues to show her newfound strength, spiritually as well as in her interactions with others. She remains tender-hearted and feels guilt and sorrow when the Handmaids execute Dr. Grove, despite his horrific behavior toward her. Becka’s love for Agnes bolsters her like nothing she has ever known, so she doesn’t hesitate to do what she must do to ensure Agnes and Nicole’s safety. Becka’s thoughtfulness is exhibited even in her suicide, as she carefully preserves her garments for someone else to use later. Even after her death, Becka shows Nicole the way to safety, as Nicole imagines her encouragement on the beach. 

Aunt Vidala is one of the Founder Aunts of Gilead. She was the only Aunt who had been part of the original group that overthrew the United States government, and she is a true believer, rather than someone who joined the regime merely to survive. The schools for young girls of privileged classes are named after her, and she teaches in the one that Agnes attends, instilling fear into the minds of the girls about dangers of their sexuality and the punishment they will receive if they deviate from the prescribed path. Aunt Vidala is cunning, cruel, and sadistic, taking genuine pleasure in the physical pain of others. From the beginning of the creation of Gilead, Aunt Vidala challenged Aunt Lydia for dominance in the women’s sphere and remained her chief antagonist.

Through constant scheming, Aunt Vidala seeks to undermine and replace Aunt Lydia as the primary leader of Ardua Hall. This includes a plot to ingratiate herself to Aunt Lydia by denouncing Aunt Elizabeth as the perpetrator of a conspiracy to topple Aunt Lydia, when she herself is the one who is faking evidence of Aunt Lydia’s heresy. Aunt Vidala almost foils Agnes and Nicole’s plan of escape from Gilead, but Nicole punches her in the chest, causing her to fall into a coma. In the Intensive Care Unit, Aunt Lydia considers killing Aunt Vidala, but decides that she is close to death anyway. Aunt Vidala regains consciousness and, with malicious glee, tells Aunt Lydia that she knows that the attack on her had been Aunt Lydia’s doing, and she intends to see her executed for it. Aunt Lydia manipulates Aunt Elizabeth into smothering Aunt Vidala with a pillow.

Aunt Elizabeth is one of the Founder Aunts of Gilead. Prior to her forced cooperation with the Gilead regime, she had been an executive assistant to a powerful senator in Washington. She had attended Vassar and enjoyed belonging to a prestigious social class. The ordeal of the Thank Tank broke her spirit, as she realized that her social background and education had not saved her from such humiliation. Aunt Lydia describes her as “dithery.”

Beautiful and slender at the beginning of the Gilead overthrow, Aunt Elizabeth becomes overweight over time, as she regularly steals extra food in the dining hall. Aunt Elizabeth is eager to espouse Gilead theology and moral correctness to those who fall under her tutelage, as she touts behavior benefiting the greater good of the nation. Aunt Elizabeth is drawn into Aunt Lydia’s plan to take down both Aunt Vidala and Dr. Grove. When Aunt Lydia obliquely suggests that Aunt Elizabeth smother Aunt Vidala with a pillow, it appears that she complies. Though Aunt Elizabeth does seem heartless, she has a breakdown after watching Dr. Grove’s execution, suggesting she has a crisis of conscience. 

Commander Judd is one of the original Sons of Jacob who overthrew the United States government and founded Gilead. Originally, he is in charge of forming the “women’s sphere” in Gilead. Commander Judd coerces the cooperation of Aunt Lydia through arrest and torture and discovers that she is a competent ally. They form a working alliance, with each secretly despising the other, but outwardly cordial and supportive. With Aunt Lydia’s help, Commander Judd becomes the head of the Eyes, a much more influential position. Commander Judd chooses very young Wives and keeps himself in a steady supply by secretly murdering each Wife as she ages. While not as manipulative as Aunt Lydia, he is ruthless and unfeeling, using his position of power to his benefit. Women, to him, are objects.

Tabitha is Agnes’s adoptive mother at the beginning of the story. She loves Agnes deeply and lavishes attention and devotion on her. Tabitha tells Agnes a fairytale of finding her imprisoned by witches and choosing to save her, thereby giving Agnes a sense of being special and cherished. Tabitha conceals that she is dying from Agnes, as well as the fact that Agnes’s biological mother was a Handmaid, suggesting that she wants to shield Agnes from feelings of displacement.