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Chapter 25
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Testaments, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Religious Totalitarianism and Hypocrisy
Gender Roles
Truth, Knowledge, and Power
Shame, Fear, and Repression
Choice
Summary
Analysis
Aunt Gabbana arrives again with her underlings to decide what Agnes will wear. No one asks for her input or even tells her what will happen; she is a passive observer in her own marriage process. The Aunts take fittings and make new garments for each season, though Paula convinces them to make as few as possible. When they return, Agnes has seasonal clothes for the interim before the wedding, as well as new dresses for after.
Once again, Agnes is not even given the power to choose what she will wear before the wedding, demonstrating her near-total lack of personal agency or autonomy. Paula’s desire to give Agnes as few new dresses as possible demonstrates her utter disdain for her stepdaughter.
Themes
