The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

Published 2019 · 502 pages · 106,430 words · about 13 hours at an average pace · Literary Fiction, Science Fiction, Dystopian Fiction

How hard is The Testaments to read?

The Testaments scores 75 out of 100 for difficulty on ReadingRate, making it very challenging. The score is a weighted composite of nine measures: four of how hard the prose is to parse, five of how hard the meaning is to extract.

Vocabulary: 68 out of 100
Atwood introduces a specialized lexicon unique to Gilead, such as 'Handmaids,' 'Aunts,' 'Pearl Girls,' 'Unbabies,' and 'Thank Tank,' requiring readers to learn new meanings for familiar words. While the prose is generally accessible, these invented terms and repurposed religious phrases like 'Under His Eye' create a distinct, complex vocabulary. This places it above 'Moby-Dick' (72) in terms of invented language, but below 'Gravity's Rainbow' (80) which uses more extensive scientific jargon.
Sentence structure: 60 out of 100
The novel features a mix of sentence structures, from direct, declarative statements in Agnes's narration to longer, more reflective and subordinate clauses in Aunt Lydia's sections. While not reaching the extreme hypotaxis of Henry James or Faulkner, Aunt Lydia's internal monologues often employ complex sentences with multiple clauses, such as 'I record, I record; though to no end, I often fear.' This is more demanding than '1984' (35) but less so than '2666' (70) or 'In Search of Lost Time' (78).
Abstraction: 62 out of 100
The narrative balances concrete, often harrowing, events with significant philosophical and theoretical content, particularly in Aunt Lydia's reflections on power, morality, and the nature of Gilead society. Her internal monologues delve into abstract concepts like 'the balance had shifted' or 'loyalty to a higher truth,' moving beyond simple social observation. This is more abstract than 'The Great Gatsby' (58) but less consistently philosophical than '2666' (65) or 'Brothers Karamazov' (75).
Information density: 65 out of 100
The text is rich with world-building details, character backstories, and political machinations, presented through shifting perspectives and internal monologues. Readers must actively piece together the history of Gilead, the motivations of characters, and the implications of the societal structure, demanding sustained attention. This density is higher than 'Lolita' (65) due to the constant introduction of new societal rules and the dual narrative, but not as overwhelming as 'Ulysses' (90) with its encyclopedic references.
Narrative indirection: 75 out of 100
The dual first-person narratives, particularly Aunt Lydia's self-justifying and manipulative voice, demand constant reader inference to discern the truth behind the presented facts. Agnes's retrospective account also requires the reader to piece together the larger political reality from her initially naive childhood perspective and later revelations. The text frequently provides clues that contradict the narrators' stated beliefs or intentions, forcing active interpretation rather than passive reception.
Symbolic density: 80 out of 100
The novel is rich with recurring motifs and allegories, such as the symbolic colors of clothing representing social roles, Baby Nicole as a contested icon of freedom and control, and the pervasive biblical allusions that underpin Gilead's oppressive ideology. Objects like Aunt Lydia's statue, Agnes's dollhouse, and the microdot camera carry layered meanings, requiring readers to constantly interpret beyond their literal presence. This symbolic framework is central to understanding the world of Gilead and the characters' experiences within it.
Ironic distance: 85 out of 100
The novel maintains a significant ironic distance, primarily through Aunt Lydia's narrative, where her self-serving justifications and cynical internal thoughts starkly contrast with the brutal realities of Gilead. Her 'slippery motto' and calculated manipulations of others, including her 'bargain' with Commander Judd, reveal a profound gap between her presented persona and her true nature. Agnes's childhood innocence, gradually eroded by the hypocrisy of Gilead's teachings, also creates a strong ironic tension, forcing the reader to constantly question stated truths.
Resolution withholding: 80 out of 100
The narrative deliberately withholds definitive closure on several fronts. The overarching conflict of Gilead's future remains unresolved, with Agnes embarking on a dangerous mission and Aunt Lydia continuing her complex machinations. The identity of Mayday's crucial inside source within Gilead is a central, ongoing mystery. Furthermore, the moral ambiguity of characters like Aunt Lydia, who justifies her horrific actions as pragmatic survival, resists easy judgment and leaves the reader to grapple with complex ethical questions without clear answers.
Structural complexity: 78 out of 100
The novel employs significant structural complexity through its alternating first-person narratives: Aunt Lydia's 'Ardua Hall Holograph' and Agnes/Daisy's 'Transcript of Witness Testimony.' Both narratives feature non-linear timelines, with frequent flashbacks and retrospective commentary that require the reader to piece together events. The inherent unreliability of both narrators further complicates the structure, demanding active engagement in discerning the true sequence and meaning of events.

How The Testaments is regarded

The Testaments holds a literary regard score of 76 out of 100, weighing its place in the canon, its critical reception, its influence on other writers, and the standing of its author. Regard is measured separately from difficulty: a demanding book is not necessarily an admired one.

Prizes

Where The Testaments sits in Northrop Frye's Anatomy of Criticism

Placed by a full reading of the text (192 passages), not from reputation. Each verdict quotes the passage that earned it. On the axis from myth to irony, The Testaments scores 72 out of 100. A second mythos, romance, pulls at it with a weight of 0.3. About the map of stories.

Mode: Low Mimetic (ironic undertone)
Only dead people are allowed to have statues, but I have been given one while still alive. Already I am petrified.
Symbol: Formal
At our school, pink was for spring and summer, plum was for fall and winter, white was for special days: Sundays and celebrations.
Mythos: Ironic Tragedy iv (irony iv)
Over the years I’ve buried a lot of bones; now I’m inclined to dig them up again—if only for your edification, my unknown reader.
Genre: Confession + Novel + Anatomy
I have chosen my title advisedly, for what else am I doing here but defending my life? The life I have led. The life—I’ve told myself—I had no choice but to lead.

Where the story of The Testaments takes place

  • Gilead (Cambridge, Massachusetts; Ardua Hall), roughly 15 years after The Handmaid's Tale, the main setting
  • Passamaquoddy symposium, Maine, June 2197
  • Toronto and the Mayday underground (Queen West, Parkdale, Etobicoke)

7 things that are true of The Testaments, with the passage for each

  1. The book has three narrators: Aunt Lydia's holograph and two transcripts of witness testimony.

    The Ardua Hall Holograph

  2. The Gilead hymn sung at Ardua Hall was written by Lydia herself.

    Banal and without charm, those words: I can say that, since I wrote them myself.

  3. Aunt Lydia hides her manuscript inside a hollow cut in a copy of Cardinal Newman's Apologia.

    my nascent manuscript out of its hiding place, a hollow rectangle cut inside one of our X-rated books: Cardinal Newman’s Apologia Pro Vita Sua

  4. Daisy learns she is Baby Nicole.

    You are Baby Nicole.

  5. The sisters' microdot is hidden inside the tattoo on Nicole's arm.

    No one would think of looking inside GOD. Now you’re a carrier pigeon

  6. Becka is found dead in the Ardua Hall rooftop cistern after hiding to cover the sisters' escape.

    has discovered poor Aunt Immortelle in the cistern, blocking the outlet.

  7. The Symposium epilogue is dated June 29–30, 2197.

    Passamaquoddy, Maine, June 29–30, 2197

Scenes in The Testaments that Frye would name

24 sightings of Frye's terms in the text. The strongest:

Anagnorisis, passage 65
“You are Baby Nicole.” The central recognition scene: Daisy learns her true identity.
Confession, passage 16
I have chosen my title advisedly, for what else am I doing here but defending my life? Lydia's holograph is an Apologia-style introverted self-justification.
Sparagmos, passage 133
He had to watch as the Angel was kicked to death and then literally torn apart by seventy shrieking Handmaids. The Particicution of Dr. Grove and the Angel is a ritual sparagmos by Handmaids.
Sparagmos, passage 36
Many men doing lustful things all at once will kill a girl, The Concubine Cut into Twelve Pieces is the archetypal sparagmos that haunts the whole book.
Anagnorisis, passage 159
“She is in this room,” Aunt Lydia announced. She waved a hand. “Jade here is Baby Nicole.” Sisters' recognition of each other, staged by Lydia.
Cognitio, passage 185
“My darling girls.” Comic recognition and restoration of the family at the Campobello medical centre.

Books that share these scenes with The Testaments

About the author

Margaret Atwood