Mr. Thomas Kinnear Character Analysis in Alias Grace

A Scottish-born gentleman living in Richmond Hill, outside Toronto. Mr. Kinnear has a reputation for seducing his servants, and his flirtatious behavior toward Grace, along with the fact that he and Nancy are lovers, affirms the truth of these rumors. It is never clear, however, whether Mr. Kinnear tried to take advantage of Grace. When Dr. Simon Jordan questions Grace about this, she says Mr. Kinnear took the “usual” liberties a master takes with his servant, and that he was “a kind enough master […] and liberal when he wished to be.” Though he is not depicted in the damning way that Dr. Bannerling is, Mr. Kinnear does come across as creepy—and even vaguely misogynistic—in his treatment of Grace. James McDermott and (to an ambiguous extent) Grace conspire to murder Mr. Kinnear, and they shoot him at his house before attempting to flee to the United States.

Mr. Thomas Kinnear Quotes in Alias Grace

The Alias Grace quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Thomas Kinnear or refer to Mr. Thomas Kinnear. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

I was horrified, and asked how could he do such a thing; and he said what did I mean, as I was wearing Nancy’s dress and bonnet myself. And I said it was not the same thing, and he said it was; and I said at least I had not taken the boots off a corpse.

Related Characters: (speaker), , ,

Related Symbols:

Page Number and Citation: 338

Explanation and Analysis:

While waiting for the ferry that will carry her to the States, Grace notices that McDermott is wearing some of Mr. Kinnear’s clothes. She is particularly horrified by the fact that McDermott has donned the exact boots Kinnear was wearing when he was murdered. For some reason, Grace is unable—or unwilling—to acknowledge that the fact that she has also put on one of Nancy’s old dresses is equally as horrifying. It is difficult to know whether Grace genuinely believes there is a distinction between her actions and McDermott’s, or if she is trying to assuage her own conscience by telling herself that her sin has been of a lesser magnitude. Regardless of how one interprets this quotation, it remains significant because it emphasizes that the social transgression of donning their employers’ clothes is in some strange way almost more radical and more unforgiveable than the fact that McDermott and Grace have murdered these two people.

“You killed her,” breathes Lydia. “I always thought so.” She sounds, if anything, admiring.

“The kerchief killed her. Hands held it,” says the voice. “She had to die. The wages of sin is death. And this time the gentleman died as well, for once. Share and share alike!”

Related Characters: Grace Marks (speaker), Mary Whitney (speaker), Miss Lydia (speaker), Dr. Simon Jordan, Nancy Montgomery, Mr. Thomas Kinnear

Related Symbols: Clothing

Page Number and Citation: 401

Explanation and Analysis:

But three of the triangles in my Tree will be different. One will be white, from the petticoat I still have that was Mary Whitney’s; one will be faded yellowish, from the prison nightdress I begged as a keepsake when I left there. And the third will be a pale cotton, a pink and white floral, cut from the dress of Nancy’s that she had on the first day I was at Mr. Kinnear’s, and that I wore on the ferry to Lewiston, when I was running away.

I will embroider around each one of them with red feather-stitching, to blend them in as a part of the pattern.

And so we will all be together.

Related Characters: Grace Marks (speaker), Mary Whitney, Mr. Thomas Kinnear, Nancy Montgomery

Related Symbols: Quilts

Page Number and Citation: 460

Explanation and Analysis:

Mr. Thomas Kinnear Character Timeline in Alias Grace

The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Thomas Kinnear appears in Alias Grace. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...story of the Kinnear and Montgomery murders. The poem reads, “Now Grace, she loved good Thomas Kinnear , / McDermott he loved Grace, / And ’twas these loves as I do tell... (full context)

...(He is trying to prompt her to think of a cellar, since that is where Thomas Kinnear ’s and Nancy Montgomery’s bodies were discovered.) He switches tactics and asks Grace about her... (full context)

...childhood friend of Mr. Watson’s cook. Nancy tells Grace that she is housekeeper for a Mr. Thomas Kinnear , who lives in Richmond Hill, outside of Toronto. Nancy says she is in need... (full context)

...coach tries to assault her. Jeremiah the peddler shows up and defends Grace. Soon thereafter, Mr. Kinnear arrives to fetch Grace. Dr. Jordan interrupts to ask Grace what Mr. Kinnear looked like,... (full context)

Mr. Kinnear drives Grace to his home in his wagon. When they arrive, Grace hears chopping from... (full context)

...the tour, Nancy explains that Jamie Walsh is a neighborhood boy who runs errands for Mr. Kinnear . She also shows Grace the bedrooms in the houses, and Grace finds herself “wonder[ing]... (full context)

Grace rises at dawn her first morning at Mr. Kinnear ’s house. She uses the privy, and prepares the breakfast things in the kitchen. She... (full context)

...comes down to the kitchen while Grace is making tea. When Grace prepares to take Mr. Kinnear ’s tea upstairs, Nancy insists that she will take it. Grace, surprised, retorts that it... (full context)

...that day Grace and Nancy have their “first falling out” while Grace is “doing up Mr. Kinnear ’s room.” Grace explains to Dr. Jordan that it is difficult for “a woman who... (full context)

Mr. Kinnear then tells the women he noticed a shirt of his was missing a button, and... (full context)

...tell what she wanted from one hour to the next.” On her second day at Mr. Kinnear ’s house Grace does the wash, spending considerable effort on getting snuff, ink, and grass... (full context)

While Nancy takes her meal in the dining room with Mr. Kinnear , Grace has to “make do with McDermott.” She “set[s] to work to draw him... (full context)

...on with her work, and while she is outside churning butter and doing some mending, Mr. Kinnear passes by and makes some flirtatious comments. Nancy later comes out and tells Grace that... (full context)

Nancy helps Grace with the butter and they discuss Mr. Kinnear ’s tense relationship with his half brother, who still lives in their native Scotland. While... (full context)

...Nancy asks Grace to sleep with her because she is afraid of sleeping alone when Mr. Kinnear is not at home. Grace asks if Nancy is afraid of McDermott, and Nancy replies... (full context)

Grace picks up with the night she and Nancy went to bed together because Mr. Kinnear was on business in Toronto. She says that as Nancy was turning off the light... (full context)

Mr. Kinnear ’s friends arrive for dinner, and Nancy has Grace wait table. Mr. Kinnear’s friends crudely... (full context)

...with such a parcel of whores.” Shocked, Grace asks for clarification. McDermott tells Grace that Mr. Kinnear and Nancy are sleeping together and that they “[live] in secret as man and wife.”... (full context)

...in McDermott’s confession, he stated that it was Grace who wanted to murder Nancy and Mr. Kinnear , by poisoning their food. Grace replies, “Just because a thing has been written down,... (full context)

...have her afternoon free; Grace suspects this is because Nancy wants to be alone with Mr. Kinnear for the day. As Grace is leaving to go on an afternoon walk, McDermott insists... (full context)

...the two then make daisy chains together. When she returns to the house, Grace finds Mr. Kinnear on the verandah; he asks whom Grace was with in the orchard. Later, McDermott also... (full context)

Several days pass; Grace has been at Mr. Kinnear ’s for almost a fortnight. Mr. Kinnear and Nancy are both away from home, and... (full context)

...Grace suspects the doctor must have been summoned on Nancy’s behalf. The doctor meets with Mr. Kinnear , but Grace spies Nancy speaking to the doctor in the driveway as he is... (full context)

Mr. Kinnear calls for Nancy, who is still outside with the doctor. Grace answers and says Nancy... (full context)

...walk on her clean floor in his dirty boots. When she turns around, she finds Mr. Kinnear smirking at her, and she hurriedly tugs down her skirts, thinking “Why couldn’t he have... (full context)

That night, Nancy and Mr. Kinnear dine together, while Grace eats in the kitchen with McDermott, wondering what Mr. Kinnear will... (full context)

...is going to bed, but instead she listens at the parlor door, wanting to overhear Mr. Kinnear reading The Lady of the Lake (a book Grace used to read with Mary Whitney)... (full context)

...arms come around her from behind. She thinks it might be Jeremiah, or McDermott, or Mr. Kinnear , but then she realizes, it is “another man, someone I knew well and had... (full context)

...day the murders took place. She contemplates all the things she thinks she remembers, including Mr. Kinnear possibly telling her, “I pay good wages but I want good service in return” and... (full context)

Grace tries to remember what Mr. Kinnear looked like so she can tell Dr. Jordan about it, but she realizes that “nobody... (full context)

...what Grace can remember of that day. Simon “plunges in,” asking Grace to confirm that Mr. Kinnear left for town on a Thursday. Grace assents, saying that when Mr. Kinnear left he... (full context)

That night, at Nancy’s suggestion, Grace and Nancy went to bed in Mr. Kinnear ’s room. According to Grace, Nancy insisted that “Mr. Kinnear would not find it out,... (full context)

...two dreams. In the first dream she was visited by Mary Whitney, who appeared at Mr. Kinnear ’s bedside holding a firefly in a jar. The firefly escaped, and Grace realized it... (full context)

...thinking, I must open the window; but that was foolish, as I was already outside.” Mr. Kinnear arrived home then and went inside. McDermott cornered Grace and extracted a promise from her... (full context)

Grace went into the kitchen to carry on her daily duties, and when Mr. Kinnear came in to ask after Nancy, Grace told him “she had gone to town in... (full context)

At seven in the evening, Mr. Kinnear came downstairs for dinner and was very worried about Nancy. McDermott asked Grace to call... (full context)

...go to “some other bed,” as her bed is very narrow, McDermott carries her to Mr. Kinnear ’s room. Grace almost faints from fright when McDermott begins undressing her, but she recalls... (full context)

...lying in the bed is also covered in blood. McDermott says the book is something Mr. Kinnear was reading when he was shot. McDermott threw the book into Nancy’s bed “because Kinnear’s... (full context)

...States. As the sun comes up, Grace is horrified to realize that McDermott is wearing Mr. Kinnear ’s boots. She asks him about it and he says that he is also wearing... (full context)

...at the Lewiston inn. She dreamt that she was walking along the driveway leading to Mr. Kinnear ’s house, knowing that Mary Whitney was waiting there to welcome her. In the dream,... (full context)

...McDermott. As the two are transported back across Lake Ontario to Canada, McDermott insists that Mr. Kinnear was most likely killed by a “suspicious-looking man” (Jeremiah) who had been “hanging around” the... (full context)

The day after his meeting with Mr. MacKenzie, Simon sets off to visit Mr. Kinnear ’s former house in Richmond Hill. A housekeeper shows him around the house, and the... (full context)

...when not yet sixteen years of age, [she] first went up the long driveway to Mr. Kinnear ’s.” She is sitting on her “own verandah in [her] own rocking chair,” looking at... (full context)

...Grace says she thinks often of Mary; sometimes Grace even dreams she is back at Mr. Kinnear ’s house, or in the penitentiary. Sitting on her verandah, she pinches herself—“but it remains... (full context)

...the pink and white floral dress that Nancy wore on the day Grace arrived at Mr. Kinnear ’s and that Grace wore when she escaped on the ferry to Lewiston. The final... (full context)

Mr. Thomas Kinnear Character Analysis

Mr. Thomas Kinnear Quotes in Alias Grace

Chapter 39 Quotes

Chapter 48 Quotes

Chapter 53 Quotes

Mr. Thomas Kinnear Character Timeline in Alias Grace