Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin is spacetime adventure into the human soul. Under the premise of an old woman writing her autobiography upon her deathbed, Atwood relates the basics of human existence. Iris Chase is the fictional author, who even includes two novellas within her own book.
Basically, Iris reflects on her life. She realizes that she made a ton of mistakes due to short-sightedness. Unable to undo them now, she decides to try and help other people learn from them since it is too late for herself. Upon her deathbed, she knows that all she has ever wanted is to be know and accepted by somebody. If she had realized that sooner, she could've saved herself a ton of heartache. Still, she tries to accomplish that very thing posthumously by writing the autobiography. She hopes that in relating her life events as accurately as possible and by confessing every dirty secret, she will finally be understood by the people she knows.
Iris has led a notably difficult life, full of heartache and tragedy. Much of her grief, however, was the direct result of her own selfish choices. Her memoir, then, becomes a confession. At the end of her life, she's no longer interested in protecting her reputation or defending her actions. That's all over now. Atwood's emotionally intense novel leaves readers questioning themselves. If we all die, then what actually matters?
