Melanie Character Analysis in The Testaments

Melanie is Nicole’s supposed mother when she still believes her name is Daisy, though she is truly a Mayday operative tasked with raising Nicole alongside Neil. Melanie co-owns the second-hand clothing store The Clothes Hound, from which she supports Mayday’s resistance efforts, until she is discovered by Gilead agents and murdered.

Melanie Character Timeline in The Testaments

The timeline below shows where the character Melanie appears in The Testaments. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Daisy recounts that she’ll begin shortly before Neil and Melanie died, on what was supposedly her 16th birthday. Daisy doesn’t want a party, but Melanie... (full context)

Neil and Melanie, Daisy’s parents, run a secondhand clothing store called The Clothes Hound on Queen West in... (full context)

Daisy spends most weekends at The Clothes Hound since Melanie never lets her be home alone, though never offers a good reason why. Daisy spends... (full context)

...to entice homeless or vulnerable people to join their country. Many people hate them, but Melanie is always kind and accepts their brochures. They always carry brochures about Baby Nicole too,... (full context)

Religious Totalitarianism and Hypocrisy Theme Icon

Melanie always promises the Pearl Girls that she will keep a little stack of brochures in... (full context)

Melanie and Neil never truly feel like Daisy’s parents; they always seem a little too careful... (full context)

...be Daisy’s first. She has spent all week making signs for it. However, Neil and Melanie firmly forbid her from going, saying that there will be too much press there and... (full context)

...of Neil’s old cameras, which he frets about nervously. That evening, Daisy finds Neil and Melanie watching the news, which they never do. The report is about a Pearl Girl named... (full context)

...and crumbs on the table—remnants from one of her parents’ activist meetings the night before. Melanie wishes her a happy birthday. At school, a few friends wish her happy birthday as... (full context)

...sits in Ada’s car, trying to wrap her head around the thought of Neil and Melanie being dead. Ada steps out of the car, takes a wrench, and smashes her phone... (full context)

...her. Elijah explains that the day before was not her real birthday and Neil and Melanie are not her real parents. Daisy doesn’t believe him, though some part of her wonders... (full context)

...they’d stoop to illegal measures as well. Nicole realizes that this is why Neil and Melanie didn’t want her at the march, where she’d be seen on the news, and feels... (full context)

...used to be afraid. George saw the Eyes in The Clothes Hound with Neil and Melanie for several hours before they marched them out to the car and put the bomb... (full context)

...being done about it, which causes Nicole a mixture of anger and sadness. Neil and Melanie weren’t well-known figures, so there is little public pressure. The Gilead embassy is blaming Aunt... (full context)