Alias Grace

Alias Grace

by

Margaret Atwood

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Alias Grace makes teaching easy.

Mr. Thomas Kinnear Character Analysis

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:
Storytelling and Power Theme Icon
).
Chapter 39 Quotes

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: Grace Marks (speaker), Mr. Thomas Kinnear, Nancy Montgomery, James McDermott
Related Symbols: Clothing
Page Number: 338
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 48 Quotes

“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, Mr. Thomas Kinnear, Nancy Montgomery
Related Symbols: Clothing
Page Number: 401
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 53 Quotes

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: 460
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Alias Grace LitChart as a printable PDF.
Alias Grace PDF

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:
Storytelling and Power Theme Icon
).
Chapter 39 Quotes

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: Grace Marks (speaker), Mr. Thomas Kinnear, Nancy Montgomery, James McDermott
Related Symbols: Clothing
Page Number: 338
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 48 Quotes

“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, Mr. Thomas Kinnear, Nancy Montgomery
Related Symbols: Clothing
Page Number: 401
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 53 Quotes

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: 460
Explanation and Analysis: