Alias Grace - Journal Entry One
In Alias Grace, Grace's family is portrayed as a deeply dysfunctional institution, strongly influenced by the cultural views of class, gender and education in the nineteenth century. Grace's poverty-stricken familial circumstances in her childhood, coupled with the large number of children to support, prove to be a hindrance in maintaining a healthy emotional relationship with her parents. This is mirrored by Pearl's preoccupation with household details, especially finances, during her trial as a single mother in poverty. Pearl's inability to move beyond the material and social implications of her children prevent her from forming a true bond with them. Similarly, Grace is unable to emotionally connect to her parents, especially her father.
Grace finds true family in her sisterly relationship with Mary Whitney, during employment as a servant at Mrs. Alderman Parkinson's home. Mary is a saintly figure for Grace, who is not only fiercely loyal to her, but has the effect of a guardian angel, that guides Grace on worldly matters. Mary exerts a powerful emotional influence on Grace, even more so than her mother. This is demonstrated by Grace's response to both of their funerals. Although Grace thinks twice about covering her mother with the best sheet available (which she eventually does not do), Grace unflinchingly devotes her wages to providing the best quality funeral for Mary that she could afford. Similarly, the other good friend that Grace acquires is Jeremiah, who reminds her of her times with Mary Whitney.
The theme of repression, especially of sexuality and violence, also comes out strongly in the novel. Women, in particular, are expected to be modest, while the men tend to have a greater degree of sexual freedom. At one point, Grace describes the stifling quality of the common female attire: “There were no wire crinolines when I was first brought here…They are like birdcages; but what is being caged in? Legs, the legs of ladies; legs penned in so they cannot get out and go rubbing up against the gentlemen's trousers…” (Atwood 22) However, this strict modesty is rarely imparted to men, such as Dr. Bannerling and the prison guards, who repeatedly exploit Grace through sexual advances and verbal abuse.
The stifling repression of self-assertion in the middle and upper classes in particular shows itself through Simon's relationship with his mother, Mrs. Jordan. Simon's inability to assert his right to choose his own wife and profession eventually leads to a domineering mother, who is unable to distance herself from his private affairs. Near the end of the novel, Simon's mother refuses to share Rachel's letters with Simon; she unflinchingly writes on behalf of Simon himself, knowing that Simon will not assert his right of privacy in this regard. Moreover, Mrs. Jordan's blaming tone directed at Rachel, while justifying her son's actions, further illustrates the gross double-standard between men and women of that time. Perhaps it is Simon's repressed sexuality, as fit for a gentleman of the upper class, that leads him to serve prostitutes and eventually initiate an affair with Rachel. It is certainly Rachel's isolation and lack of emotional and sexual fulfilment from her husband for which she consents to her affair with Simon, although she is far more scrutinized for this forbidden sin than is Simon.
The dismissal of brutal violence against women also forms a dominant image in the novel. When Grace is forced into a mental asylum, she remarks about its female inhabitants: “They wouldn't know mad when they saw it in any case, because a good portion of the women in the Asylum were no madder than the Queen of England…One of them was in there to get away from her husband, who beat her black and blue, he was the mad one but nobody would lock him up…” (Atwood 33) This tremendous cultural bias towards men also appears in the death of Mary Whitney. Although Mary believes she has been wronged, she does not protest her abuse in fear of a blemished reputation; the abuser's reputation, however, is guaranteed cultural protection. This silencing of women's abuse is similarly paralleled in the abuse of Mrs. Oswald and January in Medicine River. This silence eventually fuels a vicious circle of greater abuse and vocal repression.
