70 pages 2 hours read

Margaret Atwood

The Blind Assassin

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2000

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Books 9–11

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Book 9 Summary

Iris's health continues to worsen, and she increasingly relies on Myra for help around the house. She also admits to her doctor that she is having trouble sleeping because of her dreams. He prescribes sleeping pills, but she continues to have nightmares involving her past. At one point, she dreams that she has woken up and gone to her window, only to see the chestnut tree that stood outside her house with Richard. She notices a man hunting through the garbage cans, and calls after him as he leaves. In the dream, this wakes up Richard, who crosses over to the window and prepares "to put his hand on [Iris's] neck" (396). 

Iris's memoir returns to the spring of 1936, when she says her life began to unravel. Winifred continues to treat Iris as a slightly slow "protégée," Richard prepares to enter politics, and Laura continues to shun Richard (370). Laura also winds up being expelled from school after skipping classes and writing an essay entitled "Does God Lie?" (374). Not long after, the entire family goes on the maiden voyage of the Queen Mary, and then to Avilion for the summer. While there, Iris learns that Callie was arrested on suspicion of being involved with Communist groups, and that Richard bailed her out of jail.

Related Titles

By Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

Alias Grace

Margaret Atwood

Alias Grace

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

Backdrop Addresses Cowboy

Margaret Atwood

Backdrop Addresses Cowboy

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

Cat's Eye

Margaret Atwood

Cat's Eye

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

Death By Landscape

Margaret Atwood

Death By Landscape

Margaret Atwood

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE

logo

Hag-Seed

Margaret Atwood

Hag-Seed: William Shakespeare's The Tempest Retold

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

Happy Endings

Margaret Atwood

Happy Endings

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing

Margaret Atwood

Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing

Margaret Atwood

Plot Summary

logo

Lady Oracle

Margaret Atwood

Lady Oracle

Margaret Atwood

Plot Summary

logo

Life Before Man

Margaret Atwood

Life Before Man

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

MaddAddam

Margaret Atwood

MaddAddam

Margaret Atwood

Plot Summary

logo

Rape Fantasies

Margaret Atwood

Rape Fantasies

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

Stone Mattress

Margaret Atwood

Stone Mattress

Margaret Atwood

Plot Summary

logo

Surfacing

Margaret Atwood

Surfacing

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

The Circle Game

Margaret Atwood

The Circle Game

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

The Edible Woman

Margaret Atwood

The Edible Woman

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

The Heart Goes Last

Margaret Atwood

The Heart Goes Last

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

The Landlady

Margaret Atwood

The Landlady

Margaret Atwood