One day, while Aunt Lydia secretly listens, Agnes asks Becka what had happened to her to make her so set against marriage. Becka reveals that her father, Dr. Grove, had sexually assaulted her from the time she was four years old. Aunt Lydia had known about Dr. Grove’s molestation of girls, but since the testimony of females holds so little value in Gilead, she had not attempted to bring it out publicly. Dr. Grove has the confidence of the Commanders and considers himself safe, but Aunt Lydia wants to see him punished. 

Aunt Lydia invites Aunt Elizabeth for tea for a confidential talk. Aunt Elizabeth is intrigued, expecting gossip, but instead Aunt Lydia asks what animal she would be if she were an animal: a fox or a cat. This question comes from Aesop’s Fables. A fox and a cat are discussing how they would evade hunters. The fox has an elaborate set of tricks to wear out the hunters and their dogs, while the cat only knows how to climb a tree. When hunters arrive on the scene, the fox tries all its tricks, but in the end, the hunters kill it. The cat simply climbs a tree and safely watches all the activity.