Paula is Agnes’s stepmother, whom Commander Kyle marries after Tabitha dies. Paula and Agnes immediately despise each other, and Paula takes this hatred out on Agnes in insidious ways, such as sending her alone to Dr. Grove’s office as a pubescent child, knowing that he will sexually abuse her. Paula arranges for Agnes to be married off as young as possible purely as a way to get rid of her in a “socially acceptable manner.” However, when Agnes avoids the arranged marriage by claiming she’s called to become an Aunt, Paula tries to block her escape and force her to go through with the marriage. Her attempt fails when Lydia threatens Paula with her knowledge that Paula murdered her first husband and framed their Handmaid for the crime.
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Paula Character Timeline in The Testaments
The timeline below shows where the character Paula appears in The Testaments. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 13: Transcript of Witness Testimony 369A
...return to Commander Kyle’s home for a reception. Among these guests is a widow named Paula, who has a somewhat infamous reputation since her former husband, Commander Saunders, was murdered by...
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Several months later, Kyle marries Paula and gives her Tabitha’s wedding ring, even though it should have gone to Agnes. Paula...
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Chapter 14
Not long after her Kyle and Paula’s wedding, Agnes hears a disturbing story at school. In their classroom hangs portraits of the...
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Chapter 15
...sluts anyway, they don’t need real names.” The presence of the Handmaid implies both that Paula, like most women, is infertile, and that she does not recognize Agnes as her own...
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Since Paula rejected Agnes as her own child, her status falls both in her father’s eyes and...
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Chapter 16
...to look for clues to her real identity but finds nothing. Meanwhile, her hatred for Paula grows, especially as her stepmother quietly purges every relic of Tabitha’s life from their house.
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Chapter 17
Ofkyle becomes pregnant and the household goes from vaguely tolerating her to doting on her. Paula glows with joy. Although their family will not make any announcement until three months in,...
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...Grove (Becka’s father), for her yearly check-up. Although a Martha would normally go with her, Paula insists they are all too busy and sends Agnes alone, which makes her feel grown...
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...have gone with her. Agnes suspects that Zilla knows exactly what happened, and suspects that Paula intended it to happen. Agnes hates her stepmother even more from then on and feels...
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Chapter 18
...the pregnancy, but men are trained to be stoic. Other wives pay great attention to Paula now, and she often hosts dinner parties so that other women can come to dote...
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On the Birth Day, wives gather with Paula to wait and hear the news. Ofkyle is situated in the master bedroom so that...
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Chapter 25: Transcript of Witness Testimony 369A
When Agnes is 13, Paula calls her down to the living room where she, Aunt Vidala, and a new Aunt...
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Paula announces that Agnes is done going to school, so Agnes spends her days fretting in...
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Paula orders the Marthas to start packing all of Agnes’s childhood toys in her room away...
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Chapter 26
...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...
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Chapter 36
...any geography and does not know to where she’d run to. Meanwhile Commander Kyle and Paula do their best to convince Agnes to marry their choice, Judd. Weddings are easier when...
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The wedding planners arrive and begin discussing details and preparations with Agnes and Paula. They note Agnes’s demeanor and suggest she be given a drink with a sedative. Everyone...
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Chapter 37
Three days before the wedding, while Paula is out of the house, Aunt Lydia pays Agnes a surprise visit and tells Agnes...
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...Aunt Estée for her kindness over the years. The driver is hesitant to not follow Paula’s orders exactly, but Agnes reminds him that she’ll be a powerful wife soon and will...
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...that she has. Aunt Estée and Agnes both know that Agnes cannot return home since Paula would lock her away until the marriage, nor can she remain at the school, since...
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Chapter 40
Paula, furious about Agnes’s move to join the Aunts, visits Ardua Hall to convince her to...
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Chapter 48
...Commander Judd and how many Marthas she now has. Agnes realizes that Shunammite now outranks Paula, which must infuriate Paula. Shunammite can tell that Agnes is not altogether pleased to see...
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Chapter 51
...she discovers that it contains evidence and case notes about the death of Commander Saunders, Paula’s former husband. The Commander was not murdered by his Handmaid, but by Paula, who was...
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...it was given to her. She wonders if this was what Lydia had used against Paula to force her to let Agnes join Ardua Hall. She wonders if this means that...
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