Naturally, with the deed done and the suspects either hanged or imprisoned at the start of the book, the burden of maintaining tension within the retelling of the story lies in the building up to the moment based on the traumatic events (conflicts) that led the characters 1) to the point of the murders, and then 2) bring in a twist to the plot that will reveal a more dramatic truth or possibility. This is what is happening now as Dr. Jordan resorts to hypnosis to bring out the truth from Grace.
However, Atwood throws us a couple of bones. Jeremiah the Pedlar, someone who Grace has known since she first came to Toronto as a young girl and who suddenly returns as Dr. Jerome Dupont, the man who will do the hypnosis.
And there is an underlying lust to Dr. Simon Jordan as he gives in to his urges with his abandoned landlady, Rachel Humphrey, hating her for it, as he has thoughts of Grace that he dares not indulge. While he mentally undresses every woman he sees, he is respectful of the Governor’s lovely daughter who takes an avid interest in him, and avoids ruination. When the landlady’s husband sends word that he is returning, Simon, whose opinion of women is not high, uses this as his excuse to run away from his failed experiment with Grace.
But this line is typical of Simon’s self centeredness which is quite typical of the way Atwood portrays most of these men:
Hush, he murmurs, stroking her hair. "Hush, Rachel." This is what he’s wanted Grace to do–this trembling and clinging; he’s pictured it often enough, though, he now sees, in a suspiciously theatrical way. These scenes were always skilfully lit, the gestures–his included–languid and graceful, with a kind of luzurious quivering, as in the death scenes at the ballet. Melting anguish is a good deal less attractive now that he actually has to contend with it up close and in the flesh. Wiping the doe-like eyes is one thing, wiping the doe-like nose quite another. He rummages for his pocket handkerchief. (p. 408)
Atwood has dropped a bombshell on us with the hypnotizing of Grace and what she reveals, still not letting on how the peddler Jeremiah has returned in the character of a practicing physician, and while we are anxious to get back to the first person pov of Grace on this, holds us off with the conflict that Simon faces both as a doctor and man, and resolves it as he boards a train and leaves the country.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology
I’m sure there was a point here…
Yes, the point was the narrative structure and the plot buildup of tension. The problem with this post is that since the multiple stories–Grace’s retelling of the past, the doctor’s view on women, his personal desires and his dalliance with the landlady, and the reappearance of Jeremiah the Pedlar–seemed slow to build, I hadn’t posted on them. Then they all came together at once and in throwing them all into a single post that needed some explanation, the point got muddled. Atwood’s hints, if not given the proper attention, hit hard when they all hit the target at once. Also, the quote used, when taken out of context is not the best one I could have used to illustrate Simon’s story. You’re right, Mark; I was fairly sloppy on this one.