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Nancy Montgomery
A hired hand at Mr. Kinnear’s who works mostly in the stable. McDermott is a few years older than Grace, and is also an Irish immigrant (though he is Catholic, while Grace is Protestant). Grace describes McDermott as glowering and surly; he consistently makes suggestive comments to her, and he is resentful of having to take orders from Nancy, because she is a woman. Though Grace is painted as McDermott’s lover at the trial, according to Grace herself, McDermott was “a madman” who, in addition to murdering Mr. Kinnear and Nancy, tried on more than one occasion to rape Grace. During his life, McDermott was known as a liar, a fact which makes many people, including Kenneth MacKenzie, skeptical of his account of the murders, in which he testifies that Grace strangled Nancy with a handkerchief. McDermott is sentenced to death, and he is furious when he learns that Grace’s sentence has been commuted. He dies by hanging.
James McDermott Quotes in Alias Grace
The Alias Grace quotes below are all either spoken by James McDermott or refer to James McDermott. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 26
Quotes
So there I was, pretending not to watch, and there he was, pretending not to be watched; and you may see the very same thing, Sir, at any polite gathering of society ladies and gentlemen. There is a good deal that can be seen slantwise, especially by the ladies, who do not wish to be caught staring. They can also see through veils, and window curtains, and over the tops of fans; and it is a good thing they can see in this way, or they would never see much of anything. But those of us who do not have to be bothered with all the veils and fans manage to see a good deal more.
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Chapter 39
Quotes
I was horrified, and asked how could he do such a thing; and he said what did I mean, as I was wearing Nancy’s dress and bonnet myself. And I said it was not the same thing, and he said it was; and I said at least I had not taken the boots off a corpse.
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James McDermott Quotes in Alias Grace
The Alias Grace quotes below are all either spoken by James McDermott or refer to James McDermott. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 26
Quotes
So there I was, pretending not to watch, and there he was, pretending not to be watched; and you may see the very same thing, Sir, at any polite gathering of society ladies and gentlemen. There is a good deal that can be seen slantwise, especially by the ladies, who do not wish to be caught staring. They can also see through veils, and window curtains, and over the tops of fans; and it is a good thing they can see in this way, or they would never see much of anything. But those of us who do not have to be bothered with all the veils and fans manage to see a good deal more.
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Chapter 39
Quotes
I was horrified, and asked how could he do such a thing; and he said what did I mean, as I was wearing Nancy’s dress and bonnet myself. And I said it was not the same thing, and he said it was; and I said at least I had not taken the boots off a corpse.
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