The Blind Assassin

by

Margaret Atwood

Aimee Adelia Griffen Character Analysis

Aimee is Iris’s daughter. Everyone believes that she is Richard’s child, but in fact her father is Alex. Richard and Aimee’s aunt Laura both commit suicide while Aimee is a child, events that have a profound impact on her. Following Richard’s death, Aimee’s great-aunt Winifred wins custody of her, a turn of events that further traumatizes Aimee. As a result of all this pain, Aimee develops a drug and alcohol addiction. She has a child, Sabrina, whom she neglects, and she becomes estranged from the rest of her family. She falsely believes that Laura is her real mother and that her father is the man from The Blind Assassin (although she doesn’t know who this man is). She dies at the age of 38 in what may or may not be a suicide, after which Winifred wins custody of Sabrina.

Aimee Adelia Griffen Quotes in The Blind Assassin

The The Blind Assassin quotes below are all either spoken by Aimee Adelia Griffen or refer to Aimee Adelia Griffen. 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:
Storytelling, Narrative, and Truth Theme Icon
).
Chapter 7 Quotes

She takes after Laura in that respect: the same tendency towards absolutism, the same refusal to compromise, the same scorn for the grosser human failings. To get away with that, you have to be beautiful. Otherwise it seems mere peevishness.

Related Characters: Iris Chase Griffen (speaker), Laura Chase, Sabrina Griffen, Aimee Adelia Griffen
Page Number: 288
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

As for the book, Laura didn’t write a word of it. But you must have known for some time. I wrote it myself, during my long evenings alone, when I was waiting for Alex to come back, and then afterwards, once I knew he wouldn’t. I didn’t think of what I was doing as writing—just writing down. What I remembered, and also what I imagined, which is also the truth.

Related Characters: Iris Chase Griffen (speaker), Laura Chase, Alex Thomas, Richard Griffen, Winifred Griffen Prior, Aimee Adelia Griffen
Related Symbols: The Blind Assassin
Page Number: 512
Explanation and Analysis:

It was no great leap from that to naming Laura as the author. You might decide it was cowardice that inspired me, or a failure of nerve—I’ve never been fond of spotlights. Or simple prudence: my own name would have guaranteed the loss of Aimee, whom I lost in any case. But on second thought it was merely doing justice, because I can’t say Laura didn’t write a word. Technically that’s accurate, but in another sense—what Laura would have called the spiritual sense—you could say she was my collaborator. The real author was neither one of us: a fist is more than the sum of its fingers.

Related Characters: Iris Chase Griffen (speaker), Laura Chase, Alex Thomas, Aimee Adelia Griffen
Related Symbols: The Blind Assassin
Page Number: 512
Explanation and Analysis:
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Aimee Adelia Griffen Quotes in The Blind Assassin

The The Blind Assassin quotes below are all either spoken by Aimee Adelia Griffen or refer to Aimee Adelia Griffen. 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:
Storytelling, Narrative, and Truth Theme Icon
).
Chapter 7 Quotes

She takes after Laura in that respect: the same tendency towards absolutism, the same refusal to compromise, the same scorn for the grosser human failings. To get away with that, you have to be beautiful. Otherwise it seems mere peevishness.

Related Characters: Iris Chase Griffen (speaker), Laura Chase, Sabrina Griffen, Aimee Adelia Griffen
Page Number: 288
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

As for the book, Laura didn’t write a word of it. But you must have known for some time. I wrote it myself, during my long evenings alone, when I was waiting for Alex to come back, and then afterwards, once I knew he wouldn’t. I didn’t think of what I was doing as writing—just writing down. What I remembered, and also what I imagined, which is also the truth.

Related Characters: Iris Chase Griffen (speaker), Laura Chase, Alex Thomas, Richard Griffen, Winifred Griffen Prior, Aimee Adelia Griffen
Related Symbols: The Blind Assassin
Page Number: 512
Explanation and Analysis:

It was no great leap from that to naming Laura as the author. You might decide it was cowardice that inspired me, or a failure of nerve—I’ve never been fond of spotlights. Or simple prudence: my own name would have guaranteed the loss of Aimee, whom I lost in any case. But on second thought it was merely doing justice, because I can’t say Laura didn’t write a word. Technically that’s accurate, but in another sense—what Laura would have called the spiritual sense—you could say she was my collaborator. The real author was neither one of us: a fist is more than the sum of its fingers.

Related Characters: Iris Chase Griffen (speaker), Laura Chase, Alex Thomas, Aimee Adelia Griffen
Related Symbols: The Blind Assassin
Page Number: 512
Explanation and Analysis: