The Handmaid’s Tale sequel has more layers than Disney Plus viewers might expect.
The Aunts’ names all have deeper meanings than you’d expect (Image: Disney)
The Testaments fans have probably missed the sinister meaning behind the Aunts’ names.
Disney Plus is finally streaming The Handmaid’s Tale sequel, with five episodes already available to binge watch. It follows a fresh generation of women living under the oppressive rule of Gilead.
We focus on the story of Agnes (played by Chase Infiniti), the biological daughter of Handmaid’s Tale main character June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss). She grows up in Gilead completely content with the brutal system, but her life is turned upside down when new resident Daisy (Lucy Halliday) joins Aunt Lydia’s (Ann Dowd) school for wives.
Although she seems like just another student, Daisy is secretly a spy working with June and Mayday agents to overthrow Gilead.
Viewers have also been introduced to the Aunts responsible for educating the young women. But what’s the story behind their unusual names?
How do Aunts in The Testaments get their names?
The Aunts in The Testaments are named after commercial products that were popular among women in the pre-Gilead era.
It’s revealed in Margaret Atwood’s novels that the founding commanders introduced this tradition in an attempt to ease the transition into Gilead.
Each Aunt picks their name from a list of product names that are “familiar and reassuring” to them. These include the “names of cosmetic lines, cake mixes, frozen desserts, and even medicinal remedies”.
This is why the Aunts have unique names such as Aunt Estee (Eva Foote), seemingly named after Estee Lauder, or Aunt Gabbana (Zarrin Darnell-Martin), derived from Dolce and Gabbana.
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*Warning: Mild spoilers for The Testaments novel.*
But these brand names only hold meaning to the older generations living in Gilead. In The Testaments novel, main character Becka (Mattea Conforti) becomes an Aunt. She later learns about the “approved list” of names she can choose from for her new role.
Atwood writes: “Becka said the names were made from the names of products women had liked once and would be reassured by, but she herself did not know what those products were. Nobody our age knew, she said.”
Since Becka and Agnes have been raised in Gilead, they don’t have the same connection to the gender-specific brand names.
The Testaments is streaming now on Disney+