"Vessel of Hope" (The Handmaid's Tale; Aunt Lydia; PG)

[miss_morland]

Title: Vessel of Hope
Author: miss_morland 
Fandom: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Rating: PG
Prompt: 20) A nomad I will remain for life, in love with distant and uncharted places. -- Isabelle Eberhardt (1877-1904), Swiss-born explorer of North Africa and author.
Summary: I force away the memories from before, of sun dresses and naked legs, of lipstick and

Comments

[kellychambliss]

Spare and terrifying and so well-done. I really feel as if I've been inside Aunt Lydia's head, seeing just the sort of self-justification that such people use, whether they're misusing religious imagery or or political rhetoric or whatever their particular cloak. I'm impressed by how much you reveal in a short space and how much we learn about Aunt L. that she doesn't say. The Helena moment is excellent, and you've chosen a great line for the summary.

It's been years since I read this book, but this story brings it sharply back, and I want to go read it again.

[miss_morland]

Thank you so much! I think Aunt Lydia is one of the most interesting characters in the novel (which says a lot). Writing from her POV gave me the creeps, though... I'm so happy you thought it worked.

I want to go read it again.

I feel like I always find something new there, even in passages I've read before. I fangirl Atwood so much.