Falling Timbers

Yogesh, Simren, Allyia

Section 11
Summary:
Intertext
-

Chronicle and Gazette saying Grace doesnt seem like she is bothered nor feel guilty of the
murder
Her only worry is to get her clothes and box (that is not even hers!)
Graces confession to lawyer, Kenneth MacKenzie, retold by Susanna Moodie: she sees
Nancys blood shot eyes as she strangled her after the fact, during the day and night, that
they dont ever leave her

Chapter 41
-

Letter to Dr. Simon Jordan from his mother

She is worried about him because she hasnt heard from in a long time
The cough she apparently had since Jordan was born has worsen and fear she might die
and not see him (being over dramatic)

Chapter 42
-

Jordan has a dream: he is upstairs corridor (attic) and opens the door where the maids
rooms are, hoping to find one (that he doesnt seem to remember the name of) but ends
up at Guys Hospital
Knows he is going to be examined on a dissection while in there
Theres a woman on the bed under the sheets (he hopes she isnt old; hes scared) As he
lifts the sheet there is only more under and then nothing but the bed
He dreams hes awake and there is Grace Marks bending over him and they begin to have
sex
for in dreams everything is permitted (p422)
But he isnt dreaming, a girl is actually there, it is his landlady, Mrs. Humphrey
She doesnt protest nor make any sound of delight when he enters her p422

Chapter 43
-

Grace is talking about the arrest

She clears the air about the blood shot eyes that follow her (they are not eyes, they are
red peonies)
Dr. J is puzzled by this
Nov. 3rd the trial begins
Kinship between Jeremiah and Grace, he was not there
Jamie Walsh testimony: - G. hoped for sympathy but she was stared with reproach and
sorrowful anger
Jamie felt betrayed in love (b/c Grace ran off with McD)
She went from angel to demon in his eyes
She was in grief to lose his valued and good opinion about her
Jamies oath on the Bible was solemn but had rage in his voice
His feelings took the best of him and snapped and said Grace was wearing Nancys dress,
ribbons, trippet and parasol
Mr. MacKenzie eloquent, manipulated his words so that people would sympathize with
Grace (said she was an orphaned child, uneducated, out in the world on her own, easily
imposed upon, etc.)
But, besides the efforts Jury found G. guilty and when sentenced her to death, for being an
accessory for both before and after the fact, she fainted (fell on the railing with spikes,
which one had stabbed her in her breast, right next to her heart)

Falling Timbers

Yogesh, Simren, Allyia

Section 11

Chapter 44
-

Dr. J is going to Toronto on a train in second class (feels like he is spending too much
money and needs to economize)
He is going to have an interview with Kenneth MacKenzie, hoping to uncover something
that Grace may failed to mention because it made her look bad or she genuinely forgot
Mind is like a house
Says Graces will has the negative female variety, can deny/reject more easily than
affirm/accept
Says that Grace knows that she is hiding something from him
He feels the urge to slap her sometimes but then she would have reason to resist him
Says women cry to use to their advantage
He says that Grace seem to like telling the story like how one enjoys a game when winning
That shows subdued gratitude, Dr. J hates the gratitude of women, find women cunning
Rachel Humphrey = landlady full name
He supposes that she is his mistress, although he doesnt like the idea of one
They have sex almost every night
Hes using her for his pleasure but doesnt truly care for her

Thesis:
Margaret Atwood uses Alias Grace to depict the vast amount of influence that society has on our
subconscious thoughts, role in society, and perspective of each gender.

Quotes:
Psychoanalytical Theory
Freuds Oedipal Complex I am in the greatest state of apprehension, at not having a letter
from you, for so long. Do send me at least one word to let me know that no disaster has befallen
you (Pg. 419)
Dreams He wakes, or dreams he wakes. He knows he must still be asleep, because Grace
Marks is bending over him in the close darkness He pulls her down she is wearing only a
nightdress and falls on top of her, and shoves himself into her with a groan of lust and no
manners, for in dreams everything is permitted. (Pg. 422)
Meaning of Death McDermott shot at me, and I fainted and fell down (Pg. 428)
Id been made to stand up to hear the sentence; but when he said Death, I fainted, and fell (Pg.
434)
The Unconscious Mind The mind, he reflects, is like a house thoughts which the owner no
longer wishes to display, or those which arouse painful memories, are thrust out of sight (Pg.
435)
Marxist Theory
Mrs Cartwright says she is so thankful that her daughter has never been sick a day in her life,
and is as strong as a horse. The inheritance of a sound mind in a healthy body would be the best
legacy of all (420)

Falling Timbers

Yogesh, Simren, Allyia

Section 11
they held it against me as well that I was at first calm and in good spirits, with full and clear
eyes, which they took for callousness; but if Id been weeping and crying, they would have said it
showed my guilt; for theyd already decided I was guilty, and once people make up their minds
that you have done a crime, then anything you do is proof of it; and I dont think I could have
scratched myself or wiped my nose without it being written up in the newspapers, and malicious
comments made on it, in high-sounding phrases (426)
It began on the 3rd of November, and so many people crushed into the courthouse that the floor
gave way (432)
They put us into jail in Toronto, locked up in cells, like animals in a cage

Gender Theory
Its a woman, under the sheet; he can tell by the contours. He hopes she isnt too old, as that
would be somehow worse. (Pg. 421)
And the men that arrested us had no real authority. But McDermott was too cowed to protest
(Pg. 425)
She would turn on him that gaze of a wounded doe which all women keep in store for such
occasions. She would cry. (Pg. 435)
Every time some woman is grateful to him, he feels like taking a cold bath. Their gratitude isnt
real; what they really mean by it is that he should be grateful to them. Secretly they despise
him. (Pg. 436)
The first time was an accident: he was ambushed in his sleep. Nature took advantage of him
without his daytime armour; his own dreams turned against him. This is the very thing Rachel
claims of herself: she was sleepwalking, she says She has always been of a sensitive nature,
shes told him, and a subject to somnambulism even as a child He doesnt for an instant
believe this story. (Pg. 437)

Discussion Questions:
1) Have you ever had a dream in which you knew you were dreaming?
2) If you were able to access your unconscious mind whenever you wanted, how would it
affect you?
3) Think about: if you know you were dreaming while dreaming, what would you do in the
dream? Why?
4) If you could give a friend $999,999 and keep $1 yourself, would you do it? (If you say no,
the money vanishes. There is no way for you to get the $999,999)
5) Do you agree that we live in a patriarchal society? If so, how does this impact your life?
6) How has gender roles and stereotypes changed and stayed the same since the novel has
taken place (1840s) to now (21st century)?