The Testaments

The Testaments

by

Margaret Atwood

Supplicants Term Analysis

Supplicants are Aunts in training, usually teenagers, who have not yet completed their Pearl Girl mission.
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Supplicants Term Timeline in The Testaments

The timeline below shows where the term Supplicants appears in The Testaments. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6: The Ardua Hall Holograph
Religious Totalitarianism and Hypocrisy Theme Icon
Truth, Knowledge, and Power Theme Icon
...phrase, which means nothing but inspires obedient repetition of it. The hymns that three young Supplicants now sing were also written by Lydia, not to be beautiful or inspirational, but to... (full context)
Chapter 34: The Ardua Hall Holograph
Gender Roles Theme Icon
Truth, Knowledge, and Power Theme Icon
...and then the Founders would make their decision, at which point Becka would be a Supplicant Aunt until she served her mission as a Pearl Girl. Becka eagerly accepted all of... (full context)
Chapter 39
Gender Roles Theme Icon
Truth, Knowledge, and Power Theme Icon
Becka explains that she has made it through her probation and become a Supplicant Aunt, and in nine years she’ll become a Pearl Girl. Probation is not so hard,... (full context)
Chapter 46: The Ardua Hall Holograph
Religious Totalitarianism and Hypocrisy Theme Icon
Shame, Fear, and Repression Theme Icon
...each man to death and literally tear their bodies to pieces. All of the Aunts, Supplicants, and new Pearls are there to watch, and Aunt Immortelle (Becka) feints as she watches... (full context)
Chapter 49
Religious Totalitarianism and Hypocrisy Theme Icon
Gender Roles Theme Icon
Truth, Knowledge, and Power Theme Icon
Choice Theme Icon
...it is perfectly clean. Even so, she passes her six-month trial and becomes a full Supplicant, which grants her access to Ardua Hall’s library and even the Reading Room, where Agnes... (full context)