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Chapter XVIII: Reading Room is the 18th chapter of The Testaments. It contains section 47-51 with Agnes as narrator.

Synopsis[]

Agnes, now called Aunt Victoria, and Becka, now Aunt Imortelle, instruct "Jade" in the customs of Gilead.

Plot[]

Section 47[]

(Witness Testimony 369B) It has now been nine years since Agnes became Aunt Victoria. Becka now goes by Aunt Immortelle.

Agnes and Becka first see Daisy, whom they know as Jade, at the Thanks Giving ceremony for the returning Pearl Girls. Agnes finds Daisy’s introduction to Gilead harsh since the following day she has to attend the Particicution of Dr. Grove. Becka faints at the sight of her father’s gruesome death, she feels responsible even though she told Agnes the story of her father’s abuse in confidence, and Aunt Lydia must have found out somehow. Agnes registers that this must be how Aunts gain their power: “by finding things out.”

When Becka and Agnes return to Ardua Hall after the Particicution, Aunt Lydia brings Daisy to their rooms. Agnes instinctively knows that the relatively placid life they’ve led at Ardua Hall is swiftly coming to its end. She thinks about how the generation of Aunts that came before them are hardened and went through things that her generation was shielded from.

Section 48[]

Agnes thinks back to when she first became an Aunt and how Becka helped her get the lay of the land. She helped Agnes choose her new name: Aunt Victoria. Becka confided that none of the books she’d read seemed as dangerous as she’d expected. Becka also told Agnes that her acceptance to the Aunts wasn’t a sure thing. She described an event that had occurred just before she arrived, when an Aunt named Lily had expressed a desire to live alone and work on a farm. Aunt Vidala had submitted Aunt Lily to a severe punishment called “Correction,” and afterward Aunt Lily had drowned herself.

Section 49[]

Following her retrospect, Agnes had spent the next six months learning to read and write. At first, she had struggled with the new skills, but Becka provided assistance. Agnes quickly learned that reading and writing didn’t provide answers so much as lead to more questions. After six months, Agnes passed the entrance examination and officially became a Supplicant.

Section 50[]

Though excited by her new status, certain events shook Agnes' certainty. One day, just as Agnes earned the right to read the Bible on her own, Becka warned her that the book didn’t say what they had learned it said as schoolgirls. She told Agnes to read Judges 19–21, where Agnes found the story of the Concubine Cut into Twelve Pieces. Whereas the Aunts had taught that the concubine bravely accepted her sacrifice as penance for running away, Agnes saw now that their version was intentionally misleading. The realization inspired a crisis of faith in Agnes. Becka said she’d managed her own crisis by deciding that she could believe in Gilead or God but not both.

Section 51[]

One day three years later, when Agnes arrived at her desk in the Hildegard Library, she found a folder containing top-secret information about the death of Paula’s first husband. The folder included evidence that Paula had killed her husband and framed the Handmaid. Paula had also been sleeping with Commander Kyle long before either of their spouses had died. Agnes wondered if Tabitha was actually murdered.

Over the next two years, Agnes received similar folders with dirt on Gilead’s most powerful, including Commander Judd’s tendency to kill off his wives. Although Agnes didn’t know who was feeding her the folders, she knew the knowledge they contained conferred power, and she longed to become a full Aunt.

Notable Quotes[]

“Quote here”  — Context here[1]

Trivia[]

(e.g. observations, cross-references, 'useless knowledge')

Notes[]

(e.g. contextual implications)

References[]

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