Resolution. Fans of Margaret Atwood’s
novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, have waited
decades for the author to continue telling the
story. To prepare myself for a return to
Gilead, I re-read The Handmaid’s Tale, and
am glad I did. I was prepared to open the new
novel, The Testaments, with fresh memories.
I was delighted that one of the perspectives in
the new novel comes from Aunt Lydia. Her
insights help readers see Gilead from the
inside. As always, Atwood leads readers to
think for ourselves. Lydia is more complex
than I expected, and she offers an
understanding of the power of women in
Gilead. We also receive the perspective of
Agnes Jemima, born in Gilead as the daughter
of a Commander and a Wife. Atwood uses
Agnes to help readers understand the
expectations placed upon young women in
Gilead. The third narrator begins her story
outside Gilead, in Toronto, where she
gradually understands the truth about her
past. Atwood lets readers make up our own
minds as we hear these narratives and while
there is resolution by the end of the novel,
many questions remain. Readers are free to
reflect on many levels of meaning structured
in this novel and to ponder what it takes to
topple a corrupt and immoral regime. Atwood
continues to be a keen observer of life and
plays the role of messenger to readers about
living in our contemporary world and heeding
the signs of our times.