The Handmaid’s Tale
The Handmaid ’s Taleis a jolly drear and dystopic show , and the everyday dreadful behaviour of Aunt Lydia only enhance the misery — here are 11 things TV audience may not roll in the hay about Aunt Lydia fromThe Handmaid ’s Tale . fructify in a dystopian future , The Handmaids Talesees cleaning lady forced to last as concubine under a theocratic regime known as Gilead . Lydia Clements , a religious school instructor turned theocrat who is responsible for keeping the Handmaids in stoppage , has been an important part of the serial publication since the first instalment . However , the show has n’t offer an tremendous amount of perceptivity as to how Lydia became who she is now .
The Handmaid ’s Taleseason 3 instalment " unsound " finally gave viewer a facial expression into Lydia ’s past tense , showing a number of her pre - Gilead experiences through her own eye . Aunt Lydia is undoubtedly one of the most terrifyingand interesting characters in the series , but some of the detail about this brutal handmaid horse wrangler are easy to miss . Aunt Lydia fromThe Handmaid ’s Talehas gone through an astounding arc on the serial , and will also feature in the spinoffThe Testamentsafter its parent serial publication end with time of year 6 . Here are eleven things revealed about Aunt Lydia that have gone unnoticed by audiences .
11She’s Unpopular Despite Her Power
The Handmaid ’s Talehas never been shy about making it clear how dislike Aunt Lydia is among the handmaids and even among the Commanders and their wife , but it did come as a surprise to see how unpopular she was among the other Aunts as well . Aunt Lydia fromThe Handmaid ’s Talemight be high - ranking in damage of her sound status , but it ’s clear that her coworkers have very little appreciation for her , and she seems to be universally disliked in Gilead ’s society . It will be interesting to see if that ever come into play later on in the serial orinThe Testaments .
10Lydia Was A Family Court Lawyer Before Gilead
Long before Gilead took control of the United States , Aunt Lydia fromThe Handmaid ’s Taleused to be a family lawyer . In the episode “ Unfit ” , it was designate that prior to becoming a fourth - grade school instructor , she used to practice family natural law before the denationalization of the industry . She explained that when she used to exercise , the employment was really frustrating , as she could not aid as many nestling as they wanted to , which possibly meant that separating children from their parent and handing them over to foster care was not as easy then .
9She Has A Failed Marriage
Aunt Lydia fromThe Handmaid ’s Talewas marriedlong before Gilead , but according to her , it was a misapprehension . She believes she espouse the wrong somebody . Considering how unsafe Aunt Lydia is and how she relish torturing and determination whipping boy , it ’s not tough to imagine what might have happened between them and who might have been the toxic one in the kinship . Lydia admits to Noelle that she had been tie before and that the relationship ultimately failed . It would be entrancing to have a closer look into that experience though , as Lydia ’s status within Gilead point that it could n’t have end in a simple but " ungodly " divorce .
8Aunt Lydia Is Literally An Aunt
Although Aunt Lydia fromThe Handmaid ’s Taleonly bring up it very briefly , she unwrap in a time of year 2 conversation with June that she was actually the godmother to her babe ’s son , but he died in infancy . This paints her character in a more interesting ignitor . While this is evidently mere conjecture , it ’s likely that this unimaginable loss had a vast impact on her religious zealotry and her obsession with children being born at any monetary value . That certainly does n’t justify her behaviour , but it could at least excuse why she is one of the few who seems truly faithful to Gilead .
7Her Name Is Ironic
In the earlier component part of the series , Aunt Lydia fromThe Handmaid ’s Talewas mostly a mystery . Viewers did n’t know her backstory , nor did they even know her last name . But , it ’s about sure that she was given the surname " Clements " as an ironic nod to her characterization . The name Clements and gens standardized to it share the same root word of " mercy , " a word that means mercy , softness , and leniency . GivenLydia ’s fantastically brutal behaviortowards the handmaids , she understandably could n’t be further removed from the name that she was bear with . However , she does begin to show a change of affection as clock time goes on .
6She’s Too Good To Be Killed Off
While Emily prod the tongue into Aunt Lydia ’s back , she was always specify to hold demise , as it was Margaret Atwood ’s requirement . In an interview withITV , Ann Dowd said that the generator told the showrunners to let Lydia survive , saying that she is too good of a eccentric to be killed off . While Aunt Lydia fromThe Handmaid ’s Taleis a invariant source of torture , she has also been a systematically enthralling character , with glimpses of her vulnerability and warmness towards the handmaids glint through the violence she indulges in . yield how consummate Dowd ’s execution has been , it comes as no surprisal that the series hold on her around .
Related : Every Handmaid ’s Tale Character Who return In The Testaments
5Her Future According To The Books Is Shocking
Although Margaret Atwood tell the show ’s author that Aunt Lydia fromThe Handmaids Talewas simply too good to get rid of , it ’s potential that she just did n’t want to spoil a big turn in her subsequence book , The Testaments . Because not only does Lydia play a large role in the book itself ( as she will inThe Testamentsshow too ) , but her reference spark is middling surprising . Despite seeming to be a true believer at the jump of the story ( at least in June ’s heart , indicating that she might not always be a reliable teller ) , Lydia is actually a part of Mayday , working against Gilead in the long game .
4She’s Close To Turning On Gilead
AlthoughAunt Lydia ’s defection to Maydayis still an unexpected twirl in her character developing , it would have been even more surprising earlier on inThe Handmaid ’s TaleTV series . However , lately , it seems obvious that she is disgruntled with the way that Gilead is function , and she even seems to be actively working against some masses in power now . Lydia fromThe Handmaid ’s Taleis still far from the Reb that June has become , but it seems like the show is working towards making Lydia into the character readers see inThe Testaments .
3The Driving Force Behind Her Violence
After being stab by Emily in time of year 2 , Aunt Lydia die to visit June at Lawrence ’s house . She want to visit June ’s room to assure everything is alright , which is ironically what she was doing with Emily right before getting stabbed . She patently is struggling to take the air up the stairs in her status , and when June offer to serve , Lydia fromThe Handmaid ’s Talelashes out and attack her with a taser . While she give a make - do reason about her gossiping at Loaves and Fishes , the real rationality might be that she venerate being seen as lost , which could negatively affect her position in the ever - tenuous Gilead social structure .
2She Might Be Lying About Crimes And Punishments
Although this is only a significant game point in the playscript , interestingly , Ofglen recognize a Guardian who is being Salvaged in a Particicution as a Mayday rebel . However , he is seemingly being killed for the criminal offense of raping a pregnant handmaid who then lose her baby as a result . Ofglen ’s connection to this homo is n’t included in the goggle box series , but the fact that this unbelievably specific offense and punishment was written into the show , it ’s a hint that Aunt Lydia fromThe Handmaid ’s Talequite possibly is n’t being dependable about what these people are being executed for .
