Sacrifice and Redemption

The theme of individuals giving up their lives or comfort for the greater good, and the possibility of redemption.

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Becka's Willing Death

A Martyr's Choice The Decision Becka agrees to hide in the cistern, knowing she might die. She does it for Agnes and Nicole. She also does it to atone for the guilt she feels about her father's death. Her sacrifice is an act of love and redemption. The Death She dies alone, cold and drowned. But she is at peace. She has chosen her own end. She is no longer a victim. She is a martyr. The Redemption Becka's death is not in vain. It allows the escape to succeed. It contributes to the fall of Gilead. Her name is remembered on the statue. She is redeemed by her sacrifice.

Aunt Lydia's Final Act

A Traitor's Redemption The Gamble Lydia risks everything to send the microdot. She knows she will be killed. She does it because she wants to bring down the regime she helped create. She also wants to save the two girls, who are like her spiritual daughters. The End As the Eyes approach her door, she prepares to take morphine. She will not be captured. She writes her holograph, a defense of her life, but also a confession. She is not looking for forgiveness, but for understanding. The Legacy Historians debate her motives. But her actions helped end Gilead. She is a complex figure: a collaborator and a traitor, a villain and a heroine. Her redemption is ambiguous, but she did make a difference.

the night of the escape

the last moments of the story