“Alias Grace”: A Question of Trauma, Agency, and Culpability

The uncomfortable truth is that Alias Grace depicts a historical reality, beyond its inspiration from actual events: in the history of the world, the experience of women has largely been one of vulnerability, hardship, and even abuse. In many ways, the life of Grace Marks exemplifies the insecurity and dehumanizing treatment of the lower-class woman — treatment, moreover, so common that it was passively accepted by society as the way of things, however regrettable and unsavory. Though sexual desire and abuse were certainly deemed transgressive, even sinful, it was even more taboo to speak of these issues. The deliberate muteness of witnesses, in addition to the law’s disregard for the rights of women, combined to effectively silence victims. In one striking way, then, Grace is an exception: we know her story. Did she choose to shatter the silence? Did she willingly participate in the murder of her employer and his housekeeper in order to avenge past wrongs and assert control over her narrative? Or was Grace once again the victim, brutally caught up in circumstances beyond her control? <a href="https://hana-liebman.medium.com/alias-grace-a-question-of-trauma-agency-and-culpability-a61fc5814147">Website</a>