Shunammite

Shunammite is a stubby girl with two long thick braids and dark eyebrows that make her look older than her age. She is belligerent behind the Aunts' backs, always insists on being right, and repeats her opinions louder if contradicted. She is rude to many girls, especially Becka, and Agnes admits she was too weak to overrule her, though at home the Marthas called Agnes headstrong.

Identity and Social Position

Shunammite's house has only one Martha, while Agnes's has three, making Agnes's father more important than hers. Agnes realizes this is why Shunammite wanted her as a best friend. Shunammite is competitive and status-conscious, and she uses her friendship with Agnes to elevate her own standing. She is also the bearer of cruel secrets, taking pleasure in delivering shocking news.

Role in Agnes's Life and the Revelation of Her Origins

Shunammite is the one who tells Agnes that her mother Tabitha is dying, having heard it from her own Martha who heard it from Agnes's Martha. Later, during a picnic lunch, Shunammite reveals that Tabitha was not Agnes's real mother, that Agnes was taken from her real mother—a "slut"—who was trying to flee Gilead through a forest. Shunammite delivers this news with a pitying, relishing smile, and Agnes realizes Shunammite has already told the other girls, which is why they have become cool toward her. Agnes feels tainted and betrayed.

Later Life and Marriage

After Agnes enters the Rubies Premarital Preparatory school, Shunammite is in the same class. She has coiled her braids and plucked her eyebrows, and she talks of nothing but being married, wanting a widower of about forty who is high-ranking and handsome. When Becka is distraught about her own impending marriage, Shunammite dismisses her fears, saying it won't hurt that much and that Becka will have her own house, car, Guardians, and Marthas. Later, when Agnes is betrothed to Commander Judd, Aunt Lydia tells Agnes she has proposed Shunammite as a more appropriate choice for him, and Agnes confirms that Shunammite would be deeply grateful for the change. Shunammite eventually marries Commander Judd, but by the time Aunt Lydia visits Judd's home, Shunammite is thin, white-faced, and hollow-eyed, and she whispers to Aunt Lydia that she knows something is wrong with her but her husband will not let her go to the clinic.