The Testaments

Agnes sees Jade at the Thanks Giving ceremony. She notices that Jade looks awkward and looks around in a way Agnes thinks too bold. Jade’s introduction to Gilead is particularly harsh, as she must witness a Particicution right after her arrival. Agnes is glad that Dr. Grove gets his punishment, though Becka faints from guilt over his death.

After Agnes and Becka return from the Particicution, Aunt Lydia arrives with Jade. Aunt Lydia tells them that she’s chosen them for the very special duty of instructing the new Pearl in a life of service in Gilead. 

After her first arrival at Ardua Hall, Agnes asks Becka about libraries, that they are rooms full of books, such as the Hildegard Library that is accessible by the Aunts. Becka tells her that the dangerous books are in the Reading Room, which requires special permission. If an Aunt reads a Reading Room book without permission, there would be a Correction, a punishment meted out in one of the soundproof rooms in the cellar.

Agnes, now Aunt Victoria, finds the prospect of leaving Gilead as a Pearl Girl frightening. Becka explains that Gilead is not a large country and it has many countries bordering it.