Shunammite and Agnes Jemima

Shunammite and Agnes Jemima are school friends at the Vidala School whose relationship is defined by shifting power dynamics, envy, and betrayal, reflecting the social hierarchies and moral corruption of Gilead.

Identity and Introduction

Shunammite is a stubby girl with two long thick braids that Agnes envies, and black eyebrows that make her look more grown up than she is. She is belligerent, but only behind the Aunts' backs. In disputes between them, she always has to be right; if contradicted, she only repeats her first opinion, except louder. She is rude to many other girls, especially Becka. Agnes admits she was too weak to overrule Shunammite, having a weak character when dealing with girls her own age, though at home the Marthas would say she was headstrong. Shunammite's house has just one Martha while Agnes's has three, so Agnes's father is more important than hers, which is why Shunammite wants Agnes as her best friend.

Arc Through the Plot

Shunammite is the first to tell Agnes that her mother, Tabitha, is dying, whispering the news at lunchtime and claiming she heard it from her Martha, who heard it from Agnes's Martha. When Agnes protests, Shunammite insists it is true. Later, Shunammite reveals the secret that Tabitha was not Agnes's real mother, that Agnes was taken from her real mother because she was a slut, and that the Angels and Eyes rescued Agnes and gave her to Tabitha. She 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. When Agnes's status falls after her mother's death and her father's remarriage to Paula, Shunammite claims to be doing Agnes the favor of friendship instead of the other way around. When Ofkyle dies in childbirth, Shunammite falls away from Agnes, whether out of fear because of the death or envy because of the birth, or a combination of both.

Relationships and Conflict

At the Rubies Premarital Preparatory school, Shunammite is in the same class as Agnes and Becka. She says she is looking forward to being married and can talk of nothing else—what sorts of husbands are being vetted for her, what kind she would prefer, how she can hardly wait. She wants a widower of about forty who hasn't loved his first Wife all that much and has no children, and is high-ranking and handsome. She doesn't want some young jerk who's never had sex before because that would be uncomfortable. She has a reckless mouth, now more so. When Becka is deeply dejected about her upcoming marriage, Shunammite laughs and says it won't hurt that much, and thinks of all the things Becka will have. When Becka slashes her wrist with the secateurs, Shunammite says the girl is immature.

Change and Ending

After Agnes becomes a Supplicant at Ardua Hall, Shunammite pays her a visit. She is wearing the blue dress of an official Wife and has four Marthas. She asks if Agnes is all right, implying that Paula said there was something wrong with her. Agnes says she is fine and congratulates Shunammite on her marriage. Shunammite asks if Agnes is mad at her for stealing her husband, Commander Judd. Agnes says she received a call to higher service. Shunammite giggles and says she received a call to a lower one. She asks if the place wears Agnes down, calling it bleak. Agnes says she is fine. Shunammite asks if Becka is still insane, and Agnes says she was never insane, just unhappy. Shunammite says Agnes doesn't like her anymore, and Agnes says she is training to be an Aunt and is not really supposed to like anyone.

Thematic Significance

The relationship between Shunammite and Agnes Jemima illustrates how Gilead's social hierarchies and the competition for status corrupt personal bonds. Shunammite's envy of Agnes's higher status, her delight in delivering harmful secrets, and her eventual marriage to Commander Judd—the man Agnes was forced to flee—demonstrate how the regime turns girls into rivals and informants. Their final meeting at Ardua Hall shows the gulf between them: Shunammite has embraced the material rewards of the system, while Agnes has chosen a path of service, however compromised. The friendship is a casualty of the moral decay that permeates Gilead's elite.