The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

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Description

The Blind Assassin opens with these simple, resonant words: "Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge." They are spoken by Iris, whose terse account of her sister's death in 1945 is followed by an inquest report proclaiming the death accidental. But just as the... read more

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Summary

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Cast of Characters/Important People

Iris Griffen: the narrator, former high-class, now empoverished
Richard E. Griffen: nouveau rich
Laura Chase: Iris's sister
Reenie: Iris's and Laura's housekeeper since childhood
Alex: a friend of both sisters

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Memorable Quotes

“I sometimes felt as if these marks on my body were a kind of code, which blossomed, then faded, like invisible ink held to a candle. But if they were a code, who held the key to it? I was sand, I was snow — written on, rewritten, smoothed over.””
““Not enough rain, say the farmers. The cicadas pierce the air with their searing one-note calls; dust eddies across the roads; from the weedy patches at the verges, grasshoppers whir. The leaves of the maple hang from their branches like limp gloves; on the sidewalk my shadow crackles.””
“But some people can’t tell where it hurts. They can’t calm down. They can’t ever stop howling.”
“I was stranded in the middle of the street… I stretched out my hand, like a drowning person beseeching rescue. In that moment I had already committed treachery in my heart””
Iris

First Sentence

Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge.

I-The bridge; The Toronto Star, 1945; The Blind Assassin: Perennials for the Rock Garden
II-The hard-boiled egg; The Globe and the Mail, 1947; The park bench; The Toronto Star; The carpets; The Globe and Star, 1998; The lipstick heart; The Colonel Henry Parkman High School Home and School Alumni Association Bulletin, 1998
III-The presentation; The silver box; The Button Factory; Avilion; The trousseau; The gramaphone; Bread day; Black ribbons; The soda
IV-The cafe; The Port Ticonderago Herald and Banner, 1933; The chenille spread; The Mail and Empire, 1934; The messenger; The Mail and Empire, 1934; Horses of the night; Mayfair, 1935; The bronze bell
V-The fur coat; The Weary Soldier; Miss Violence; Ovid's Metamorphoses; The button factory picnic; Loaf givers; Hand-tinting; The cold cellar; The attic; The Imperial Room; The Arcadian Court; The tango
VI-The houndstooth suit; Red brocade; The Toronto Star, 1935; Street walk; The janitor; Mayfair, 1936; Alien on Ice
VII-The steamer trunk; The Fire Pit; Postcards from Europe; The eggshell hat; Besotted; Sunnyside; Xanadu
VIII-Carnivore stories; Mayfair, 1936; Peach Women of Aa'A; The Mail and Empire, 1936; The Top Hat Grill
IX-The laundry; The ashtray; The man with his head on fire; The Water Nixie; The chestnut tree
X-Lizard Men of Zenor; Mayfair, 1937; Letter from BellaVista; The tower; The Globe and Mail, 1937; Union Station
XI-The cubicle; The kitten; Beautiful view; Brightly shone the moon; Betty's Luncheonette; The message
XII-The Globe and Mail, 1938; Mayfair, 1939; The Be rage Room; Yellow curtains; The telegram; The destruction of Sakiel-Norn
XIII-Gloves; Home fires; Diana Sweets; Escarpment
XIV-The golden lock; Victory comes and goes; The head of rubble
XV-The Blind Assassin, Epilogue: The other hand; The Port Ticonderoga Herald and Banner, 1999; The threshold