Changes: Agnes (Novels)

Revision as of 07:12, 2 January 2020

Agnes (Novels)

This article is about Agnes, the adopted Daughter of Commander Kyle and his Wife Tabitha. You may be looking for the (unnamed) daughter of Offred and Luke. See also: Disambiguations/Mother of Agnes and Nicole for identity issues.

Agnes Jemima, or just Agnes, is one of the narrators in The Testaments. She is the adopted Daughter of a Commander and his Wife Tabitha. She later becomes an Aunt, and is referred to by her rank as Aunt Victoria. Her story is chronicled as the "Transcript of Witness Testimony 369A"; researchers speculate she could be the displaced daughter of the Handmaid Offred^[1]. (Disambiguations/Mother of Agnes and Nicole)

Name

Tabitha teaches Agnes that her name means "lamb." This not entirely untrue; Agnes actually derives from a Greek name meaning "holy" or "pure", but is associated with St. Agnes of Rome, who in art is depicted with a lamb as the Greek "Agnes" (Ἁγνή) is often conflated with the Latin "agnus" (lamb).

Jemima is an Arabic and Hebrew name meaning "little dove." In the Bible, Jemima was one of the three daughters of Job and she and her sisters were described as the most beautiful women in the land. She was born to Job after God killed his first set of children and took away all his prosperity. This name may foreshadow her being an Aunt, as Aunt Jemima is a famous pancake mix.

Her Aunt name, Victoria, means victory, and is chosen as a reference to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Due to Aunts' names referring to things appealing to women, it may also be a reference to Victoria's Secret, a lingerie company.

Profile

Agnes considers herself to not be very pretty, having a "dough face," "raisin eyes" and "pumpkin-seed teeth."

Story

In the Past

Before Gilead

Agnes has no memory to the time before her adoption, though she must have been born prior to the rise of Gilead. She recalls running through a forest with someone holding her hand.^[2]

Early Gilead Period

Agnes has been adopted by a Commander and his Wife, Tabitha, and renamed Agnes. When she is 6 or 7 years old, her new mother tells her a story of saving her from a witch, which she doens't question since she has no memory to the time before. She has a doll's house with a book shelf where the pages are blank - she is taught to believe that books are simply decorations, like vases^[2].

At school, Agnes is taught Religion by the fearsome Aunt Vidala and taught Crafts by the pleasant Aunt Estée. Despite Estée's assurances of her parents arranging for a good husband in time, Agnes grows up believing Vidala's warnings about men. She regularly has nightmares, and dreads her future marriage as she grows up^[3].

When she is old enough to understand what pregnancy is, she asks Tabitha if she came from her stomach rather than being saved by the witches - believing that Tabitha is her biological mother, yet Tabitha does not answer her^[4].

Middle Gilead Period

Her best friend, Shunammite, tells Agnes that Tabitha is dying only two days before Tabitha passes away^[5].

At her mother's funeral, she is introduced to a Widow, Paula Saunders, who her father marries several months later. Her father and step-mother are assigned a Handmaid, Ofkyle, who soon falls pregnant.

When going for a dental checkup, Agnes is sexually assaulted by Dr. Grove. Agnes reaches menarche just before Ofkyle dies in childbirth, while the baby, a boy named Mark, survives. She is shunned at school due to a superstition among Daughters that girls whose Handmaids die are cursed.

Commander Kyle and Paula plan to marry Agnes to Commander B. Frederick Judd. As the wedding approaches, Agnes is filled with dread, and contemplates suicide. Eventually, Aunt Lydia catches wind of Agnes's feelings, and asks her to reach out to Aunt Estée if she wishes to become a Supplicant of the Aunts. Agnes makes her way to her old school, and finds sanctuary at Ardua Hall. Aunt Lydia convinces Kyle and Paula to sign her over to the Aunts, and she is reunited with her friend, Becka - now called Aunt Immortelle - who also joined the Aunts due to trauma caused by sexual assault. Her best friend, Shunammite, is arranged to marry Judd in her place. Agnes takes the name Aunt Victoria and spends nine years as a Supplicant.

Present Time

Shortly before she is ready to be elevated to a Pearl Girl, she is instructed to settle a Canadian homeless girl - Jade - who has come to Gilead as a "Pearl." Agnes is unaware that Jade is the legendary Baby Nicole, who, in turn, is her biological half-sister.

References

↑ The Testaments, Epilogue: The Thirteenth Symposium
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 II Precious Flower, Section 2
↑ II Precious Flower, Section 3
↑ II Precious Flower, Section 4
↑ II Precious Flower, Section 5

[1] The Testaments, Epilogue: The Thirteenth Symposium

[II2-2] 2.0 ^2.1 II Precious Flower, Section 2

[II3-3] II Precious Flower, Section 3

[II4-4] II Precious Flower, Section 4

[II5-5] II Precious Flower, Section 5

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Tab
-|tab1=[[Offred's Daughter (Novel)|Agnes (Novels)]]
+|tab1=[[Agnes (Novels)]]
-|tab2=[[Offred's Daughter (Series)|Hannah (Series)]]
+|tab2=[[Hannah Bankole]]
-|tab3=[[Offred's Daughter (Film)|Jill (Film)]]
+|tab3=[[Jill]]
 |maxwidth=20
-}}<br />
+}}
+{{YouMay|[[Agnes (Novel)|Agnes]], the adopted [[Daughter]] of [[Commander Kyle]] and his [[Wife]] [[Tabitha]]|the [[Offred's Daughter (Novel)|(unnamed) daughter]] of [[Offred (Novel)|Offred]] and [[Luke (Novel)|Luke]]. {{SeeCat|Disambiguations|Mother of Agnes and Nicole}} for identity issues}}
 {{Infobox character
-|title      =
+|title      =Agnes
 |image      =
-|aka        =Aunt Victoria
+|aka        =Agnes Jemima (full name)
+Aunt Victoria (as an [[aunt]])
 |gender     =Female
 |status     =
-|age        =8 <small>(The Handmaid's Tale)</small><br>23 <small>(The Testaments)</small>
+|age        =6-14 <small>(Flashbacks)</small><br>23 <small>(Present, The Testaments)</small>
 |birth      =
 |death      =
-|relatives  =[[Offred (Novel)|Offred]] (mother)<br />[[Luke]] (father)<br />[[Offred's Mother (Novel)|Agnes's Grandmother]] (maternal grandmother)<br>[[Daisy]] (maternal half-sister)<br>[[Tabitha]] (forcibly adopted mother)<br>[[Commander Kyle]] (forcibly adopted father)<br>[[Paula Saunders]] (forcibly adopted step-mother)<br>[[Mark]] (adopted half-brother)
+|relatives  =[[Daisy]] (maternal half-sister)<br>[[Tabitha]] (adopted mother)<br>[[Commander Kyle]] (adopted father)<br>[[Paula Saunders]] (adopted step-mother)<br>[[Mark]] (adopted half-brother)
-|class      =[[Daughter]]
+|class      =[[Daughter]] (flashbacks)<br>[[Aunt]] (formerly, escaped)<br>[[Pearl Girl]] (formerly, escaped)
 |allegiance =[[Gilead (Novel)|Gilead]]
 |occupation =
 }}
-'''Agnes Jemima '''is a minor, yet important character in ''[[The Handmaid's Tale (Novel)|The Handmaid's Tale]]''. She is the daughter of [[Offred]] and [[Luke]]. She was born prior to the rise of Gilead, and was separated from her parents after a [[Offred's first escape attempt|failed escape attempt]]<ref name=":sec13"/><ref name=":sec7"/>. She later becomes an Aunt, and is referred to by her rank as '''Aunt Victoria'''. She is one of the three narrators of ''[[The Testaments]], ''where her story is chronicled as the "Transcript of Witness Testimony 369A."
+'''Agnes Jemima, '''or just''' Agnes, '''is one of the narrators in [[The Testaments]]. She is the adopted [[Daughter]] of [[Commander Kyle|a Commander]] and his [[Wife]] [[Tabitha]]. She later becomes an [[Aunt]], and is referred to by her rank as '''Aunt Victoria'''. Her story is chronicled as the "Transcript of Witness Testimony 369A"; [[Pieixoto|researchers]] speculate she could be the [[Offred's Daughter (Novel)|displaced daughter]] of the Handmaid [[Offred]]<ref>[[The Testaments]], Epilogue: [[The Thirteenth Symposium]]</ref>. {{CatRef|Disambiguations|Mother of Agnes and Nicole}}
 ==Name==
-Tabitha teaches Agnes that her name means "lamb." This not entirely untrue; Agnes actually derives from a Greek name meaning "holy" or "pure", but is associated with Saint Agnes of Rome, who in art is depicted with a lamb as the Greek "Agnes" (Ἁγνή) is often conflated with the Latin "agnus" (lamb).
+Tabitha teaches Agnes that her name means "lamb." This not entirely untrue; Agnes actually derives from a Greek name meaning "holy" or "pure", but is associated with St. Agnes of Rome, who in art is depicted with a lamb as the Greek "Agnes" (Ἁγνή) is often conflated with the Latin "agnus" (lamb).
 Jemima is an Arabic and Hebrew name meaning "little dove." In the Bible, Jemima was one of the three daughters of Job and she and her sisters were described as the most beautiful women in the land. She was born to Job after God killed his first set of children and took away all his prosperity. This name may foreshadow her being an Aunt, as Aunt Jemima is a famous pancake mix.
-Her Aunt name, Victoria, means victory, and is chosen as a reference to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
+Her Aunt name, Victoria, means victory, and is chosen as a reference to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Due to Aunts' names referring to things appealing to women, it may also be a reference to Victoria's Secret, a lingerie company.
 ==Profile==
-She is described as Caucasian and having blonde hair.
 Agnes considers herself to not be very pretty, having a "dough face," "raisin eyes" and "pumpkin-seed teeth."
 ==Story==
-==== Before Gilead ====
+===In the Past===
+====Before Gilead====
-While shopping in a supermarket, a crazy woman tries to kidnap [[Offred]]'s baby daughter <ref name=":sec12">[[Section 12]]</ref>.
+Agnes has no memory to the time before her adoption, though she must have been born prior to the rise of Gilead. She recalls running through a forest with someone holding her hand.<ref name="II2">[[II Precious Flower]], Section 2</ref>
-==== After [[the Takeover]] ====
+==== Early Gilead Period ====
+Agnes has been adopted by [[Commander Kyle|a Commander]] and his [[Wife]], [[Tabitha]], and renamed Agnes. When she is 6 or 7 years old, her new mother tells her a story of saving her from a witch, which she doens't question since she has no memory to the time before. She has a doll's house with a book shelf where the pages are blank - she is taught to believe that books are simply decorations, like vases<ref name="II2"/>.
-[[Luke]] and Offred purchase fake passports in order to escape. They tell their daughter they are going on a picnic and plan to give her a sleeping pill when they cross the border so that she would not be questioned or give them away. <ref> [[Section 14]]</ref>.
-They reach the border and give the guard their passports. When the guard picks up the phone, they speed away in the car, and then get out and try to run through the woods<ref> [[Section 35]]</ref>. Offred cannot run very fast, because her 5-year-old child slows her down. She remembers hearing shots. She and her daughter fall to the ground, hiding; Offred begs her daughter to be quiet, but she is too young to understand. After getting caught, her daughter is dragged away from her<ref name=":sec13">[[Section 13]]</ref>.
+At school, Agnes is taught Religion by the fearsome [[Aunt Vidala]] and taught Crafts by the pleasant [[Aunt Estée]]. Despite Estée's assurances of her parents arranging for a good husband in time, Agnes grows up believing Vidala's warnings about men. She regularly has nightmares, and dreads her future marriage as she grows up<ref name="II3">[[II Precious Flower]], Section 3</ref>.
-Offred wakes up screaming, demanding to know what they have done with her daughter. The authorities tell Offred she is unfit, and her daughter is with those fit to care for her. They show her a photograph of her child wearing a white dress, holding the hand of a strange woman <ref name=":sec7">[[Section 7]]</ref>.
-==== In ''The Handmaid's Tale'' ====
-[[Serena]] shows Offred a photograph of her daughter. In the photo, she wears a white dress and smiles. Offred senses that her daughter hardly remembers her. This tears at her heart.<ref name=":sec35">[[Section 35]]</ref>
+When she is old enough to understand what pregnancy is, she asks Tabitha if she came from her stomach rather than being saved by the witches - believing that Tabitha is her biological mother, yet Tabitha does not answer her<ref name="II4">[[II Precious Flower]], Section 4</ref>.
-==== 15 Years Later ====
+==== Middle Gilead Period ====
-Offred's daughter has been forcibly adopted by a Wife and Commander, and renamed Agnes. Her new mother, [[Tabitha]], told her a story of saving her from a witch. She had a doll's house that was like her own, where the pages were blank - she was taught to believe that books were simply decorations, like vases.
+Her best friend, [[Shunammite]], tells Agnes that Tabitha is dying only two days before Tabitha passes away<ref name="II5">[[II Precious Flower]], Section 5</ref>.
+At her mother's funeral, she is introduced to a [[Widow]], [[Paula Saunders]], who her father marries several months later. Her father and step-mother are assigned a Handmaid, [[Ofkyle]], who soon falls pregnant.
-At school, Agnes was taught Religion by the fearsome [[Aunt Vidala]] and taught Crafts by the pleasant [[Aunt Estée]]. Despite Estée's assurances of her parents arranging for a good husband in time, Agnes grew up believing Vidala's warnings about men. She regularly had nightmares, and dreaded her future marriage as she grew up. When she was old enough to understand what pregnancy was, she asked Tabitha if she came from her stomach rather than being saved by the witches - believing that Tabitha was her biological mother. Tabitha did not answer her. Her best friend, [[Shunammite]], told her that Tabitha was dying only two days before Tabitha passed away.
-At her mother's funeral, she was introduced to the [[Widow]], [[Paula Saunders]], who her father married several months later. Her father and step-mother were assigned a Handmaid, [[Ofkyle]], who soon fell pregnant. When going for a dental checkup, Agnes was sexually assaulted by [[Dr. Grove]]. Agnes reaches menarche just before Ofkyle dies in childbirth, though her half-brother, [[Mark]], survives. She is shunned at school due to a superstition among Daughters that girls whose Handmaids die are cursed.
+When going for a dental checkup, Agnes is sexually assaulted by [[Dr. Grove]]. Agnes reaches menarche just before Ofkyle dies in childbirth, while the baby, a boy named [[Mark]], survives. She is shunned at school due to a superstition among Daughters that girls whose Handmaids die are cursed.
-Commander Kyle and Paula plan to marry Agnes to Commander [[B. Frederick Judd]]. As the wedding approaches, Agnes is filled with dead, and contemplates suicide. Eventually, Aunt Lydia catches wind of Agnes's feelings, and asks her to reach out to Aunt Estée if she wishes to become a Supplicant of the Aunts. Agnes makes her way to her old school, and finds sanctuary at [[Ardua Hall]]. Aunt Lydia convinces Kyle and Paula to sign her over to the Aunts, and she is reunited with her friend, Becka - now called Aunt Immortelle - who also joined the Aunts due to trauma caused by sexual assault. Her best friend, Shunammite, is arranged to marry the pedophilic Judd in her place.
+Commander Kyle and Paula plan to marry Agnes to Commander [[B. Frederick Judd]]. As the wedding approaches, Agnes is filled with dread, and contemplates suicide. Eventually, Aunt Lydia catches wind of Agnes's feelings, and asks her to reach out to Aunt Estée if she wishes to become a Supplicant of the Aunts. Agnes makes her way to her old school, and finds sanctuary at [[Ardua Hall]]. Aunt Lydia convinces Kyle and Paula to sign her over to the Aunts, and she is reunited with her friend, Becka - now called Aunt Immortelle - who also joined the Aunts due to trauma caused by sexual assault. Her best friend, Shunammite, is arranged to marry Judd in her place. Agnes takes the name Aunt Victoria and spends nine years as a Supplicant.
+===Present Time ===
-Agnes takes the name Aunt Victoria and spends nine years as a Supplicant. Shortly before she is ready to be elevated to a [[Pearl Girl]], she is instructed to settle a Canadian homeless girl - [[Daisy|Jade]] - who has come to Gilead as a "Pearl." Agnes is unaware that Jade is the legendary Baby Nicole, who, in turn, is her biological half-sister.
+Shortly before she is ready to be elevated to a [[Pearl Girl]], she is instructed to settle a Canadian homeless girl - [[Daisy|Jade]] - who has come to Gilead as a "[[Pearl]]." Agnes is unaware that Jade is the legendary Baby Nicole, who, in turn, is her biological half-sister.
 ==References==
@@ Line 64: / Line 61: @@
 [[Category:Narrators]]
 [[Category:Aunts]]
+[[Category:Pearl Girls]]