Paula Character Analysis in The Testaments

Paula is Agnes’s stepmother, whom Commander Kyle marries after Tabitha dies. Paula and Agnes immediately despise each other, and Paula takes this hatred out on Agnes in insidious ways, such as sending her alone to Dr. Grove’s office as a pubescent child, knowing that he will sexually abuse her. Paula arranges for Agnes to be married off as young as possible purely as a way to get rid of her in a “socially acceptable manner.” However, when Agnes avoids the arranged marriage by claiming she’s called to become an Aunt, Paula tries to block her escape and force her to go through with the marriage. Her attempt fails when Lydia threatens Paula with her knowledge that Paula murdered her first husband and framed their Handmaid for the crime.

Paula Character Timeline in The Testaments

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

...return to Commander Kyle’s home for a reception. Among these guests is a widow named Paula, who has a somewhat infamous reputation since her former husband, Commander Saunders, was murdered by... (full context)

Several months later, Kyle marries Paula and gives her Tabitha’s wedding ring, even though it should have gone to Agnes. Paula... (full context)

Not long after her Kyle and Paula’s wedding, Agnes hears a disturbing story at school. In their classroom hangs portraits of the... (full context)

...sluts anyway, they don’t need real names.” The presence of the Handmaid implies both that Paula, like most women, is infertile, and that she does not recognize Agnes as her own... (full context)

Since Paula rejected Agnes as her own child, her status falls both in her father’s eyes and... (full context)

...to look for clues to her real identity but finds nothing. Meanwhile, her hatred for Paula grows, especially as her stepmother quietly purges every relic of Tabitha’s life from their house. (full context)

Ofkyle becomes pregnant and the household goes from vaguely tolerating her to doting on her. Paula glows with joy. Although their family will not make any announcement until three months in,... (full context)

...Grove (Becka’s father), for her yearly check-up. Although a Martha would normally go with her, Paula insists they are all too busy and sends Agnes alone, which makes her feel grown... (full context)

...have gone with her. Agnes suspects that Zilla knows exactly what happened, and suspects that Paula intended it to happen. Agnes hates her stepmother even more from then on and feels... (full context)

...the pregnancy, but men are trained to be stoic. Other wives pay great attention to Paula now, and she often hosts dinner parties so that other women can come to dote... (full context)

On the Birth Day, wives gather with Paula to wait and hear the news. Ofkyle is situated in the master bedroom so that... (full context)

When Agnes is 13, Paula calls her down to the living room where she, Aunt Vidala, and a new Aunt... (full context)

Paula announces that Agnes is done going to school, so Agnes spends her days fretting in... (full context)

Paula orders the Marthas to start packing all of Agnes’s childhood toys in her room away... (full context)

...own marriage process. The Aunts take fittings and make new garments for each season, though Paula convinces them to make as few as possible. When they return, Agnes has seasonal clothes... (full context)

...any geography and does not know to where she’d run to. Meanwhile Commander Kyle and Paula do their best to convince Agnes to marry their choice, Judd. Weddings are easier when... (full context)

The wedding planners arrive and begin discussing details and preparations with Agnes and Paula. They note Agnes’s demeanor and suggest she be given a drink with a sedative. Everyone... (full context)

Three days before the wedding, while Paula is out of the house, Aunt Lydia pays Agnes a surprise visit and tells Agnes... (full context)

...Aunt Estée for her kindness over the years. The driver is hesitant to not follow Paula’s orders exactly, but Agnes reminds him that she’ll be a powerful wife soon and will... (full context)

...that she has. Aunt Estée and Agnes both know that Agnes cannot return home since Paula would lock her away until the marriage, nor can she remain at the school, since... (full context)

Paula, furious about Agnes’s move to join the Aunts, visits Ardua Hall to convince her to... (full context)

...Commander Judd and how many Marthas she now has. Agnes realizes that Shunammite now outranks Paula, which must infuriate Paula. Shunammite can tell that Agnes is not altogether pleased to see... (full context)

...she discovers that it contains evidence and case notes about the death of Commander Saunders, Paula’s former husband. The Commander was not murdered by his Handmaid, but by Paula, who was... (full context)

...it was given to her. She wonders if this was what Lydia had used against Paula to force her to let Agnes join Ardua Hall. She wonders if this means that... (full context)