In 1843, a 16-year-old Canadian housemaid named Grace Marks was tried for the murder of her employer and his mistress. The sensationalistic trial made headlines throughout the world, and the jury delivered a guilty verdict. Yet opinion remained fiercely divided about Marks--was she a spurned woman who had taken out her rage on two innocent victims, or was she an unwilling victim herself, caught up in a crime she was too young to understand? Such doubts persuaded the judges to commute her sentence to life imprisonment, and Marks spent the next 30 years in an assortment of jails and asylums, where she was often exhibited as a star attraction. In Alias Grace, Margaret Atwood reconstructs Marks's story in fictional form. Her portraits of 19th-century prison and asylum life are chilling in their detail. The author also introduces Dr. Simon Jordan, who listens to the prisoner's tale with a mixture of sympathy and disbelief. In his effort to uncover the truth, Jordan uses the tools of the then rudimentary science of psychology. But the last word belongs to the book's narrator--Grace herself
To: ALL Date: 04/14
From: FAVB99B JANE NIEMEIER Time: 9:45 PM
ALIAS GRACE by Margaret Atwood
This is a wonderful book. Of the three that we have read on
the new list, this is by far my favorite, and I liked the
other two quite well.
1) I love the historical detail. I was fascinated even when
Grace was talking about how to do laundry properly and how
to scrub the floor. When Grace talked about not being able
to buy any new clothes, it made me think about how spoiled
we are in the 20th century. I thought Atwood captured the
feeling of the period. Of course, I don't know if she did
or didn't since I wasn't around back then, in spite of
what my students may think. Atwood was quite
tongue-in-cheek about the detail in Grace's story. She
mentions that Dr. Jordan gets a little bored with all of the
domestic stories and is waiting somewhat impatiently for
Grace to suddenly remember everything about the murders.
2) The quilt patterns that introduce each chapter are
wonderful as well. The tie-ins to each chapter make one
stop and think.
3) I also love the ambiguity. PLOT SPOILER. Atwood gives
the facts of this story and tells us what she invented.
At the end, we are not sure if Grace committed the crime or
not. Did Dupont put her up to the "possessed by Mary
Whitney" story? Did you notice that she wished to include
the kerchief that was around Nancy's neck in her quilt? Was
this significant? She did include a scrap of her prison
nightgown because the time in prison was such a big chunk of
her life. Maybe, Grace wanted a piece of the kerchief
because the murders were such a turning point in her life.
Thanks to gail for suggesting this book. BTW, Sherry asked
me to post on this. Since, I haven't time to do it
tomorrow, I am posting today. Jane in chilly CO
=============== Reply 1 of Note 29 =================
To: FAVB99B JANE NIEMEIER Date: 04/15
From: KDEX08B RUTH BAVETTA Time: 1:34 AM
I pulled a Barb Moors on this one and "read" it on tape,
Jane. It was read by Elizabeth McGovern in a delightful lilt
that gave just the right flavor of the "auld country".
Enjoyed it thoroughly. Unfortunately, the taped edition was
abridged and I've planned to actually read the book, but
life has been so hectic this last month that I've got little
or no reading done at all. I'm hoping I can remember enough
of the ins and outs of this book to add something to the
discussion.
Ruth
=============== Reply 2 of Note 29 =================
To: KDEX08B RUTH BAVETTA Date: 04/15
From: WSRF10B SHERRY KELLER Time: 8:42 AM
Jane,
Thanks for starting the thread. I read this book a year ago
and that seems a bit soon for a reread, even though I'm sure
it certainly deserves one. I really enjoyed this book too.
The thing that sticks with me is her quiet inner life and
how she seems almost zenlike in her patience.
As I was reading, I knew the quilt designs had some deep
meaning, but I was so fired up to finish the book, I gave
them little thought. Now, maybe I should go back and think
about them some more.
Sherry
=============== Reply 3 of Note 29 =================
To: FAVB99B JANE NIEMEIER Date: 04/15
From: NCSH82B BARBARA MOORS Time: 9:32 AM
I enjoyed ALIAS GRACE enormously too. It was sort of an
old-fashioned "good read" and exceptionally well-written,
I thought...interesting that I'm surprised when these two
factors come together. The Washington Post Book World
review on the cover probably says it better: "ALIAS GRACE
has all the pacing of a commercial novel and all the
resonance of a classic."
This is only the third thing I've read by Atwood and
the first two were on tape. One was a book of short
stories whose title I can't remember and the other was GOOD
BONES AND SIMPLE MURDERS which were two novellas combined
together. I find ALIAS GRACE to be far superior to those
two. In that writing, there was a sort of
self-consciousness that I felt was tied into Atwood's own
personal issues. She obviously has strong feminist
feelings which I agree with, but there was a cast to it in
her writing that was a bit too coy.
I found none of this in AG, not even a smidgeon. I sort
of felt like I was reading a totally different writer. I
loved her depiction of Grace as simply taking life as it
came, from the very beginning pages of the novel to the end.
As she proceeds through events, you want to reach out and
warn her how dangerous everything can be and I found myself
caring a great deal about her, a wonderful ingredient in a
story. The language that is used by the characters feels
right for the period, as well. I also loved that Atwood
let you know what was historical fact and what she had
extrapolated. I wonder why more authors don't do that. It
gave me the feeling that she loved the original story so
much that she wanted the presentation of it to have the
most integrity possible.
SPOILER ALERT
On the negative side, the only factor that reminded me
that this was Atwood was the quality of the male
characters. Do you find one single admirable male in the
story? Even Jamie Walsh had his own somewhat selfish
reasons for coming back and marrying her. His need
to hear how horrible her imprisonment had been, complete
with all the gorey details rings true from human nature,
but some part of me cried out, "Can't one of these guys be
a good guy?"
And, I wasn't sure that the possibility of Grace having a
2nd personality (in the multiple personality sense) that
took over while she was doing the murder was supported well.
Did you think that this was only Dr. Jordan's version to
explain it all away or that Atwood was seriously proposing
it as a possibility? It was certainly difficult to imagine
the Grace who was talking in the book coming to the point
of what she did. However, it is possible to imagine a
person who had lived the life she'd led coming to that
point. Barb
=============== Reply 4 of Note 29 =================
To: WSRF10B SHERRY KELLER Date: 04/15
From: MXDD10A DALE SHORT Time: 9:44 AM
Sherry & All: ALIAS GRACE was one of my favorite novels in a
long time, and knowing what I do of Atwood I too was amazed
to find it agenda-free...even though, as Barb points out,
one or two vaguely nice males wouldn't have been a bad
addition.
I didn't pay a lot of attention to the quilt details
either, except the part that has one of my favorite lines in
fiction. It's when Grace is sewing the "Tree of Knowledge"
pattern, and reflects that the Adam and Eve story has always
bothered her:
"If you eat of the tree of knowledge, you will surely die.
But you're going to die anyway, and at least if you eat of
the tree you won't die quite so bone ignorant as you
were..."
I love it. What a wonderful, lovable character Grace is,
and what a great inner life she managed to construct despite
the horrors around her.
Dale in Ala.
=============== Reply 5 of Note 29 =================
To: MXDD10A DALE SHORT Date: 04/15
From: ZRPD32A RICHARD HAGGART Time: 10:06 AM
I too enjoyed this one tremendously. Not sure I would agree
that Atwood didn't have an "agenda" in this one, but it sure
isn't the political tub-thumper she's been known for in the
past. Regardless, Grace is a truly interesting and durable
character and the story very, very well crafted. As Barb
noted, I thought the male characters were a little one
dimensional (is there *any* man on the planet who isn't a
rogue, a scoundrel, or a libertine? Whoops, don't answer
that question...), but other than that I would be hard
pressed to find much to criticize here. Hope Atwood
continues to move away from political polemics and toward
more literary efforts like this one.
Dick
P.S. Did anyone else's 'note writing screen' turn from it's
traditional black to a lurid red this morning? Honestly,
it's like this P* has a mind of its own.
=============== Reply 6 of Note 29 =================
To: ZRPD32A RICHARD HAGGART Date: 04/15
From: KDEX08B RUTH BAVETTA Time: 1:02 PM
I read THE HANDMAID'S TALE prior to this, and agree that AG
is by far the superior book. A point of view is fine in a
book, but too much socio-political agenda, as in AHT, even
if you agree with it, is off-putting.
Ruth, who's been have lurid screens and other problems off
and on ever since she installed Norton Utilities to help
clear up problems she didn't have, thereby once again
validating the old adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
=============== Reply 7 of Note 29 =================
To: FAVB99B JANE NIEMEIER Date: 04/15
From: BUYS59A BARBARA HILL Time: 9:33 PM
I finished Atwoods Alias Grace last night and was very
impressed with the story and how it was told. I saw Grace
as very innocent and easily shocked. I wonder if her
extraordinary awareness to everything around her--smells,
people's moods, weather, changes in her surroundings--didn't
emphasize her innocence and sensitivity. Naming the book
Alias Grace seemed at the same time to be saying that she
had another personality.
Jeremiah put her up to using Mary in the trance in order to
help her. Back when he wanted Grace to leave Kinnears to
work with him, he said "I would instruct you in what to say
and put you into trances."
On the last page when she says she is putting snakes on her
Tree of Paradise quilt because without a snake or two the
main part of the story would be missing, I thought she saw
Nancy, Mary and herself as innocents misused by the men. Did
anyone else see it that way?
B. Hill
=============== Reply 8 of Note 29 =================
To: KDEX08B RUTH BAVETTA Date: 04/15
From: KXBZ24A ANNE WILFONG Time: 9:33 PM
I read half of GRACE about 8 months ago and put it aside for
some odd reason. Had it not been for being on our list, I
never would've had the pleasure of finishing this book. This
is the only exposure to Atwood for me, and I found her
writing to flow well. Grace's naivete annoyed me at times,
and charmed me at others. This time period is a fun one in
medical history, and I loved how the peddler kept surfacing
as the hypnotist, snake oil salesman, etc.
In the end, I was hooked on Grace, and could see so clearly
why she put the prison nightgown in her quilt...she "grew
up" there and it had been such a part of her that it was
difficult to let it go completely...
A very good book. Thanks for "making" me finish it!
Anne in CO, where they got the forecast wrong again...
=============== Reply 9 of Note 29 =================
To: FAVB99B JANE NIEMEIER Date: 04/15
From: KGXC73A GAIL SINGER GROSS Time: 10:03 PM
greetings to all our CR'S ...
this is the best of ATWOOD...
okay.. the question is was GRACE lying or telling the truth
when she was hypnotized....did you believe her???
i wish i had the book at my fingertips.. it has been so
long...
the other book i loved was CAT'S EYE... gail..hp..a p r
=============== Reply 10 of Note 29 =================
To: KGXC73A GAIL SINGER GROSS Date: 04/16
From: NCSH82B BARBARA MOORS Time: 4:11 PM
gail...
The one regret I have about how I read ALIAS GRACE was
the speed with which I read it. I just gulped it down and
didn't really go through it carefully. There are lots of
little hints and threads in there that I know I missed.
My gut-level response was that she was lying when
she was hypnotized. By that I mean that she knew what
she was saying. Even though I couldn't initially
imagine the Grace whose voice we heard in the story talking
the way she did under hypnosis or doing the murder, I can
imagine those life circumstances producing a person who
conducted herself one way to survive and another way when
the rage overtook her. Does that mean that the rage
produced another personality? I suppose it's how you
define a multiple personality. How much is known about
the transition by the person who experiences it? I tend
to think that Grace was aware of the transition, but pushed
it out of her consciousness to deal with herself on a
daily basis.
What do you think? Didn't you read this for
your class? If so, what did the professor and other
students think? And, do you have any other info from that
class on AG?
Barb
=============== Reply 11 of Note 29 =================
To: BUYS59A BARBARA HILL Date: 04/16
From: NCSH82B BARBARA MOORS Time: 4:11 PM
Interesting point about the title of the book, Barbara.
I'm amazed that I never even thought much about it. But,
again, it brings me back to wondering how much Grace knew
about the other side of herself.
I'm glad that you and Anne brought up Jeremiah. What an
interesting character he was weaving through the story!
And, I found myself thinking a lot about how different
Grace's life would have been if she'd left the Kinnears to
travel with Jeremiah. She would have escaped that
situation, but she would have had no chance for
"respectability" and she couldn't give that up. And, did
you think that when he told her that he would instruct her
in what to say and put her into trances that Atwood was
foreshadowing what would happen when he finally did
"hypnotize" her in front of Dr. Jordan? That would seem to
say that she did know what she was saying.
I guess I didn't think that Grace was saying that putting
the snakes in the quilt meant that they were men. I
thought that she was saying that bad things were simply an
essential part of all stories.
Barb
=============== Reply 12 of Note 29 =================
To: ZRPD32A RICHARD HAGGART Date: 04/16
From: NCSH82B BARBARA MOORS Time: 4:11 PM
Dick,
You know, the most disappointing man in the book for me
was Dr. Jordan. And, he wasn't a libertine, rogue or
scoundrel. He was just incredibly *weak.* I wanted to
give him a swift kick in the pants.
And, since Barbara H. and Anne have mentioned Jeremiah,
I've realized that he was the one male in the book who was
worthwhile. He wasn't offering Grace the kind of life she
wanted, but he was totally honest about what he *was*
offering her. And, I didn't get the feeling that he would
try to cheat her, etc. He just was giving her a chance to
join him where he was going and in what he was doing.
It actually sounded like a pretty good choice to me, but
given the social restrictions that Grace was facing, I can
see why it didn't to her. Barb
=============== Reply 13 of Note 29 =================
To: NCSH82B BARBARA MOORS Date: 04/16
From: NDKB53A THERESA SIMPSON Time: 10:30 PM
Given that this is Margaret Atwood, Barb, I think it is
quite safe to say that the snakes represent men.
Theresa
=============== Reply 14 of Note 29 =================
To: NDKB53A THERESA SIMPSON Date: 04/17
From: NCSH82B BARBARA MOORS Time: 8:49 AM
Good point, Theresa, I guess I was filtering it through my
own value system. Barb
=============== Reply 15 of Note 29 =================
To: NCSH82B BARBARA MOORS Date: 04/17
From: FAVB99B JANE NIEMEIER Time: 11:11 PM
Barb and all.
Grace says several times toward the end that she is trying
to think of things to say that Dr. Jordan would want to
hear. It seems almost as if she is entertaining him and
maybe inventing some of the story. I also thought that she
protested her sexual innocence too much. Every man was
after her and she resisted each advance and kept her virtue
(she said). I do like Grace, and one of the reasons that I
like her is that she remains a puzzle even after the long
story.
Dale, I loved that quote about Adam and Eve as well. Grace
said some wonderful things. Jane in unsettled CO
=============== Reply 16 of Note 29 =================
To: NDKB53A THERESA SIMPSON Date: 04/17
From: KGXC73A GAIL SINGER GROSS Time: 11:49 PM
greetings THERESA..
LOL..
gail.hp.. apr.
=============== Reply 17 of Note 29 =================
To: FAVB99B JANE NIEMEIER Date: 04/19
From: NDKB53A THERESA SIMPSON Time: 2:45 AM
The last story (more a novella) in Andrea Barrett's book
"Ship Fever" should be interesting for those who liked Alias
Grace for its depiction of a particular time and place and
people. Ship Fever as a whole is worthwhile if you are a
short story fan.
Theresa
=============== Reply 18 of Note 29 =================
To: NDKB53A THERESA SIMPSON Date: 04/19
From: TQWX67A ANN DAVEY Time: 9:40 PM
I found this book very enjoyable. As Barb anticipated, the
historical aspects were particularly interesting for me. I
thought that Atwood did a very good job of writing in a 19th
century voice. I have read several of her other books,
including CAT'S EYE, THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM, and THE
HANDMAID'S TALE. Of these, I enjoyed THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM
the most. She had a female professor of military history in
that book that just cracked me up. Parts of GRACE are also
quite witty. For example, after describing the scrapbooks
the governor's wife keeps detailing the crimes of the
prisoners and mentioning how the prisoners are encouraged to
learn to read, Grace says:
"They want you to be able to read the Bible, and also
tracts, as religion and thrashing are the only remedies for
a depraved nature and our immortal souls must be considered.
It is shocking how many crimes the Bible contains. The
Governor's wife should cut them all out and paste them into
her scrapbook."
Although Atwood is never very sympathetic to her male
characters, I rather liked Dr. Jordan. His heart was in the
right place, and I couldn't really fault him too much for
the affair with his landlady. She did, after all, seduce him
while he was dreaming. Whatever sins he may have committed,
he certainly paid for them by being left in the care of his
mother (loved those passive aggressive letters she wrote)
and her handpicked fiance after he was wounded in the war.
Grace is a wonderful character. For whatever it's worth, I
thought the odds were that the split personality was a fake.
Mary Whitney seemed like a pretty nice girl to me, and I
didn't think that the brutality "she" expressed during the
hypnosis scene was in character. I think that was something
Grace and Jeremiah cooked up. One other thought on Grace --
probably her case would never attracted near the attention
it did if she hadn't been beautiful.
=============== Reply 19 of Note 29 =================
To: TQWX67A ANN DAVEY Date: 04/20
From: FAVB99B JANE NIEMEIER Time: 9:42 PM
Ann,
I enjoyed your note. About Mary Whitney! Isn't there some
doubt whether she existed at all? Dr. Jordan finds her
grave marker, but since there isn't a date, he doesn't know
whether Grace happened on this marker and made up a story to
fit her needs. I like the fact that we really don't know
what was going on in Grace's head. Jane
=============== Reply 20 of Note 29 =================
To: TQWX67A ANN DAVEY Date: 04/20
From: FDLX59B MARY ANNE PAPALE Time: 9:46 PM
I liked this book, but didn't love it. To me, the POST
review rings true when it says that AG reads like a
commercial novel. I can't exacly say why I feel this way. I
just know that during Dr. Jordan's interviews with Grace the
reader gets a definite impression that Grace is manipulating
the information, and that she may not be quite so innocent
as she protests.
This is the 3rd Atwood I've read, and I prefer CAT'S EYE to
this. MAP
=============== Reply 21 of Note 29 =================
To: FAVB99B JANE NIEMEIER Date: 04/20
From: TQWX67A ANN DAVEY Time: 9:57 PM
Jane,
Good point that the reader can't really be sure that Whitney
even existed. What made this book so interesting for me was
that it left open so many possibilities.
Ann
=============== Reply 22 of Note 29 =================
To: FDLX59B MARY ANNE PAPALE Date: 04/20
From: TQWX67A ANN DAVEY Time: 9:59 PM
MAP,
I can't remember much about CAT'S EYE, but I do know I found
it quite depressing. I admire Atwood because she is able to
write in a variety of styles. ALIAS GRACE is quite different
from any of her other books.
Ann
=============== Reply 23 of Note 29 =================
To: TQWX67A ANN DAVEY Date: 04/20
From: NDKB53A THERESA SIMPSON Time: 11:19 PM
I am not a great Atwood fan, though I have read quite a few
of her novels. I keep going back for more, so there must be
something that grabs me. The only one that I totally
approved of was The Handmaid's Tale - she let it all hang
out with that, and it worked just fine. I don't always have
a problem with agenda writing - the great writers seem to
seamlessly integrate their agendas into their work. Atwood
does best when she doesn't try to throw a veil over what she
is trying to communicate. She has a nice, clear writing
style, but her characters always seem mere vehicles for her
message, unlike some other writers, who fully realize their
characters and still manage to get across their message.
=============== Reply 24 of Note 29 =================
To: NDKB53A THERESA SIMPSON Date: 04/23
From: FDLX59B MARY ANNE PAPALE Time: 9:56 PM
Theresa, I know exactly what you mean when you say you keep
going back for more from Atwood. It seems whether you like
her work or not, she is so readable. But I have a question.
I don't think we've heard from any of the male CRs on this
thread. Do men read Atwood? Any of our guys care to answer
this one? MAP
=============== Reply 25 of Note 29 =================
To: FDLX59B MARY ANNE PAPALE Date: 04/24
From: ZRPD32A RICHARD HAGGART Time: 0:24 AM
MAP: See replies 4 & 5 herein, although admittedly, Dale and
I are only technically male. In our souls, we're really
quite feminine which probably explains how our monster
contributions to this discussion were overlooked.
Personally, I'm planning on taking some kind of
psychological development course to put some hair back on
the chest of my karma.
Dick
=============== Reply 26 of Note 29 =================
To: FDLX59B MARY ANNE PAPALE Date: 04/24
From: YHJK89A CATHERINE HILL Time: 0:26 AM
I not only wondered at first whether or not there was a Mary
Whitney, I also wondered if Jeremiah was really Dr. DuPont
and the others. We have only Grace's identification. I was
rather irritated that Dr. Jordan didn't do something so
elementary as stopping in at that Methodist church to check
the parrish records. I wondered if he really didn't want to
know.
Grace's account of her actions and feelings before and
after the murders rang eerily true to me. You can wind up
saying and doing some of the damnedest things when you think
you're dealing with a madman, and trying to put off or
ameliorate their schemes is one way of handling it. As to
whether she had true multiple personality disorder, I'm not
quite sure, though I did note the early episode that had
nothing to do with the murder. I also thought "Mary
Whitney" became a convenient vehicle for things Grace
thought or felt and was ashamed of.
There was an interesting counterpoint between her and Dr.
Jordan. It was almost as though they nearly traded places.
Grace tells about being alone in a situation where every
action can be misinterpreted, and Dr. Jordan immediately
finds himself in one. The mistake was not confiding Mrs.
Humphrey's care to the local religious authorities (best at
that time) and getting the heck out of there the minute the
situation became disturbingly and compromisingly irregular.
I kept thinking he was damned unprofessional and deserved to
wind up being crocheted into one of Faith Cartwright's
afgans or whatever she was making. Meanwhile, his drawing
out of her story and feelings seems to have a quite positive
effect on Grace.
I was delighted with the literary and operatic references
placing the story in the emotional context of its period.
The frequent references to Sir Walter Scott's excessive
madwomen and the snippet about LA SONAMBULA fit right into
the emotional background. SONAMBULA is an opera with
surprising psychological validity, given the time. DuPont
bungled, though, when he spoke of a Lucia getting so into
the part she murdered her real life lover in a sort of
hysterical excess. She should have murdered her HUSBAND.
When I read about Mrs. Humphrey's sad wanderings about the
lake, I though there was the real difference between
romantic fiction and real life - you just keep on living and
have to go on somehow.
Cathy
=============== Reply 27 of Note 29 =================
To: YHJK89A CATHERINE HILL Date: 04/24
From: WSRF10B SHERRY KELLER Time: 7:35 AM
Dear Cathy,
I wish I remembered more of ALIAS GRACE (I read it over a
year ago) so I could better appreciate your excellent post.
You make me want to reread it, but too many other books are
calling me.
Sherry
=============== Reply 28 of Note 29 =================
To: YHJK89A CATHERINE HILL Date: 04/24
From: KDEX08B RUTH BAVETTA Time: 1:36 PM
Cathy, your posts was so witty and intelligent, that I loved
reading it. I'm wishing I'd really read this book, instead
of listening to an abridged tape, in spite of Elizabeth
McGovern's wonderful reading.
Ruth
=============== Reply 29 of Note 29 =================
To: YHJK89A CATHERINE HILL Date: 04/24
From: NCSH82B BARBARA MOORS Time: 7:45 PM
Excellent post, Cathy. I knew I'd be happy you read this
book. And, you have a complex mystery reader's take on it.
I miss so many hints and details and tend to take
characters in a straightforward way as they are presented.
But, there definitely was some interweaving of Mary
Whitney and Grace, either totally or only after Whitney's
death...and maybe that's when the personality confusion
began. Jeremiah as Dr. DuPont is a point I need to think
about.
And, I totally missed the operatic references...glad to
hear that they were almost correct. Barb
=============== Reply 30 of Note 29 =================
To: YHJK89A CATHERINE HILL Date: 04/24
From: FAVB99B JANE NIEMEIER Time: 10:43 PM
Dear Cathy,
What a great note! We needed your historical and operatic
background to add to our enjoyment of this book. I believe
that Grace does say that Dr. Dupont is Jeremiah at some
point in the book. Did you mean that you figured this out
before the author told us? Good for you!
Jane who loves all of the different CR perspectives
=============== Reply 31 of Note 29 =================
To: FAVB99B JANE NIEMEIER Date: 04/25
From: YHJK89A CATHERINE HILL Time: 0:00 AM
No, I didn't figure it out; I wondered if this were an
illusion of Grace's - though there were plenty of charlatans
back then. Because we really had only two points of view, I
found myself questioning almost everything. I also began
wishing she'd follow up with a BALTHAZAR and MOUNTOLIVE to
show us exactly what was going on; Durrell really had a good
idea there. I wondered about Mrs. Quennell and the table
rappings during the hypnosis - the most disorderly hypnosis
session I've ever read. Was Mrs. Quennell in with Jeremiah?
Also, I inconsequentially wondered about Mary's lover; if
it was the son of Alderman Parkinson, why did he smell of
fish? Cathy
=============== Reply 32 of Note 29 =================
To: YHJK89A CATHERINE HILL Date: 04/26
From: NCSH82B BARBARA MOORS Time: 8:45 AM
Oh geez, my memory for names is tripping me up here. I was
thinking that Dr. DuPont was one of the earlier men in the
book and wondered, after Cathy's note, if Jeremiah was
moving in and out as a number of them.
However, now that I get the point of what you really
meant, Cathy, the thought occurs to me that once you
consider the possibility that *anything* in the story could
be an illusion of Grace's, you certainly open a big door.
Speculation could proceed in a million different directions.
Barb
=============== Reply 33 of Note 29 =================
To: TQWX67A ANN DAVEY Date: 04/26
From: NCSH82B BARBARA MOORS Time: 10:37 AM
To those of you who have HOMEWORK HELPER, there are two
very good articles about Atwood and ALIAS GRACE, if you
give the research words "Alias Grace". One of them is the
article in Maclean's and another is an interview with her
in Mother Jones. She sees herself as someone who does
*not* want to tailor her stories to pre-conceived political
beliefs. The interviewer in MJ seemed a little frustrated
that Atwood wouldn't place herself in a leftist cubby-hole.
Instead, she characterized herself as a "Red Tory" a group
of people who have traditionally believed that those in
power have a responsibility to those they govern, without
respect to money...sounds close to leftist to me when I
write it, but not necessarily when I read it so maybe I
should go back and read it again.
I also liked her more in the interview than I thought I
would. She completely does not like this tendency toward
the view that "women are better" in feminism, but felt that
the original point was that women are people which is far
more interesting in the long run, for literary characters
as well as everywhere else.
Also, she said that after all of her research (which was
a LOT), she still doesn't know who killed Kinnear and his
housekeeper. Barb
=============== Reply 34 of Note 29 =================
To: ZRPD32A RICHARD HAGGART Date: 04/26
From: FDLX59B MARY ANNE PAPALE Time: 8:44 PM
Ooops, mucho apologies to Dale and Dick for having
overlooked your contributions here. MAP
=============== Reply 35 of Note 29 =================
To: FDLX59B MARY ANNE PAPALE Date: 04/26
From: FNMN56E LYNN EVANS Time: 9:28 PM
Dick 'n' Dale? Ain't them those two excessively polite
Warner Brothers chipmunks? I thought so...
=============== Reply 36 of Note 29 =================
To: FNMN56E LYNN EVANS Date: 04/28
From: FDLX59B MARY ANNE PAPALE Time: 6:48 PM
And I went to such trouble to write Dale and Dick, and not
Dick and Dale. It was supposed to be an apology. Now you've
gone and ruined it, Lynn. I was so sure no one would notice.
MAP
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Margaret Atwood
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