The Verdict

The verdict: Everybody has gone hog wild, and somewhat insane.

During the hypnosis process, it is revealed that it's believed that Grace is being possessed by the spirit of Mary Whitney, and also Simon Jordan's sexual desires. While in a hypnotic state, "Mary" says that she was all cold and alone on the floor and she needed to be warm and since Grace forgot to open the window after she died, so her spirit could not get out. She then continues to beg Dr. Jordan to not let anything happen to Grace and not let anyone hurt her. Everyone, including myself as a reader, was skeptical on whether or not it was truly the spirit of Mary Whitney speaking or whether it was Grace on the edge of pure psychological insanity. I was skeptical on the idea of hypnosis in the first place, and the story of Grace being possessed by Mary Whitney only further proved her guilt for me, along with her unbalanced mental state. She confesses that she didn't strangle Nancy Montgomery but rather her kerchief did it. I'm no Sherlock Holmes or anything, but that sounds like a confession to me.

As if we didn't already have one crazy character from the beginning of the novel, we now have two more. Rachel (aka Mrs. Humphrey) has alluded her life to that of Nancy Montgomery's by falling for her housekeeper (Simon Jordan) and carrying on a relationship. However, her situation is much different than Nancy Montgomery's as Rachel's husband is mentioned many times since the beginning of the novel, therefore implying that she's married. This also conflicts with Dr. Jordan because if he's involved with a married woman (who, let's not forget, is also his servant) then that means that he's also gotten himself involved in a situation where I don't think he is emotionally equipped to deal with. There is no doubt in my mind that Rachel is crazy, and at this rate, Dr. Jordan isn't far behind. Rachel keeps saying how her husband doesn't have to come back, that he could have an accident and no one would have to know. Basically, she wants Simon and herself to commit a crime similar to one that Grace Marks and James McDermott were convicted for. At this point, I'm not entirely sure whether or not Simon meant to consent or not, but by kissing her, Rachel interpreted this as his willingness to do what she had planned and his passion towards her as she says, "I knew you would never leave me! I love you more than my life!". Clearly, there is something off about her humors, and with her state of mind in general. I quickly realized that although Rachel Humphrey was a woman who his family would find appropriate for marriage, he couldn't spend the rest of his life with a woman knowing that at the same time he had committed a crime. Dr. Simon Jordan's story ends with him going home to care for his sick mother, which then turns into him going off into war as a doctor, where he then never heard from again.

Grace Marks, despite her obvious guilt to the crime she was convicted for, gets the happy ending she had been waiting for her whole life. She had been in prison or locked away in the asylum for so many years that it had almost felt like her new home. From the time Grace Marks is imprisoned until the time she is granted her freedom once more, she has become a new person. She is no longer the damaged, fragile girl who came across on a boat from Ireland with her broken family, but she is rather a more matured and head-strong woman who can think sensibly for herself. In the book, when she leaves she thinks about her mother dying and says "Of course I wasn't dying, but it was in a way similar.". I think that this is similar to dying in a way because she is being reborn into a new person. She has now lost the identity of Grace Marks, as that is the name she was given to by her mother, and also the name she shared with her father whom she no longer had any contact with. In a way she was reborn into the living version of Mary Whitney, which can be interpreted in many different ways after reading the hypnosis section of the novel, but by the end of the novel, she becomes a new person, especially when she moves to New York and gets married to Jamie Walsh. Even though I still believe that she was guilty, Grace Marks was a remarkable woman and the novel Alias Grace was a great novel even though it was written by Margaret Atwood. By the end of the novel, I could truly appreciate Grace Marks as who she was, and that was by her average, everyday alias, Grace.

The Most Poetical Topic in the World

In ten chapters, a lot of things happen. Chapter 35 begins with a statement by Dr. Simon Jordan regarding Grace saying, " 'It is not the question of your guilt or innocence that concerns me. I am a doctor, not a judge. I simply wish to know what you yourself can actually remember.' " (Atwood 367) Earlier on while I was reading the novel, I wondered whether or not Dr. Jordan was actually concerned about the innocence or guilt of his patient but rather the patient herself. Even From this, a common theme has managed to emerge throughout the novel. I thought that the theme of truth has come up a lot, because although Dr. Jordan isn't searching for innocence or guilt in Grace, he's still working to find the truth in what happened. The theme became clearer to me when Grace says at the end of her session with Dr. Jordan, " 'It would be a great relief to me, to know the whole truth at last.' " (Atwood 384) because ever since the beginning of the novel, the truth of what Grace Marks did was trying to be uncovered and the theme makes me wonder how much the truth is actually worth to us, and whether uncovering it is fixing the damage that was done, or causing more chaos than before. In Dr. Jordan's case, I think uncovering the truth is only proving to have a negative affect on him, as he somehow becomes involved with his servant, Mrs. Humphrey, while also frequently fantasizing about Grace. Throughout the rest of the novel, we can see his mental state slowly deteriorating as he no longer understands the events that are unfolding and he can't rationalize things in a professional and appropriate manner such as keeping his relationship with his maid just that, and thoughts of marriage keep popping into his head while in a session with Grace Marks. Even after sleeping with Mrs. Humphrey (who she insists on him calling her Rachel), Dr. Jordan still lusts after Grace and imagines her in Rachel's place. There's a clear attraction to Grace from Simon's perspective, however this feeling is not mutual. I was almost scared while reading because during a session, Simon wondered if Grace thought of him while she quilted, however I thought this was crazy and on the brink of creepy. It was known from the very beginning that Grace Marks was suspected of murder, and she was even committed to an asylum for being mentally unstable, yet here is a well trained doctor, looking as her and thinking about marrying her. If we were in Elizabethan times, Dr. Jordan probably would've been seen as of ill with his humors being off and all, and would have been bled out in order to cure him. However at this time, he would not have been bled out because this would've been completely hypocritical, as in the case they were investigating, the victim was found in a pool of their own blood and to cure someone in the same fashion as someone was punished, it would seem completely wrong.

Aside from Dr. Jordan's crazy moments, he also had some wise, professional ones. He went to go visit Grace's lawyer to see if he could find some truth from him. He found truth, however it wasn't the same truth he was looking for. It's revealed that Grace was thought guilty to the extent that not even the lawyer who was representing her thought she was innocent. MacKenzie goes as far as saying that he was told that there was no chance that he had of winning, and it was no longer about winning -- it was all about losing with as much elegance as possible. Grace says that no one understands guilt. She knows that he is looking to find out whether she is guilty or not, and she says that, "He doesn't understand yet that guilt comes to you not from the things you've done, but from the things that others have done to you." (Atwood 456). By this, I think that Grace is talking about all of her life experiences leading up to that moment, and how she was treated by others and mostly how she was influenced by McDermott.  

For me, it almost seems as if Grace is pleading her case of being innocent, which is irrelevant because ever since the beginning of the book I thought that she was guilty, and up until this point, I still think that she's guilty.

Best Promotion Ever

As if life wasn't hard enough for Grace Marks already, it gets even harder for her in Chapter 31. The relationship between Nancy Montgomery and Thomas Kinnear is no longer exclusive, and it is now common knowledge to everyone in the household. However, this conclusion could have easily been derived from Grace's observation that Nancy is never found sleeping in her own bed, she looks daggers at Grace whenever she's even around Mr. Kinnear, and the gold earrings she wears that could potentially be a gift from Mr. Kinnear. Because of the publicity of their relationship, Nancy has started to take on the unofficial position of the mistress of the house, meaning Grace has to deal with her authoritative wrath as well as her predetermined, naturally bossy one. I found myself disliking Nancy even more because now that she's seen as the mistress of the house, she no longer sees herself as a servant, which she still is to some extent. This annoyed me because there's some social unfairness to this unofficial promotion. Nancy Montgomery is still a maid who is working for Thomas Kinnear, and just because they appear to be having a monogamous relationship with each other, I don't think that gives her any right to step up and call herself the "mistress of the house" because I do not recall reading about society suddenly not frowning upon the relationship between an upperclassman and their servants. It wasn't okay back then, and it's still not okay now because the modern day equivalent to this situation would be sleeping with your boss to get a raise.

Other things have also been revealed about Nancy, such as Grace's speculations that she may be pregnant after observing her over the past few days. She notices that Nancy has been having cravings for strange foods, her moods have been from one extreme to another and given her relationship with Thomas Kinnear, it is highly possible that she could have gotten pregnant. Although she wishes no harm upon Nancy, Grace still thinks that it would be unfair for Nancy to be treated better in this situation than Mary Whitney had when she was in this very same situation, as she was looked down upon and thrown out into the elements with no money. In the novel, she says, "... it would not be fair and just that she should end up a respectable married lady with a ring on her finger, and rich into the bargain. It would not be right at all. Mary Whitney had done the same as her, and had gone to her death. why should the one be rewarded and the other punished, for the same sin?" (Atwood 329) I found this quotation to be true, mainly because Nancy probably would have gotten a fairer treatment if her supposed pregnancy had become public news. Near the end of the chapter, a violent storm erupts and although the cause could be explained by some meteorological study, it could also be a disruption in the Great Chain of Being, which was seen earlier on in the book as well. Now that the Great Chain of Being has been fully broken with the relationship between a housekeeper and his servant, the build-up for worse things to come has started in the novel.