Relationships in Alias Grace The truth may not always be as black and white as it seems. In Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace, the main character is immediately judged and harboured as a criminal. The book is about a woman, who, at the age of sixteen is tried in the court as an accomplice to a double murder. It is a true story that happened in Canada in the 1850`s. A lot of mystery surrounds the role she actually played in the murders because some of the facts do not add up. There are competing versions of the story, and Grace herself has no memory of the event. She confesses, but the story quickly reveals that her lawyer coerced her into giving the version of the story that he liked best. Meanwhile, Grace is prone to mental fits that no one understands, so countless doctors and clergymen examine her and come to differing conclusions; some are convinced that she is guilty, and others are convinced that she is innocent. One of the only things keeping Grace strong is her ability to connect with certain characters that are introduced into her life. The use of her qualities and strengths as a woman allows Grace the ability to hold onto certain relationships longer than others. Grace not only has the ability to draw people into her life, like Doctor Simon Jordan and Mary Whitney, but she is able to entice the reader in ways that others cannot and bring them in as her fascinated audience. To begin with, one of the main characters in Atwood’s novel, Alias Grace, is Doctor Simon Jordan. Doctor Jordan specializes in mental illnesses and is granted permission to handle Grace Marks’ case. Grace Marks is a young lady who suffers from mental fits and is being charged for murder. She also claims to have forgotten the incidents that happened when the murder occurred. Through attempting to figure out whether Grace is innocent or not, Doctor Jordan begins to cast his sexual desires onto her. Atwood exploits an interesting side with the lives of people who are close to Grace, including Doctor Jordan. The story revolves around the meetings that Grace and Doctor Jordan have at the governor’s house where she works as a trustee. During the time that they spend together, Grace feels that:

Grace values the time that she has with Doctor Jordan and begins to tell him the things he wants to hear. This way, Grace is the one who has ultimate control over what is known by the Doctor. Through her mental challenges, she is able to compose her tale to suit Doctor Jordan’s personal view of herself. In the novel, Grace’s story-telling requires the return of Doctor Jordan’s desire. When Doctor Jordan and Grace are talking about the type of quilt Grace wants to make for herself, she, “said this last thing to be mischievous. [She] did not give him a straight answer, because saying what you really want out loud brings bad luck” (Atwood, 89). Grace very rarely gives Doctor Jordan straight-forward answers because she believes that it keeps him interested in her. To Doctor Jordan, as long as Grace says something, she is right and she is doing well. Therefore, Grace uses manipulation as well as her own personal qualities to keep Doctor Jordan interested and wanting more. Another character that Grace keeps at bay is Mary Whitney. The relationship that Grace has with Mary is more than just being best friends; they share a sisterly bond in the midst of the sessions that defines the novel. Grace had been left with her abusive father and the smaller children after her mother suffered a terrible death while on the passage to America. This trip was taken for necessity rather than want due to her father being in a lot of financial trouble in Scotland. For this reason, Grace was also sent to Canada to become a servant which was where she first meets Mary. Mary works with Grace, and Grace “was pleased to be with Mary, as [she] liked her at once” (Atwood, 143). Mary became Grace’s closest friend in Canada and helps Grace out as much as possible. Mary serves as both a motherly and friendly figure in Grace’s life. When Grace makes a mistake and becomes anxious, Mary comforts her and says she “should not take things so seriously, and if you never made a mistake, you would never learn” (Atwood, 152). Mary teaches Grace everything she needs to know to survive in Canada, provides her with clean clothes, and helps Grace look more presentable in society. Upon Mary’s death, Grace uses all the wages that she has earned up to date and puts them into providing Mary the best funeral possible which she had not even done for her mother. Unlike with Doctor Jordan, Grace uses her qualities such as her kind nature to befriend Mary in ways that she will never forget. Apart from the characters in the novel, the reader also finds themselves drawn to Grace because of her kind nature and outlook on life. The reader becomes a part of her fascinated audience as well. Despite the crimes that she has committed, Grace is a likeable character. The reader becomes drawn to Grace and even starts to feel sympathy towards her. Her father is a good for nothing; she has gone through a terribly long journey that left her without a mother in the end. She is also forced into work and seems oddly out of place in a prison, especially being a woman. When Grace shares her thoughts by saying, “It struck me at once how very solitary I was, as I had no friends here except Nancy, if she could be called a friend…I did not know where my family was, which was the same as having none” (Atwood, 301). Grace comes to terms with the fact that she is alone in a world where having a friend is important. The reader begins to empathize and have pity towards Grace due to the reader divulging on the many private thoughts that Grace has. This may be because the reader is able to make a connection with Grace as to what loneliness may feel like. In addition, Margaret Atwood uses a variety of real media accounts regarding Grace Marks which dominate over Grace’s perception of herself. Grace is aware of the false accusations that are made about her and asks the rhetorical question “and I wonder, how can I be all of these different things at once?” (Atwood, 25). This question shows the reader the confusion that Grace has about herself which enables the reader to feel empathy towards Grace as a result of what has been said, and the techniques used to say it. The audience not only feels sympathy but also empathy towards a young lady who is accused of so much wrong, while only trying to survive. In conclusion, Grace and her charm have Doctor Jordan, Mary Whitney, and the reader attracted to her during the novel. Margaret Atwood does an astounding job at getting in the heads of her characters and showing the reader how people of the time really thought about human psychology, how much they didn’t understand and perhaps how much we still have yet to figure out. She uses her main character Grace as a vessel to prove that even while being pushed through something that would cause most to collapse, personal relationships, either through manipulation, love, or sympathy, are able to form and grow freely. Doctor Jordan and Grace have an intimate relationship where Grace uses manipulation and control over what she says to keep Doctor Jordan interested. Meanwhile, Mary was more of a mother or sister to Grace, helping her in daily troubles of life that she faces. And the reader was able to sympathize with Grace on more of a personal level due to false accusations that are made about her. People will always forget what someone has said, and what they did, but they will never forget how that person made them feel. And no matter how hard life can be, Margaret Atwood proves that everyone has the ability to push through with those that mean the most to them.

Works Cited

• Atwood, Margaret. Alias Grace. London: Bloomsbury, 1996. Print. • In search of Alias Grace. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Publishing, 1997. Print. • Murray, Jennifer. "Historical Figures and Paradoxical Patterns: The Quilting Metaphor in Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace." n. page. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. • Clark, Elise. "Alias Grace: Misogynistic Themes in Margaret Atwood's Novel." n. page. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. . • Maufort, Marc. Escaping the Labyrinth of Deception: A Postcolonial Approach to Margaret Atwood’s Novels Volume I. 2006. Web. .

----------------------- while he writes, it’s as if he is drawing me; or not drawing me, drawing on me - drawing on my skin - not with the pencil he is using, but with an old-fashioned goose pen, and not with the quill end but with the feather end. As if hundreds of butterflies have settled all over my face, and are softly opening and closing their wings. (Atwood, 58)