Grace: Guilty?

Grace: Guilty?

Based on a horrible murder in 1843 in Canada, the novel “ Alias Grace” tells the story of a young Irish-born servant girl who plans to kill her employer and his mistress. An analysis of Alias Grace’s behavior reveals many things. Her actions in the novel show that she is guilty of the murders of Thomas Kinnear and Nancy Montgomery.

Alias Grace begins after a Grace has severed eight years in prison. She is twenty four years old. She is transferred from prison to an asylum over time to examine her activity to see if she is a sane human being. She doesn’t cooperate with the doctors and there questioning. She remains silent when they visit like she has something to hide. In the beginning the novel goes write into its first murder. The murder of Nancy Montgomery , which Grace says she witnessed seeing her lying dead on the ground. “Then up ahead I see Nancy, on her knees, with her hair fallen over and the blood running down into her eyes.”(p.6) There is also another murder. The murder of Thomas Kinnear. It is made to believe that James McDermott killed Thomas Kinnear , “ McDermott shot him through the heart” . (13)Nancy doesn’t want Thomas to be killed but she knows that it is the only way. “Then to save ourselves, when he returns, We must murder Thomas Kinnear.” (13)

Thomas Kinnear and Nancy Montgomery had an affair. Grace was very jealous of Nancy. She didn’t want them to be together which is why she and James McDermott planned to kill her. James said he would help Grace kill them if she would be with him. James loved Grace with all his heart and would kill for her. In the novel it tells how Grace loves Thomas. “Now Grace, she loved good Thomas Kinnear.”(12)