In the novel, The Blind Assassin, Margaret Atwood certainly experimented in several novels with tales within tales, supposedly factual accounts interwoven with letters, in order to enhance the main narrative, an example being the brilliant Alias Grace. However, The Blind Assassin is her most ambitious work to date, combining Iris Chase’s memoir, Laura Chase’s novel, the Sakiel-Norn story told by the fictional Alex Thomas, the elements of his story that also turn up in an actual book, and the newspaper articles that offer clues to the real story of the Chase’s. Although initially the story is confusing because of the many threads, it is worth persevering until the point-counterpoint begins to demonstrate its own logic.

Running through the stories of Iris and Laura is the story of Canada itself, for almost a century. By making the main story that of a family and their country, Atwood takes on one of the most difficult novelistic structures to sustain: the family saga. As she tells the stories of the two sisters, the saga of a country enduring two world wars and other social upheavals parallels and enhances the family history. Iris tells the story of her mother’s journey to Halifax to see her husband off to fight World War One: “His body might perish…it might become part of the sacrifice that – it was now clear – would have to be made. Along with this realization came desperation and a shrinking terror, but also – I’m sure – a measure of bleak pride”(Atwood, p. 71). This same sense of “bleak pride” pervades the old woman’s account of her life and the lives of those around her. She has received the gifts of clear insight and a sharp and unsparing tongue, but as a penalty she has been denied love. Thus her life is a contrast to that of the temple girl at the core of the intersecting stories that amplify meaning within The Blind Assassin. Although The Blind Assassin is by no means an easy read, Atwood expertly keeps the intricate structure functioning at many levels and rewards the reader with the patience to unravel the symbolism and imagery of her design.

What emerges from the story of Sakiel-Norn is a rather gothic tale of children blinded o

Some topics in this essay:
Alex Thomas, Iris Laura’s, Fates Norns, World War, Iris Laura, , Louveteau River, Blind Assassin, Father” Atwood, Sabrina Iris, temple girl, blind assassin, hadn’t saved, assassin temple, book book, assassin temple girl, alex thomas,