Weaving Og Grace Marks Essay

Weaving of Grace Marks

Grace Marks is a very deceiving and complex character. The reader never knows whether or not she is truly innocent, because although Grace denies being a part of the murders and says that it was all McDermott’s doing, Grace hints at the fact that she does not tell Dr. Jordan the full story. During one session Grace claims, “Just because [Dr. Jordan] pesters me to know everything, is no reason for me to tell him.” (216) When Dr. Jordan goes to see Grace, she seems vulnerable and innocent. However, there is more going on in Grace’s mind then Dr. Jordan knows about. Jordan is so eager to find out the truth, that Grace’s relationship with him produces the story he wants to hear. Grace knows that there is no concrete evidence against her as there was against McDermott; otherwise she would have been sentenced to death as he was. Instead, it is McDermott’s word against Grace’s: McDermott says that the murders were Grace’s idea, and Grace says that she had nothing to do with the murders. At some points in the book Grace seems like the innocent victim that she claims to be, and at other points the reader can see glimpses of her more manipulative side. During her sessions with Doctor Jordan, her responses are all too rehearsed, and it gives readers a sense of unreliability about her story: “But I don’t say this. I look at him stupidly. I have a good stupid look which I have practiced” (38). Also, knowing that Grace did not have the best influences (she grew up with a manipulative father, and after that she had a friend that was foul-mouthed and not afraid to speak her mind) helps the reader understand where Grace comes from. It leaves one wondering if Grace could have the mind to manipulate McDermott to commit the murders.
Throughout the novel, Atwood brings up a central metaphor of quilting. Quilting is a symbol which represents weaving patches of the truth together. When Dr. Simon Jordan talks to Grace, she is often weaving a quilt. This quilt...