NOTE: This page is about the television series version of the character. For the original novel version, see Aunt Lydia (Novel), and for the film adaptation, see Aunt Lydia (Film).
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| “ | I know this must feel so strange, but ordinary is just what you're used to. This may not be ordinary to you now, but after a time it will. This will become ordinary. | „ |
| ~ Lydia indoctrinating the Handmaids. |
Lydia Clements, commonly known as Aunt Lydia, is a major antagonist in the the Hulu series The Handmaid's Tale, based on the 1985 novel of the same name.
She is an "Aunt" one of the higher ranking women in the religious totalitarian regime known as Gilead. Her role is to brainwash and punish "Handmaids", breeding slaves assigned to Commanders and their wives. While Lydia is a brutal sadist when it comes to training the Handmaids to follow the regimes rules, she is shown to also genuinely care about their well-being in a way that the rest of Gilead does not.
She was portrayed by Ann Dowd. who also played Patti Levin on The Leftovers, Joan in Hereditary, Louise Durning in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Ramona Norville in Big Driver.
Personality[]
Lydia is a mentally ill woman who is put into the position as Aunt due to her ability to be both extremely cruel in her training of the Handmaids as well as compassionate to them when they do follow the rules. While training the Handmaids at the Red Center, Lydia treats the Handmaids in a way that is extraordinarily cruel, burning their wrist, beating them, and even removing Janine's eye. She is shown to truly believe in the religious doctrine of Gilead, in contrast to many of the Commander's who abuse their position of power to break Gilead's rules. Lydia's temper and sadism can come out suddenly and without warning, such as when she treated Janine with kindness during a party only to begin violently beating her a few minutes later due to Janine breaking the rules, and then breaking down in tears afterwards, showing Lydia's emotional state is extremely volatile.
Despite the way she mistreats them, Lydia does truly care about the Handmaids, freaking out whenever one of them is in mortal danger, especially Janine, who Lydia does have a soft spot for even after all the abuse she has put her through. Following Emily attacking Lydia, she seems to gain more perspective on the issues within Gilead, and eventually begins working alongside Joseph Lawrence in order to improve the system from the inside. Furthermore, when Janine has been poisoned and may die, Lydia prays to God and promises to treat the Handmaids better if the lord doesn't punish Janine. After this, Lydia is no longer seen physically abusing the Handmaids. When June refers to Lydia by only her first name rather than calling her "Aunt Lydia" she does not know how to react and seems to snap out of her sadism, showing that she may be brainwashed to a certain extent by Gilead, as she's nearly forgotten what it was like to not be an Aunt.
Quotes[]
| “ | They were dirty women. They were sluts. But you are special girls. Fertility is a gift given right from God. He left you intact for a Biblical purpose… you guys will serve the leaders of the faithful and their barren wives. You will bear children for them. | „ |
| ~ Lydia indoctrinating the Handmaids. |
| “ | Remember Your Scripture. Blessed Are The Meek. | „ |
| ~ Lydia paraphrasing a Bible verse. |
| “ | They won’t judge you for your looks... or your clothes or your ability to sound clever. | „ |
| ~ Lydia talking down to June. |
| “ | Only in suffering will we find grace. | „ |
| ~ Lydia justifying her torture of the Handmaids. |
| “ | Did you behave in a way that might have... invited his attention? | „ |
| ~ Lydia attempting to blame Esther for her rape. |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- It is heavily implied that Lydia suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), due to her being able to shift rapidly between treating the Handmaids as subhuman and genuinely caring about them in a way that the rest of Gilead does not.
- This is the primary deviation that her character has from the original novel, as the original character secretly hated Gilead and only acted as an Aunt in order to take down Gilead from the inside, whereas Lydia in the television series genuinely believes in the religious doctrine she forces on the Handmaids and later begins working to try and change Gilead's structure for the better rather than take it down.
- Lydia's actress Ann Dowd has claimed in interviews that Lydia eventually came to regret removing Janine's eye, although this has yet to be shown or mentioned in the series proper.
External Links[]
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 Villains
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Republic of Gilead Wives Aunts Other | ||