116 pages 3 hours read

Margaret Atwood

The Testaments

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Part 21

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 21: “Fast and Thick”

Chapter 59 Summary: “The Ardua Hall Holograph”

Aunt Vidala comes into Aunt Lydia’s office in the morning. She doesn’t believe Aunt Victoria (Agnes) and Aunt Immortelle (Becka) are ready for their Pearl Girl mission. Aunt Victoria is a defection risk because of her Bloodlines file, which Aunt Vidala saw on Aunt Victoria’s desk. Aunt Lydia feigns shock and says she’ll make inquiries, adding that she believes Aunt Victoria to be resistant to perilous ideas and mature enough to resist temptation. Aunt Vidala still disagrees but asks Aunt Lydia to remember her warning with Aunt Victoria defects.

Next, Aunt Helena comes to warn Aunt Lydia that Aunt Victoria has been reading her Bloodlines file without authorization. Aunt Lydia replies that Aunt Vidala has already informed her of this and that she believes that Aunt Victoria’s upbringing will overcome her biological origins. Aunt Lydia asks Aunt Helena if she feels that nature always wins over nurture, in which case they are all doomed by the original sinfulness of Adam. This suggestion alarms Aunt Helena, who says she did not mean to make that implication.

Aunt Lydia agrees asks Aunt Helena to keep an eye on Aunt Vidala, whom she fears was the one who places the Bloodlines file in Aunt Victoria’s hands.

Related Titles

By Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

Alias Grace

Margaret Atwood

Alias Grace

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

Backdrop Addresses Cowboy

Margaret Atwood

Backdrop Addresses Cowboy

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

Cat's Eye

Margaret Atwood

Cat's Eye

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

Death By Landscape

Margaret Atwood

Death By Landscape

Margaret Atwood

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE

logo

Hag-Seed

Margaret Atwood

Hag-Seed: William Shakespeare's The Tempest Retold

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

Happy Endings

Margaret Atwood

Happy Endings

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing

Margaret Atwood

Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing

Margaret Atwood

Plot Summary

logo

Lady Oracle

Margaret Atwood

Lady Oracle

Margaret Atwood

Plot Summary

logo

Life Before Man

Margaret Atwood

Life Before Man

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

MaddAddam

Margaret Atwood

MaddAddam

Margaret Atwood

Plot Summary

logo

Rape Fantasies

Margaret Atwood

Rape Fantasies

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

Stone Mattress

Margaret Atwood

Stone Mattress

Margaret Atwood

Plot Summary

logo

Surfacing

Margaret Atwood

Surfacing

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

The Blind Assassin

Margaret Atwood

The Blind Assassin

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

The Circle Game

Margaret Atwood

The Circle Game

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

The Edible Woman

Margaret Atwood

The Edible Woman

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

The Heart Goes Last

Margaret Atwood

The Heart Goes Last

Margaret Atwood