Patchwork History

"Rethinking History as Patchwork: The Case of Atwood's Alias Grace
Critic: Magali Cornier Michael
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Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace presents a patchwork of texts as an "other" means of representing historical events and persons that rejects the mono-vision of traditional histories. This representation undermines linearity and the cause-and-effect logic that derives from it. The result is a more dynamic construction which evolves while still retaining the integrity of its pieces. Atwood's novel engages curiosity through presenting all of the juxtaposition of the texts along with the first and third person narrations used. The juxtaposition of the texts equalizes the novel's status as neither fiction nor valid, and the texts begin to challenge each other's authorities when placed beside each other.

The main focus of the novel is the trial of Grace Marks in the 1840's. Atwood uses the historical bounty available to write the story of Grace Marks and claims that it is based on reality. Even though the known facts are not changed, the accounts contradict each other in a way that few facts emerge as unequivocally known. The unknown truth of Grace Marks' role in the murder makes the historical events and people compelling and they story also achieves a "reality status" through their presentation. Alias Grace is a text that actively participates re-conceptualization of history socially, culturally and texturally. The novel highlights text and storytelling through frames where all of the events are viewed by undermining any clear distinction of different texts.

Hayden White and Dominick LaCapra have demonstrated that historical methodology has tended to efface the active role of language, texts, and narrative structures in the creation and description of historical reality in the nineteenth century, as well as thought structures and symbolic meaning being an integral part of everything we know as history. LaCapra argues historians depend on what is termed as a documentary model of knowledge that tends to ignore the way documents are texts that rework reality. Historical research still assumes that accurate access to the "truth" is possible.

Giana Pomata points out the notable gender dimension in the second half of the nineteenth century, which led to the absence of women from history. Historic pieces such as memoirs and biographies, generally authored by women, were in favor a more general history. During the women's movement, the absence of women in history was questioned and there was a need for "a re-evaluation of established standards of historical significance". Historical narratives are essential in accessing real events, ideas and meanings of history according to Susan Stanford Friedman. For most scholars of feminist history and historians, they found that questioning historical methodologies never lapses into relativism and that historical narratives can never capture the truth in history.

Alias Grace is based around the history of the murder trial and essentially finding the truth. The novel demonstrates how letting one narrative dominate one's reading can change the perspective of the piece. Alias Grace demonstrates a spatial structure rather than a linear structure.The novel doesn't focus on finding the truth about specific events or people, but rather questioning the document to uncover the unreliability of all narratives. Atwood highlights the documents that produce rather than represent material events and persons through a method of juxtaposition.The novel balances out the authority of official documents and de-authorized texts by highlighting the similarities between the two. Throughout the story, Grace Marks is aware of the control she has over the story as she tells it to Dr. Jordan as well as she is aware of the alternate versions of her story being told by others. The novel stresses the importance of details as they can dramatically change the accuracy of a story and make a difference between versions of stories told. The patchwork quilt structure in Alias Grace offers many potential patterns that creates insight into past events without creating an hierarchy among them.