The Tree of Paradise

For the 21^st century reader, it may not be initially apparent but each chapter of “Alias Grace” is titled after a different quilting pattern.  Since I have no sewing abilities, I did not understand Atwood’s use of this technique at first.  All of the patterns related to the content in the individual chapters, but also served the greater purpose of giving more meaning as a whole.  The last chapter in the novel is called “The Tree of Paradise”, which I found very interesting.
In this chapter, we learn of Grace’s fate.  After Dr. Jordan disappeared, the truth behind the murders of Nancy and Mr. Kinnear was never revealed.  Grace served her time and was later released from the penitentiary, where her former co-worker Jamie Walsh awaited to take her hand in marriage.  Jordan lives out his life with his mother still doting over his affairs, covering up his mistakes with claims of amnesia.  All in all, there is very little catharsis and very little closure for the audience.
However, I did find Grace’s quilt as metaphor for her life.  She incorporates different artifacts from her past and connects together the disjointed pieces of her memory with stitches rather than the truth, which she could never fully grasp.  I also feel liked the quilt represented the freedom that Grace could never come to gain early in life.  “The Tree of Paradise” is not the Tree of Knowledge from the biblical tale, whose fruit condemned the first man and woman.  Rather, it is the Tree of Knowledge without the terrible truth.  It is as if Eve never took the apple and the Garden of Eden remained pristine.  I think that Grace made the quilt to symbolize her own desire to have remained pure of heart and to have lived an idealized life.  Although she cannot go into the past, she can connect together her pain and have it symbolize a new future.