How did Lydia become an aunt?

To become an Aunt, a young woman must receive a calling to higher service. They then go through an interview process at Ardua Hall with the four Founding Aunts (Elizabeth, Helena, Vidala and Lydia in that order) to see if they have the right temperament to formally join.

What does Aunt Lydia symbolize?

Following the escape of "Baby Nicole," Aunt Lydia is responsible for turning her into a legendary figure - a symbol of the potential betrayal within Gilead.

Is Aunt Lydia Mayday?

Is Aunt Lydia part of Mayday? Lydia will continue to shift in powerful ways throughout the rest of The Handmaid's Tale. This will all lead up to her plot in The Testaments, in which she works with Mayday to bring Gilead down.

What did they do to Aunt Lydia?

June Osbourne (Elisabeth Moss) also got a small piece of revenge as she made her final escape out of a van. She took Aunt Lydia's electrocution wand and beat her with it before fleeing Gilead.

Can a handmaid become an aunt?

“They are often past childbearing age, but if we had a young woman who followed the very strict guidelines of Gilead morality who wanted to be an Aunt, she could go into the Aunt track. We haven't seen very many young Aunts so far, but they absolutely could.”

Aunt Lydia's Handmaid's Tale Backstory Explained

Why is everyone infertile in Handmaids Tale?

So we know that infertility is a) global and b) affects everyone. But what's the cause? In The Handmaid's Tale, infertility is linked to another one of Gilead's prominent problems: pollution. As revealed in the season 1 episode "A Woman's Place," inorganic farming and radioactivity are to blame for declining fertility.

How were aunts chosen in Gilead?

Later Gilead periods

To become an Aunt, a young woman must receive a calling to higher service. They then go through an interview process at Ardua Hall with the four Founding Aunts (Elizabeth, Helena, Vidala and Lydia in that order) to see if they have the right temperament to formally join.

Is Aunt Lydia a gender traitor?

Aunt Lydia is a "gender traitor."

In the eighth episode of season 8, we saw Aunt Lydia as Miss Clements, a divorced teacher who didn't have much luck with men. After watching the makeup scene with Noelle, however, many Reddit users suspect that the strict, cruel Aunt is actually suppressing her sexuality.

Why did Aunt Lydia cry when ringing the bell?

Aunt Lydia, exuberant, tells June to get up – she no longer has to endure the same punishment as the other women. On her way to ring the bell in celebration, Aunt Lydia weeps. Clearly, she believes in this mission.

Why is Aunt Lydia so nice to Janine?

But as explained by show writer and producer Eric Tuchman, Aunt Lydia is dealing with the emotional aftermath of her brief fall from grace. And her softness toward Janine is a sign of her evolution. “I mean, Aunt Lydia, this season has been dealing with being sidelined from her position of power,” he told EW.

Is Agnes Offred's daughter?

Agnes Is Offred's Daughter

Before The Handmaid's Tale began, Offred and her husband, Luke, tried to escape Gilead and cross the border into Canada with their daughter. They were caught and separated, leaving Offred in a perpetual, futile search to find her lost family.

Why does June call her baby Nicole?

Nichole is the product of June and Nick's secret (but arguably forced at first) romance. Nichole is the feminine version of Nick (or Nicholas), who is Nichole's real dad — making Serena's choice of name an obvious jab at Fred's infertility.

Did June give up the other Handmaids?

The only two Handmaids left out of the original six are June and Janine, who are now separated from the Guardians by the same train that just killed two women.

Who is the real villain in the Handmaids Tale?

After four long seasons of doling out torture, assault, and general brutality, The Handmaid's Tale seminal villain Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) met his demise at the hands of June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) and her pack of ex-Handmaids in Wednesday's gruesome season 4 finale.

Why did Aunt Lydia cry after beating Janine?

While Janine attempts to plead her case to the Putnams, Aunt Lydia loses control. She winds up beating Janine in a horrific show of weakness that winds up making her look worse. “She's frightened for the first time in her life. She's reactive, which in the past she prided herself on, 'No no, do not act out of emotion.

How is Aunt Lydia misogynistic?

Misogynistic Similar to Serena Joy, although Aunt Lydia is a woman, she is not sympathetic to the plight of other women at the hands of the patriarchy. Aunt Lydia specifically enforces Gilead's patriarchal ideals and often echoes its most harmful sentiments.

What does 3 bells mean in Handmaids tale?

Three bells, that is a death knell in The Handmaid's Tale (Channel 4). There is to be an execution today, or a “salvaging”, as they call it in Gilead. The handmaids gather in the snow, and kneel when instructed to by Aunt Lydia (so good by Ann Dowd).

What happens to baby Angela in Handmaids Tale?

Angela Putnam is the biological baby daughter of Commander Warren Putnam and his Handmaid Janine Lindo, who named her baby Charlotte before she was reassigned. Her daughter is now raised as the legal daughter of Commander Putnam and his wife Naomi.

What's on Offred's ear?

Free from her captors, she sheds her red robes and proceeds to cut part of her ear to remove the signifying tag. June goes to extreme lengths to get rid of the cuff. And as described by showrunner Bruce Miller, it signifies her separation from Offred. How it started vs.

Does June get Hannah out?

The audience received this gift at just the right time but one question remains: Will June ever truly find peace? "Not until she gets Hannah out of Gilead and home to her father," said Moss, who directed three of the episodes this season, in a recent interview.

Is Serena a good Handmaids Tale?

The Handmaid's Tale has taught viewers that Serena Joy can't be trusted. The second she's faced with any accountability for her part in creating and upholding Gilead, she resorts back to her villainous ways to save her skin. In that regard, she and Fred are a perfect pair.

What did the Martha do to Hannah?

The Martha Frances (Ordena Stephens) was hanged for “endangering a child” after she went against her better judgment and tried to help June connect with her kidnapped daughter, Hannah.

Are Marthas infertile?

The Marthas serve as domestic servants to the Wives, and are clad in dull grayish green. They are low-ranking, infertile women who cook, clean, and help take care of the ruling class's offspring.

Why is June a handmaid and not an Econowife?

But the consensus seems to be that handmaids differ from econowives because they committed some kind of sin in Gilead's eyes. "Speaking within the confines of the show ... econowives can be fertile or infertile," wrote Reddit user Tary_n.

What is a gender traitor in Handmaids Tale?

In Gilead, a 'gender traitor' is anyone who departs in any way from the strict definitions of sex and sexuality. Such people were hanged or worked to death, in this terrifying dystopia.