76 pages 2 hours read

Margaret Atwood

Alias Grace

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1996

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.

Part X, Chapters 38-40

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part X: "Lady of the Lake"

Chapter 38 Summary

Grace takes up her story again the next day. She comes to in her own bed, but she is damp. James McDermott says that he threw a bucket of cold water on her to revive her after she fainted.

He tells her it’s time for her to give him what she promised, which is to sleep with him. She puts him off. She is convinced that McDermott is a madman. She plays along, out of fear that otherwise he will kill her too.

They decide to rob the house before they leave, and they take all the valuables they can find, including Mr. Kinnear’s personal effects, like his gold watch, and the silver candlesticks. Grace puts on Nancy’s clothes and burns her own.

She cannot find her kerchief, and she asks McDermott where it is. He laughs and says she should know that it’s in the cellar on Nancy’s neck, where she put it when she used it to strangle her.

They take the horse and wagon and set off for Toronto with their loot that evening. 

Chapter 39 Summary

They reach Toronto a little after five a.m. They have breakfast, and Grace is afraid all the time because McDermott is swaggering around drawing attention to them.

Related Titles

By 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

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Oryx and Crake

Margaret Atwood

Oryx and Crake

Margaret Atwood

Plot Summary
logo

Rape Fantasies

Margaret Atwood

Rape Fantasies

Margaret Atwood

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Siren Song

Margaret Atwood

Siren Song

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 Blind Assassin

Margaret Atwood

The Blind Assassin

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