The Unworthy

The Unworthy is a dystopian horror novel by Argentinian author Agustina Bazterrica. Translated from Spanish by Sarah Moses and published in English in 2025, the novel follows Bazterrica’s critically acclaimed Tender Is the Flesh, which is also a work of feminist, post-apocalyptic literary fiction. Told through fragmented diary entries, The Unworthy tells the story of an unnamed woman living in the isolated, sadistic cult known as the House of the Sacred Sisterhood. Society has collapsed after generations of worsening climate change and ecological disasters, and the narrator has no memories of her life before the Sisterhood. However, writing in her secret diary helps her hold onto a glimmer of her past self, and when a stranger appears in the woods near the convent, the narrator starts to doubt the Sisterhood’s teachings. The text explores the intersection of Misogyny, Oppression, and Organized Religion, along with The Redemptive Power of Love and Connection and The Role of Language in Constructing Identity. 

This guide uses the 2025 Scribner Kindle edition of the text.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of bullying, rape, graphic violence, physical and emotional abuse, and animal death.

Plot Summary

The unnamed narrator of The Unworthy grew up during a time of ecological collapse and associated civil unrest. She had a loving mother who shared her love of books and critical thinking, but died when the narrator was a young girl. Left alone, the narrator joined a band of teenagers who called themselves the “tarantula kids.” For a while, they were a family, scavenging for food and reading aloud around a fire at night. However, adults murdered the narrator’s friends, and she was alone until she befriended Circe, a cat. Circe and the narrator slowly established trust and reliance on one another, sharing anything they could find to eat. When Circe and the narrator were attacked by a group of men, they raped the narrator and killed Circe. Devastated, the narrator buried her friend and wandered aimlessly, struggling to find food or water in the “ravaged world.” Eventually, she came to the House of the Sacred Sisterhood.

Now, writing in secret in her windowless cell, the narrator has no memory of her life before the Sacred Sisterhood. She is one of the unworthy, the lowest order of women in the convent, just above the servants. They are presided over by the tyrannical Superior Sister, who inflicts sadistic punishments on anyone who steps out of line. The narrator, like all the unworthy, aspires to ascend to the rank of Chosen or Enlightened. The Enlightened are kept locked away to commune with God and keep the Sisterhood safe from the toxins and chaos in the outside world. Only the Superior Sister and “Him,” the leader of the Sisterhood, whom the unworthy are not allowed to see, have access to them. The Chosen are “mutilated” women who have had their ability to see, hear, or speak destroyed to better receive and impart holy messages. To become “pure” enough to become Chosen or Enlightened, the unworthy must offer gruesome self-sacrifices. There is also much competition between the women, and the weaker face brutality at the hands of the Superior Sister and the other unworthy.

Writing is risky for the narrator; if the Superior Sister were to discover her diary, she would be severely punished, but she feels compelled to record her story and try to remember who she was before the Sisterhood. Little by little, her memories return, although some of them, like the death of Circe, are so painful that the narrator struggles to write them down. One day, in the forest near the House of the Sacred Sisterhood, the narrator discovers a beautiful woman, a “wanderer” from the outside world. The woman begs the narrator for help; she hesitates to show her mercy but concedes. Once the woman is found to be free of “contamination” from the outside world, she is permitted to join the Sisterhood and is rechristened Lucía. Lucía quickly becomes a source of fascination and jealousy among the other women, especially as she begins to exhibit inexplicable abilities, like walking on coals without getting burned. She is a promising candidate for Chosen or Enlightened, so the other women feel threatened. Lourdes, the Superior Sister’s “favorite,” begins to spread rumors about Lucía, claiming she is a witch, and tries to sabotage her by placing a wasp nest in her cell. This backfires, however, when Lucía gathers the wasps around her like a halo and sets them on Lourdes instead.

The narrator falls in love with Lucía. They begin meeting in the forest at night, where they make love and whisper secrets to one another, hidden in a hollow tree. When Lourdes begins spreading rumors about Lucía, the narrator retaliates by feeding Lourdes an amanita she found in the forest. The mushroom makes Lourdes dance naked in the garden, and Lucía helps the woman back to the cell, frustrating the narrator and making her admire the other woman’s “capacity for mercy.” Later that night, when the narrator and Lucía meet in the woods, they see the Superior Sister beating Lourdes and trying to strangle her. They attack the Superior Sister from behind and take Lourdes back to her cell. The next morning, Lourdes is hanging from one of the trees on the edge of the forest. The narrator feels intense remorse, and that night, she and Lucía cut down Lourdes’s body and bury her, even though they know that it will provoke the Superior Sister’s wrath.

The next day, the women learn that one of them will be chosen to become Enlightened. During the ceremony, María de las Soledades, one of the weaker women, cannot suppress a cough, and the Superior Sister banishes her to the Tower of Silence without food or water. For days, the women don’t know who the new Enlightened will be. Lucía wants to rescue María de las Soledades from the Tower of Silence, so the narrator sneaks out at night to help her. They find the other woman near death, and she takes her last breaths in the narrator’s arms. The narrator is overcome by grief and regret for not coming to help her sooner.

Soon, the narrator’s fears are confirmed, and Lucía is announced as the new Enlightened. She is taken away immediately, giving the narrator no opportunity to say goodbye. She resolves to rescue Lucía, and one night, she successfully picks the lock to the door of the Refuge of the Enlightened. She sees “the cogs of the lie” (172) behind the door. The mysterious leader of the Sisterhood is raping Lucía as the Superior Sister watches. Many of the Enlightened are pregnant from the abuse. The narrator attacks Him and the Superior Sister. She escapes with Lucía and some of the other Enlightened, but the narrator is mortally wounded and insists that Lucía leave her behind in the forest and save herself. She hides in the hollow of their secret tree, writing feverishly in her own blood, waiting for the Superior Sister to find her. When she hears the bells that announce the Sisterhood is searching for her, she plans to make her wound larger and let her blood spill onto the earth. She will leave her diary behind as a record, uncertain if it will be read or returned to the earth.