116 pages 3 hours read

Margaret Atwood

The Testaments

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019

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Part 9

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 9: “Thank Tank”

Chapter 24 Summary: “The Ardua Hall Holograph”

Aunt Sally, the dead Pearl Girl’s partner, tells Aunt Lydia that Aunt Adrianna had attacked her, so she had killed her out of self-defense. Aunt Lydia assures Aunt Sally that Aunt Adrianna had no doubt had a psychotic break due to living in Canada. Aunt Sally believes that Daisy might be Baby Nicole, but Aunt Adrianna had thought it too premature to report to the Consulate. Aunt Sally has told no one else. Aunt Lydia arranges for Aunt Sally to recuperate at the Margery Kempe Retreat House, where the staff will ensure that Aunt Sally is “incoherent.”

Aunt Lydia is summoned to Commander Judd’s office to speak about the death of the Pearl Girl in Canada. He says that the Canadian government deems her death a suicide, but Gilead believes that Mayday terrorists murdered her. Commander Judd tells Aunt Lydia that the Pearl Girls have helped lead his Eyes to a microdot camera, which prints documents on tiny plastic dots. He says that there must be someone in Gilead who is receiving these dot messages and sending others back, though they have not yet found the culprit. Aunt Lydia assures him that the Aunts will continue to help the effort to destroy Mayday, as her heart clenches with fear.