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 18

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 18: “READING ROOM”

Chapter 47 Summary: “Transcript of Witness Testimony 369A”

Agnes sees Jade at the Thanks Giving ceremony. She notices that Jade looks awkward and looks around in a way Agnes thinks too bold. Jade’s introduction to Gilead is particularly harsh, as she must witness a Particicution right after her arrival. Agnes is glad that Dr. Grove gets his punishment, though Becka faints from guilt over his death.

After Agnes and Becka return from the Particicution, Aunt Lydia arrives with Jade. Aunt Lydia tells them that she’s chosen them for the very special duty of instructing the new Pearl in a life of service in Gilead. 

Chapter 48 Summary

After her first arrival at Ardua Hall, Agnes asks Becka about libraries, that they are rooms full of books, such as the Hildegard Library that is accessible by the Aunts. Becka tells her that the dangerous books are in the Reading Room, which requires special permission. If an Aunt reads a Reading Room book without permission, there would be a Correction, a punishment meted out in one of the soundproof rooms in the cellar.

Agnes, now Aunt Victoria, finds the prospect of leaving Gilead as a Pearl Girl frightening. Becka explains that Gilead is not a large country and it has many countries bordering it.

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

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Oryx and Crake

Margaret Atwood

Oryx and Crake

Margaret Atwood

Plot Summary
logo

Rape Fantasies

Margaret Atwood

Rape Fantasies

Margaret Atwood

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Siren Song

Margaret Atwood

Siren Song

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