What’s in a name? What history? What life? What stories? Readers may have these questions after finishing Atwood’s brilliant novel, where these questions remain unanswered by the author to torture the reader. Or rather, at least, to inspire the reader to consider these questions and then some. Alias Grace follows the story of a convicted murderess with narration limited by the protagonist, Grace Marks. Upon completing the novel, readers may feel lost at sea with nothing to help them navigate their way home except the stars, a tool only the ancient experts are privy to. Grace is quite like these ancient navigators. She is deliberate in what knowledge she shares with whom. We never really know the truth. One element that is uncomfortably clear, though, is that the romanticism of murderers is a tale as old as time, where the beauty is the beast. Throughout Atwood’s work, Grace is consistently aware of how others perceive her, as well as how she wants to be perceived. Is she telling a carefully crafted story because she wants to get away with murder? Because she is insane? Or because she is in a world ruled by men and a woman who was in the wrong place at the wrong time? Grace’s interaction with the men of the novel screams, “Help me, I keep finding myself at the mercy of men who desperately miss their mothers.” Dr. Jordan, of course, is the first example of this. However, I would like to discuss Jaime Walsh, the man who testified against Grace during her trial but eventually married her when she was pardoned. Jaime forces Grace to relive her miserable life often, sparing no gruesome details. Grace remarks that the more unsettling her stories are, the more “in ecstasies” he finds himself (Atwood, 457). Commonly, murderers and famous loons throughout history are doted on. Charles Manson and Ted Bundy make the cut in reality while Tate Langdon and Norman Bates carry the fictitious burden. While most who suffer from hybristophilia are guilty of romanticizing murderous men, Grace finds herself in an inverse position where Jaime is beside himself without Grace’s gory stories. Equally as strange as this fascination with the freaky things in life is Grace’s sense of pride when she manages to please her husband. He feebly begs her for forgiveness and upon receiving it, is thus put back into his manhood. As a woman, Grace has found power in a man’s world. The longer she can keep someone listening, the more she can forgive her husband. The stronger she feels while remaining a victim simultaneously. To think that a woman, convicted for murder for most her of her life, is still a victim to the men around her creates an uninteresting contrast. The restrictions of a woman’s uterus knows no bounds, as no matter what the situation Grace finds herself in she will be reduced to her womanhood. If Grace was mentally insane, she would be subject to ridicule for melodramatics or hysteria. If Grace was a murderer, she would again be subject to commentary with connotations of being emotionally overwhelmed. Lastly, and perhaps the worst-case scenario that Grace could possibly find herself in, Grace could find herself telling a story of feigned illness as she was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time… Caught by men, diagnosed by men, and thus having to play along in hopes that mercy would find her. What is in a name? A gender? An era? “The way I understand things, the Bible may have been thought out by God, but it was written down by men. And like everything men write down, such as the newspapers, they got the main story right but some of the details wrong.” - Atwood, Alias Grace, pg. 459.
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About the Faux HistorianAs a Graduate student at Wright State University, Kayelynne Harrison found herself studying Neo-Victorian Literature as she pursued her Master of Art's Degree in ENG: Literature. This page is a small reflection of the work she has accomplished in her last semester. Though preferring to study Gothic Literature and Horror Film analysis, where she hopes her future lies, these Neo-Victorian studies prove helpful in Kayelynne's journey. Archives
April 2021
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