Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses alcoholism, sexual harassment, suicide, and racism against Indigenous people.

A central preoccupation of The Testament is the concept of reciprocity in social and family networks. In particular, the novel portrays the dynamics of social relationships: Care shown to others creates a positive cycle of reciprocal care, as harm to others reverberates back on the harmer.

The novel launches with a father’s act of cruelty. The cruel act is not that he does not leave his entire fortune to his children. His cruelty is seeking to deceive his children and lure them into deeper trouble. The holographic will that he prepares promises to pay the debts that his children have incurred up to that moment, revokes the gift if they contest his will, and compels his lawyer to keep the will’s contents secret for one month from the date of his death. All this is done after he has ensured that his children believe that they will be inheriting his fortune. His intention with these maneuvers is to inflict suffering. They in turn contest his will, going to whatever lengths are necessary because they have nothing positive to associate with their father. Being so preoccupied with accessing their father’s money prevents them from being able to care for and look after each other.