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Chapter 56
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
One morning after breakfast, Lydia summons Jade to her office and reveals herself as the source. She advises Jade to be careful with her words but recognizes that Jade is Nicole and that it is time for them to set their plan in motion. Lydia makes an incision in the “O” in “God” on Jade’s tattoo and inserts a small disk into it, explaining that if Jade is ever caught, they’ll never think to pry into “God.” She announces that Jade is now a “carrier pigeon,” and their next task is getting her out of Gilead.
Lydia’s use of Gilead’s religious severity—hiding the information cache in “God”—to evade detection suggests that, unlike Vidala, Lydia herself does not share the religious beliefs, or at least not the religious fervor. She shows no compunction at all about defacing the “God” tattoo for achieving her aims.
Themes
