Hello everyone
Yep here is my final posting so yea it is kind of long.
Summary:
Just to review I last left off at Grace basically talking about her past life and when she got a job and she is obviously was talking to her Doctor, Doctor Jordan. The next chapter starts off with just Dr. Jordan, who is getting breakfast brought to him by his land lady Mrs. Humphrey who then faints. Mrs. Humphrey basically has no one in her life so Dr. Jordan is forced to like take care of her and all that. The book then jumps to Grace talking about a visit with him. Grace again describes her old job and her relationships with her co workers and all that. Some of the co workers that she describes are Mrs. Parkinson and Mary whitney. Grace then tells Jordan of a story that Mrs. Parkinsons son George and Mary had an affair and she got pregnant. George does not commit to a marriage so Mary gets and abortion and dies. Grace then basically skipped around at different jobs were she meets Nancy Montgomery, who offered her a job at Thomas Kinnear’s. Here Grace meets many people like James McDermont and Jamie Walsh. Mr. McDermont tires multiple times to seduce Grace. Grace also states that Nancy isn’t a very nice person.
During graces next visit with Dr. Jordan, she says that she is asked by Nancy to kill a slaughter a chicken which grace refuses to do, so Jamie does it for her. Grace then says that Nancy was tired of McDermonts attitude and she wants to fire him. McDermont then tells grace about Nancy and Thomas’s affair. McDermont tells grace that the two "deserved to be knocked on the head and thrown down into the cellar." Grace then spent her birthday with Jamie who asks her to marry him. She does not.
Grace thinks that Nancy is pregnant as tension grows between the two and Nancy is jealous of grace because of the attention she gets from Mr. Kinnear. Grace over hears Nancy saying that she might fire Grace.
The story then switches back to Dr. Jordan who is feeling indifferent with Mrs. Humphrey. Who one night came into his room with her nightgown got into his bed and slept their.
Grace is also concerned about telling Dr. Jordan about the actual murders since she can’t remember everything. Dr. Jordan then does ask about that night ans this is what she says. She said that Nancy told her to leave, and james tells grace he is going to kill them too. Grace then refers back to the dream in the beginning of the book. James goes to Nancy’s room and kills her and he threatens grace if she told Mr. Kinnear. McDermont tells Grace to shoot Thomas but she can’t do that so McDermont does and he tosses the bodies in the cellar.
Grace then said she fainted when James held her a t gun point and she woke up in her bed McDermont then tries to rape her, claiming it was her part of their “bargain”. Grace however fights him off and talks him into leaving. They leave to Toronto were they get caught.
The story shifts back to Dr. Jordan who travels to Toronto and the Kinnear house and to meet with Graces lawyer. Kenneth MacKenzie, her lawyer, says that she is guilty as sin.
Grace was also hypnotized by another doctor during this time and said that she did not kill nancy and did not have sex with McDermont. Dr. Jordan also is feeling depressed and doesn’t want anything to do with Grace and her case. He also gets over Mrs. Humphrey and he leaves to Europe. Multiple letters are presented at this time. Grace is then pardoned and Jamie Walsh is waiting for herm and they get married.
Literary Devices:
“they deserved to be knocked on the head and thrown down the cellar” page 263 foreshadowing
“the courtroom was crowded as hell” page 374 simile
“Simon (dr. Jordan) walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclose in a nimbus of mist; the air smells of mown grass and horse manure, with and undertone of dog.” Page407 Imagery/Sensory
Themes:
A dominant theme in the book is feminism. The author discuss many parts in the book were women are treated unfairly. Like grace for instance was put in jail and accused of murder, and almost raped. And several of the women in the Asylum were in their because of something that their husbands/boyfriends have done. Sexuality is also a theme in that book since it happens often and the result is never good. Multiple time Grace is begged for sex by guards, McDermontt, and transporters. Mrs. Humphrey turned to sex for comfort but that also ended badly.
I thought this book was pretty intresting. It was a little hard to read because it switched view points and it talked in all person many times in the book. But it was good. Overall I liked this book but would not recommend it.