#patrearchy

            The Testaments by Margaret Atwood is proof that not every sequel is a cash grab or a bad idea. Set an indeterminate number of years after the end of the narrative found in the text of The Handmaid’s Tale, The Testaments follows the lives of three women whose lives are shaped by the Republic of Gilead.

            Agnes is a daughter of a Commander and his wife Tabitha, and has a privileged life, for a girl at least. Being female Agnes is not allowed to learn to read or choose her future husband, but her father’s position does afford prestige, there are three Marthas to do the housework, and Agnes is deeply loved by her mother Tabatha.

            Daisy is more familiar to the reader. She is a resident of Canada, and while she has learned about the patriarchal theocratic dictatorship that now occupies Canada’s southern border in school, Gilead factors little into her daily life. The Pearl Girl missionaries and their pamphlets are annoying but not fearsome.

            The third is one readers of The Handmaid’s Tale will recognize, Aunt Lydia. A minor character in the first book, Aunt Lydia is greatly fleshed out this time around. As an “Aunt” she is one of the women who is responsible for keeping the rest of the female population of Gilead in line. The Aunts are a religious order in all but name. They are prohibited from marrying and live communally for the sake of a religious mission. They also have the privilege of literacy, if only as a matter of pragmaticism.

            I was a little weary when I heard that there would be a sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, as a story that is ended well should not have another narrative forcibly grafted onto it. The result is literary septic shock most of the time. This was not the case, to my immense relief, with The Testaments.

            Looking back though, The Handmaid’s Tale ends with enough uncertainty, even with the epilogue, for the story to continue.

            The characters are all well written and highly interesting, even the ones that the reader is not meant to like. Commander Judd comes to mind. Having three narrators provides us with a broader view of the world the characters are living in. I frequently found it hard to put this book down. I had to see what happened next!

            There is plenty of detail to make the setting feel like a real place. This is doubly important given how different Gilead is from the world that the reader is familiar with. The school, if you can call it that, that Agnes attends teaches young girls sewing and painting, but not reading, writing, math, or history.

            All of the same historical and societal reflection that the first text inspires is summoned forth by this one. Gilead and the events up north in Canada will feel uncomfortably close, as they are no doubt meant to.