Shunammite Character Analysis in The Testaments

Shunammite is one of Agnes’s classmates in primary school. Shunammite claims to be Agnes’s friend, but appears to only cozy up to her because of the ways in which it benefits her. Shunammite is rude and domineering and reveals that Agnes’s biological mother was a Handmaid, because she enjoys the attention and power that the revelation give her. Unlike Agnes and Becka, Shunammite parrots every belief that Gilead teaches her and looks forward to marriage. After Agnes escapes the prospect of marrying Commander Judd, Shunammite happily marries him instead. However, Judd begins to slowly murder her with rat poison so he can marry a new, younger girl instead, until Aunt Lydia intervenes and hides Shunammite in Ardua Hall.

Shunammite Quotes in The Testaments

The The Testaments quotes below are all either spoken by Shunammite or refer to Shunammite. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Religious Totalitarianism and Hypocrisy Theme Icon

Her name was Ofkyle, since my father’s name was Commander Kyle. “Her name would have been something else earlier,” said Shunammite. “Some other man’s. They get passed around until they have a baby. They’re all sluts anyway, they don’t need real names.”

Related Characters: Shunammite (speaker), Agnes Jemima / Aunt Victoria (speaker), Handmaid Ofkyle / Crystal

Page Number and Citation: 81

Explanation and Analysis:

Agnes recalls the arrival of Handmaid Ofkyle into her father’s house. Although Handmaids feature prominently in Atwood’s preceding novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, Ofkyle is the only Handmaid given character development in The Testaments. Ofkyle demonstrates the social stigma and shame that comes with being a woman tasked with having multiple sex partners for the sake of bearing children. Ofkyle’s name—literally “Of Kyle”—denotes the manner in which such women are treated as commodities, temporary properties to be passed between men once they’ve fulfilled their purpose—utilities rather than human beings. This not only models Gilead’s horrific treatment of women, but also the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae

Shunammite Character Timeline in The Testaments

The timeline below shows where the character Shunammite appears in The Testaments. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Tabitha is dying, but nobody tells Agnes. She finds out this information from Shunammite, a girl at school who claims to be her best friend. Becka also attends their... (full context)

Shunammite’s family only has one Martha, as opposed to Agnes’s three. Even so, Shunammite is belligerent... (full context)

...she angrily confronts her Marthas and demands to know which one of them lied to Shunammite. Zilla apologizes and tells Agnes that they’d all assumed she knew that Tabitha was dying... (full context)

...later, Commander Kyle gets a Handmaid, whose name becomes Ofkyle, to bear him a child. Shunammite insists, “They’re all sluts anyway, they don’t need real names.” The presence of the Handmaid... (full context)

...father’s eyes and the eyes of her peers at school. She is largely ignored, though Shunammite still claims to be her friend. However, one day Shunammite gloatingly tells Agnes that she’s... (full context)

...with her own vague memories of being carried through the dark forest and she realizes Shunammite must be telling the truth. This means that Commander Kyle is not even her real... (full context)

...a “premarital preparatory school” to learn how to act the role of a high-ranking wife. Shunammite and Becka are there as well, both having received marriage offers from Commander families. Shunammite... (full context)

...and understands. Becka feels that marriage will “obliterate her” and bring her to an end. Shunammite thinks Becka is being weak, but Agnes hugs her tight. (full context)

After Becka’s suicide attempt, Agnes often worries about her, but Shunammite thinks she was only looking for attention. This disagreement causes Agnes and Shunammite to grow... (full context)

...what is happening. Agnes asks if she may go speak to the wedding planners at Shunammite’s house—like Agnes, Shunammite is preparing for her own wedding. Paula gives Agnes permission, happy to... (full context)

Agnes visits Shunammite and invents a reason to ask the wedding planners a benign question, then insists she... (full context)

...mind. However, Lydia congratulates her on making her way to Ardua Hall. She announces that Shunammite will marry Judd in her place, and although Agnes worries for Shunammite, she knows that... (full context)

Shunammite visits during Agnes’s second month with the Aunts, gloating about her new marriage to Commander... (full context)

Lydia rushes to meet Commander Judd at his home. Shunammite opens the door and Lydia remarks that she looks very ill. Lydia knows he is... (full context)

...no longer be trusted, for reasons she will not yet reveal. Lydia also requests that Shunammite be transferred to Ardua Hall, and after glaring at each other for a long time,... (full context)

...planned as a symbolic show of power. He will marry her himself. He asks after Shunammite, now in the clinic, and Lydia answers that she is recovering, though may soon have... (full context)

Shunammite Character Analysis

Shunammite Quotes in The Testaments

Chapter 15 Quotes

Shunammite Character Timeline in The Testaments