Chapter XXIV: The Nellie J. Banks is the 24th chapter of The Testaments. It contains section 66-67 with Agnes and Daisy as narrator.
Synopsis[]
The sisters make up as they travel towards Canada. En route, the transportation breaks down.
Plot[]
Section 66[]
Daisy recounts how she and Agnes boarded the Nellie J. Banks. The captain explains their cover story: The ship is a cod fishing vessel that just made a delivery to Gilead and is now heading back to Canada. The captain directs the two fugitives toward a place to sleep in the hold below deck, and he assurs them that they’ll be safe there if the coast guard stopped the ship for an inspection.
Agnes and Daisy eat and sleep. They awake later in the night, as large waves rock the ship. Daisy, who feels sick and whose wounded tattoo has grown infected, complains to Agnes that God has messed up her life. Agnes suggests that God may have messed it up for a reason. Daisy realizes that Agnes still thinks the true goal of their mission is to help save Gilead and purify it of corruption. Daisy declares: “Burn it all down.”
Section 67[]
Agnes describes how worried she feels about Daisy, whose infected arm has given her a fever. To make matters worse, the ship has engine troubles. The powerful tide threatens to steer the ship seriously off course and possibly back toward Gilead, where the captain would be accused of woman-smuggling. Daisy’s fever grows worse, and she asks Agnes whether she thinks they’ll ever meet their mother. Agnes says she does and that their mother will love them, but Daisy warns that sharing blood doesn’t guarantee love. Agnes says a prayer for the two of them and for Aunt Lydia and Becka.
Later, the captain comes down and tells Agnes and Daisy they need to offload. The ship is in Canadian waters but won’t be able to reach shore safely or take them to the Mayday rendezvous point as planned. He instructs them to dress as warmly as possible and come to the main deck. The ship’s crew lowers the fugitives in an inflatable boat, and the Nellie J. Banks moves off. Daisy steers the inflatable boat as the captain instructed her, cutting across the waves at an angle and trying to avoid the tide that would carry them to Gilead, but soon the motor dies. Daisy’s infected arm has become useless. With only one arm she instructs Agnes how to row with the emergence oars, and she insists they’ll survive if they just try.
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