The Blind
Assassin is Iris Chase Griffen’s story of her and her sister’s life. The life
stories are interspersed with a novel written by Laura Chase and published by
her sister Iris Chase Griffen following Laura’s suicide. Laura’s novel is also
called The Blind Assassin and tells the story of two lovers. In turn, the male
lover is a Science Fiction author who tells a third story about a blind
assassin (a book within a book within a book). The Chase daughters are born
into a well-to-do family, but with economic setbacks, they become victims of
the Griffens.
Characters:
Iris
Chase Griffen: The narrator and protagonist of the tale.
Laura
Chase: Iris's sister, whose suicide opens the book and who is named as the
author of the novel within.
Richard
E. Griffen: Iris's ruthless, older husband with political ambitions.
Winifred
Griffen Prior: Iris's fashionable, manipulative, and social-climbing
sister-in-law.
Alex
Thomas: A young author with Communist sympathies who has an affair with Iris
and is one of the protagonists in the novel within.
Cpt.
Norval Chase: The father of Iris and Laura. After being seriously injured in
World War I and later widowed, he begrudgingly runs the family button business
while descending into alcoholism and depression.
Reenie:
The loyal Chase family housekeeper who becomes like a mother to Iris and Laura.
Myra
Sturgess: Reenie's daughter (possibly by Cpt Chase), who aids Iris in her old
age.
Aimee
Adelia Griffen: Iris's daughter.
Sabrina
Griffen: Iris's granddaughter.
Some of the
story concerns marriage, inheritance, and the imbalance between powerful men
and powerless women. In these cases, I was reminded of Jane Austen.
While this is
a story of abuse, there is some retribution at the end. This is a difficult
read and I’m not sure if it was worth the effort.
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