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Chapter 8
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Alias Grace, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Storytelling and Power
Female Sexuality and the Nature of Women
Social Class and Propriety
Truth, Memory, and Madness
Gender, Ownership, and Power
Justice and Religion
Summary
Analysis
This chapter consists of a letter from Dr. Bannerling to Dr. Simon Jordan. Dr. Bannerling characterizes Grace as “an accomplished actress and a most practised liar” who has never actually been insane. Bannerling warns Simon to be wary of Grace if he decides to proceed with his interviews, saying, “Many older and wiser heads have been enmeshed in her toils.”
Dr. Bannerling expresses clearly sexist views about Grace, depicting her as a sexual temptress and a liar. Bannerling’s damning account of Grace is ironic, given the fact that Bannerling is an immoral character who sexually abused his own patient.
Themes
