*As a minor note, I feel it should be clarified that when The Blind Assassin is in italics, I am referring to the book in our physical world and when it just reads The Blind Assassin, I am referring to the novella by Laura Chase (actually by Iris, as we discover) contained within the actual book. I hope that this will assist with any confusion of the two.
Writing Style
In The Blind Assassin, the most notable style choice on Atwood's part is the use what appears to be a story within a story. The Blind Assassin, while a book in our world, is also the title of a supposedly fictional novella written by Laura Chase, the sister of the speaker, Iris Chase. Chapters alternate between the novella's unnamed protagonist and the real time character Iris, who is speaking in first person. This organization, while peculiar in the beginning, unfolds its true purpose near the end, when the reader is informed that Laura did not write The Blind Assassin, and that its story is actually the true account of Iris' love affair with another man. Atwood, as she has done in previous books, gives the reader a large quantity of proper nouns and events(which includes part of the ending) and the reader then begins on a several hundred page journey to discover how these events came to pass. Similar to the Gardener Hymns in The Year of the Flood, Atwood includes articles from newspapers and magazines that aid the reader in understanding the society and events of the time period.
Themes
Social Acceptance- Atwood presents two characters who are the foils of each other: Winifred, who is the epitome of a socially sound lady and Laura, who seems to care little for what society dictates. Laura is the prime example of a person who challenges beliefs and is persecuted for it. Her ideas are fairly reasonable but because they are different, they earn her a visit to a mental clinic, courtesy for Winifred and Richard. Atwood makes a clear statement in pointing out how society typically rejects the unfamiliar, usually without due reason, and brands that person as a radical, loon, or outcast.
Marriage for Personal Profit- Marriage in The Blind Assassin actually appears to be an unfavorable contract between two people that only stand to gain from each other's position. No romantic feelings are involved. It would be too harsh to say Atwood looks down on the idea of marriage; it is more accurate to say that marriage in the novel doesn't seem to be ideal. Iris' married life is very controlled and she is dominated by the will of her husband Richard; she has no privacy of her own, either. It's the idea of marrying for benefit, rather for love or happiness that is expressed negatively in the book which, given the time period(early 1900s) was the social norm. Marriage itself isn't bad in the novel, it's the idea of marriage as a sort of business deal that is pictured negatively.
Marriage for Personal Profit- Marriage in The Blind Assassin actually appears to be an unfavorable contract between two people that only stand to gain from each other's position. No romantic feelings are involved. It would be too harsh to say Atwood looks down on the idea of marriage; it is more accurate to say that marriage in the novel doesn't seem to be ideal. Iris' married life is very controlled and she is dominated by the will of her husband Richard; she has no privacy of her own, either. It's the idea of marrying for benefit, rather for love or happiness that is expressed negatively in the book which, given the time period(early 1900s) was the social norm. Marriage itself isn't bad in the novel, it's the idea of marriage as a sort of business deal that is pictured negatively.
Characters
Iris Chase Griffen- The speaker and main protagonist. The Blind Assassin essentially a memoir of her life that tells about her marriage, the Chase family's decline, and the events that surround the suicide of her sister Laura. It is revealed that The Blind Assassin novella is actually her illicit affair with a man named Alex Thomas. Iris reflects on the past as well as on her current deteriorating state that is a shadow if her former wealth and glory, up until she passes away. She has a bastard child with Alex and keeps the secret of the child's father to herself for many years.
Laura Chase- The sister of Iris, who commits suicide in her 20s. She is pictured as a rather odd child that always is questioning traditional thought and beliefs. It is these ideas, especially her disagreements with certain biblical passages, that lead to her reputation of being a frustrating, mad child. Laura never marries because of her beliefs against the contract of marriage and instead has a free love relationship with Alex Thomas as well. Laura is a woman of strong conviction and will; she never wavers when others challenge her views with the socially accepted versions.
Richard Griffen- Competitor to the Chase & Sons Corporation that marries Iris in a business deal. Has hopes of obtaining political power in Canada, plans that are shattered by the event that Iris causes. He locks up Laura in a looney bin to shut her up after blackmailing and raping her. He impregnates Laura and promptly has the child aborted while she is at BellaVista, the "clinic" for the insane. He is extremely controlling and has a very strong relationship with his sister Winifred. Commits suicide when scandal ends his chances of a political career,
Winifred Griffen Prior- Sister of Richard and a popular Toronto socialite. Very traditional in her views of women's roles though she doesn't always follow her own words. She has a very cohort-esque relationship with Richard in the sense that she counsels him on nearly every matter of the home, and purposely takes on the role that Iris would typically perform as his wife. She ends up reclaiming Iris' daughter Aimee in revenge for Richard's death, one that she remained convinced Iris caused.
Captain Norval Chase- Father of Iris and Laura and president of Chase Industries. Inherits the business from his father Benjamin and continues to run it until fires, employee strikes, the Depression, and several other events destroy the company. Captain Chase is pictured as a very strict and non-fatherly figure who clearly wanted sons to carry on his legacy, in stead of daughters. He ends up drinking himself to death in a fit of depression caused by the closure of his last factory.
Reenie- The housekeeper of the Chase home during its more prosperous year. She was a sort of nanny to Laura and Iris. She had strong religious and superstitious values. Mother of Myra, who would later become Iris' most trusted caretaker in her old age.
Laura Chase- The sister of Iris, who commits suicide in her 20s. She is pictured as a rather odd child that always is questioning traditional thought and beliefs. It is these ideas, especially her disagreements with certain biblical passages, that lead to her reputation of being a frustrating, mad child. Laura never marries because of her beliefs against the contract of marriage and instead has a free love relationship with Alex Thomas as well. Laura is a woman of strong conviction and will; she never wavers when others challenge her views with the socially accepted versions.
Richard Griffen- Competitor to the Chase & Sons Corporation that marries Iris in a business deal. Has hopes of obtaining political power in Canada, plans that are shattered by the event that Iris causes. He locks up Laura in a looney bin to shut her up after blackmailing and raping her. He impregnates Laura and promptly has the child aborted while she is at BellaVista, the "clinic" for the insane. He is extremely controlling and has a very strong relationship with his sister Winifred. Commits suicide when scandal ends his chances of a political career,
Winifred Griffen Prior- Sister of Richard and a popular Toronto socialite. Very traditional in her views of women's roles though she doesn't always follow her own words. She has a very cohort-esque relationship with Richard in the sense that she counsels him on nearly every matter of the home, and purposely takes on the role that Iris would typically perform as his wife. She ends up reclaiming Iris' daughter Aimee in revenge for Richard's death, one that she remained convinced Iris caused.
Captain Norval Chase- Father of Iris and Laura and president of Chase Industries. Inherits the business from his father Benjamin and continues to run it until fires, employee strikes, the Depression, and several other events destroy the company. Captain Chase is pictured as a very strict and non-fatherly figure who clearly wanted sons to carry on his legacy, in stead of daughters. He ends up drinking himself to death in a fit of depression caused by the closure of his last factory.
Reenie- The housekeeper of the Chase home during its more prosperous year. She was a sort of nanny to Laura and Iris. She had strong religious and superstitious values. Mother of Myra, who would later become Iris' most trusted caretaker in her old age.
Point of View Analysis
The point of view in The Blind Assassin alternates between two different speakers as well as various news articles. The news articles are mainly for giving the outcome of a situation and then Iris giving an explanation of how that situation came to pass. For example, an article talked about how Richard's body was found in a boat. Iris then shows the reader the events that led up to this suicide. After these brief articles is the issue with the speakers. It is discovered by the reader in the last few pages or so that both the speakers in The Blind Assassin and Iris' narration are both Iris. The reader originally views the entire book as two different people because the voices are very different, though both in first person. This new knowledge changes much of how The Blind Assassin appears to the reader.
Before this complete volte-face occurs, Iris is the main speaker. She speaks from the viewpoint of a matured, near death woman who is reflecting on her life story and compiling it into a manuscript. She speaks of her daily tasks, such as visiting the old haunts of her childhood and eating doughnuts at the local cafe. Her tone is very neutral, even when thinking of old regrets she does so in a very resigned way, as though she has come to terms with her actions and realizes that she can't repair all of them. Most of the main story line occurs when Iris is speaking because that is the whole point of her point of view, to tell as story.
The second, although we know now that it's the same person, viewpoint is of a young and wealthy woman who visits an unnamed lover in dingy hotels and apartments. The speaker is witty and intelligent, as well as headstrong as she refuses to get upset at the man, who is often bitter and insulting. She is creative when she assists the man in his storytelling, as well as when she comes up with excuses for her husband as to why she comes home so late at night. When the reader realizes that this saucy, sexual woman is Iris, they are immediately faced with a new side of her. She appears to be passive dutiful in her time with Richard, while the reality is really the opposite. The character of Iris is now more powerful and more bold, even though she is still and elder woman.
Before this complete volte-face occurs, Iris is the main speaker. She speaks from the viewpoint of a matured, near death woman who is reflecting on her life story and compiling it into a manuscript. She speaks of her daily tasks, such as visiting the old haunts of her childhood and eating doughnuts at the local cafe. Her tone is very neutral, even when thinking of old regrets she does so in a very resigned way, as though she has come to terms with her actions and realizes that she can't repair all of them. Most of the main story line occurs when Iris is speaking because that is the whole point of her point of view, to tell as story.
The second, although we know now that it's the same person, viewpoint is of a young and wealthy woman who visits an unnamed lover in dingy hotels and apartments. The speaker is witty and intelligent, as well as headstrong as she refuses to get upset at the man, who is often bitter and insulting. She is creative when she assists the man in his storytelling, as well as when she comes up with excuses for her husband as to why she comes home so late at night. When the reader realizes that this saucy, sexual woman is Iris, they are immediately faced with a new side of her. She appears to be passive dutiful in her time with Richard, while the reality is really the opposite. The character of Iris is now more powerful and more bold, even though she is still and elder woman.
A- The fate of Laura in disclosed in the first sentence. The reader is given the end at the beginning.
B- Iris begins to describe her life now as an elderly lady, including her helper Myra, the daughter of Reenie.
C- Laura is born in Iris' memory.
D- Financial troubles begin for the Chase family.
E- Iris marries Richard.
F- Norval Chase drinks himself to death and leaves Laura with an inheritance. Laura runs away to avoid having to move in with Richard and Iris.
G- Laura is confined to a mental clinic without due cause.
H- Laura is released on legal grounds. She leaves Toronto and severs contact with Iris.
I- Iris and Laura meet briefly in a cafe and the secrets of Richard's abuse and Alex Thomas' affairs are revealed.
J- Laura drives off a bridge, committing suicide.
K- Iris reveals the she was the true writer of The Blind Assassin.
L- Iris passes away just after she finishes her memoir.
B- Iris begins to describe her life now as an elderly lady, including her helper Myra, the daughter of Reenie.
C- Laura is born in Iris' memory.
D- Financial troubles begin for the Chase family.
E- Iris marries Richard.
F- Norval Chase drinks himself to death and leaves Laura with an inheritance. Laura runs away to avoid having to move in with Richard and Iris.
G- Laura is confined to a mental clinic without due cause.
H- Laura is released on legal grounds. She leaves Toronto and severs contact with Iris.
I- Iris and Laura meet briefly in a cafe and the secrets of Richard's abuse and Alex Thomas' affairs are revealed.
J- Laura drives off a bridge, committing suicide.
K- Iris reveals the she was the true writer of The Blind Assassin.
L- Iris passes away just after she finishes her memoir.