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Chapter 52
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Testaments, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Religious Totalitarianism and Hypocrisy
Gender Roles
Truth, Knowledge, and Power
Shame, Fear, and Repression
Choice
Summary
Analysis
Jade’s transition into Gilead is very difficult, and she realizes that she truly knows nothing about the country. After the Pearl Girl ceremony, new Pearls are made to kneel in an all-night prayer vigil. One of the new girls cracks and begins crying and screaming, and the Aunts drag her away to turn her into a Handmaid instead. The next day, Jade attends the Particicution in the stadium. Seeing the Handmaids frenzied and covered in blood, holding pieces of two men’s bodies in their hands, Jade wonders if her mother ever looked “feral” like this.
Although very little is said or explained about the Handmaids throughout the story, the fact that the girl who broke down mentally was dragged away to be made a Handmaid suggests that Handmaids are primarily composed of women who were for one reason or another deemed to be unfit to serve as wives or Marthas.
Themes
