Chapter VI: Six For Dead is the 6-th chapter of The Testaments. It contains section 13-19 with Agnes as narrator.
Synopsis
Agnes recounts her father's second marriage to Paula, her father's Handmaid Ofkyle's pregnancy, and her death in childbirth.
Plot
Section 13
(Witness Testimony 369A) Months after Tabitha’s death, Agnes’s father remarries to a woman named Paula. Her father gives Paula the “magic ring” that belonged to Tabitha, although Tabitha had wanted the ring to go to Agnes. Soon, the household receives a Handmaid, Ofkyle (named after her father, Commander Kyle).
Meanwhile, Agnes is going through puberty, and she learns that Tabitha was not her original mother. And Commander Kyle isn’t her real father either. Instead, her original mother had tried to take her and escape Gilead. The Marthas tell her that her real mother is likely a Handmaid now.
Agnes go to the dentist for the first time alone, since her mother in the past demanded she be accompanied. By herself, the dentist Mr. Grove molests her. Agnes knows other girls have been punished for making accusations about things like this and says nothing.
Ofkyle becomes pregnant and has a difficult labor. They must choose between saving Ofkyle or the baby. The baby, Mark, is born healthy, but Ofkyle dies. Agnes notes that much later she will learn Ofkyle’s real name, Crystal.
Notable Quotes
“Quote here” — Context here[1]
Trivia
(e.g. observations, cross-references, 'useless knowledge')
Notes
(e.g. contextual implications)
References
- Initial plot summary taken from: The Testaments on Bibliofile.com. A review by Jennifer Marie