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Woman
Winifred is Richard’s younger sister and a full-time socialite. Like her brother, Winifred is a cruel, power-obsessed person who helps systematically destroys the lives of Iris and Laura Chase. Her last name and the fact that she goes by “Mrs.” indicate that she was once married, although her husband is never mentioned. Winifred tries to mold Iris in her own image, taking her on as a “protégé,” and she’s disappointed when Iris doesn’t turns out to be the society woman Winifred dreamed of. Over time, this disappointment turns to bitterness and rage, and Winifred acts in a crueler and crueler way toward both Iris and Laura. She helps cover up Richard’s rape and impregnation of Laura, sending Laura to the BellaVista clinic against her will. Decades later, after Iris and Richard’s daughter Aimee dies, Winifred successfully fights Iris for custody of Aimee’s daughter Sabrina—not because she actually wants to raise Sabrina, but purely out of spite.
Winifred Griffen Prior Quotes in The Blind Assassin
The The Blind Assassin quotes below are all either spoken by Winifred Griffen Prior or refer to Winifred Griffen Prior. 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:
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Chapter 5 Quotes
Although I was beginning to like him better, I’m ashamed to admit that I was more than a little skeptical about this story. There was too much melodrama in it—too much luck, both bad and good. I was still too young to be a believer in coincidence. And if he’d been trying to make an impression on Laura—was he trying?—he couldn’t have chosen a better way.
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Chapter 9 Quotes
I look back over what I’ve written and I know it’s wrong, not because of what I’ve set down, but because of what I’ve omitted. What isn’t there has a presence, like the absence of light.
You want the truth, of course. You want me to put two and two together. But two and two doesn’t’ necessarily get you the truth.
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Chapter 11 Quotes
Following the death of Norval, Laura has (reluctantly) been living with Richard, Winifred, and Iris in Toronto, where she has caused a great deal of trouble. Recently, Winifred has complained to Iris that Laura has been expressing outlandish ideas, such as saying that love is more important than marriage. When Iris confronts Laura about this in private, Laura replies with this quotation. From a contemporary perspective, it may seem obvious that Laura’s argument is at least partly correct. These days, many would argue that love is self-evidently more important than marriage. Furthermore, Laura’s argument about marriage being an “outworn institution” that is more an economic transaction than a sacred bond foreshadows the feminist claims that became popular later in the 20th century.
Significantly, Laura frames her critique of marriage not in a progressive feminist light, but rather in a Christian one. Following Jesus’s tradition of focusing on the principles behind rules rather than the rules themselves, Laura argues that love is what’s important, not marriage. One could argue that Laura’s need to draw on Christianity in order to justify this claim is evidence of the restrictions placed on women and their thought during this era. At the same time, it also obvious that Laura’s faith intensely informs the way she approaches the world—it isn’t just a cover for subversive views.
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Chapter 13 Quotes
I was relieved: all might yet be well. Laura was still in town. She would talk to me later.
She has, too, though she tends to repeat herself, as the dead have a habit of doing. They say all the things they said to you in life; but they rarely say anything new.
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Chapter 14 Quotes
As for the book, Laura didn’t write a word of it. But you must have known for some time. I wrote it myself, during my long evenings alone, when I was waiting for Alex to come back, and then afterwards, once I knew he wouldn’t. I didn’t think of what I was doing as writing—just writing down. What I remembered, and also what I imagined, which is also the truth.
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Get the entire The Blind Assassin LitChart as a printable PDF.
Winifred Griffen Prior Character Timeline in The Blind Assassin
The timeline below shows where the character Winifred Griffen Prior appears in The Blind Assassin. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...Laura Chase’s first novel was posthumously published in May; he is survived by his sister Winifred, wife Iris, and 10-year-old daughter Aimee.
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...result of drug and alcohol addiction. Sabrina is now being cared for by her great-aunt Winifred.
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...in a February 19, 1998 copy of The Globe and Mail lists the death of Winifred Griffen Prior, a “noted philanthropist” and the sister of Richard Griffen. She is survived by...
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Chapter 3
...Chase prize to be awarded, an event that begins with a long, rapturous speech about Winifred, who is an “old bitch” in Iris’s opinion. The politician introducing the award then speaks...
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...reserved in the Chase memorial for Iris; Iris’s daughter Aimee is buried with Richard and Winifred at the Griffen memorial in Toronto. Winifred tried to have Laura buried there too, but...
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Chapter 4
...from the magazine Mayfair entitled “Toronto High Noon Gossip” describes a reception hosted by Mrs. Winifred Griffen Prior in honor of Iris’s engagement to Richard Griffen, Winifred’s brother and “one of...
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Chapter 5
...the alcohol. The woman whom Iris had assumed was Richard’s wife is actually his sister Winifred, who goes by “Mrs.” but doesn’t seem to have a husband to speak of. Because...
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...resistance to the dinner, whereas Alex seems to have borrowed the clothes he was wearing. Winifred compliments the house as “well preserved,” but Iris knew she actually means “outmoded.” The elaborate...
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A week after Iris and Richard get engaged, Iris is invited to lunch with Winifred at the Arcadian Court, a restaurant on top of Simpsons department store. Iris wears her...
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Winifred indicates that she wants to shape Iris into a new kind of person. She mentions...
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Chapter 6
...merchants, courtesans, fakirs, soldiers of all nations, and beggars galore.” The ball was organized by Winifred, and Iris served on the committee.
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Chapter 7
...century.” Iris decides to call her lawyer, who is not the same man who “battled Winifred heroically,” but rather a new person named Mr. Sykes.
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...copy to Richard, which was found on the boat with him when he killed himself. Winifred interpreted this as evidence that Iris was responsible for Richard’s death.
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...catch a train to London and check into Brown’s Hotel. Iris wears the negligee that Winifred selected for her. She and Richard don’t speak much and during the day as Richard...
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...she returns to Toronto, she finds it “squat and cramped.” While the newlyweds were gone, Winifred busied herself decorating their house. Iris knows that Reenie would scoff at the “new money”...
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...Laura suggests that Reenie come to Toronto with them, but Richard says that he and Winifred have already hired all the staff they needed in Toronto.
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...it so that he, Iris, and Laura can come back there during summers. Richard and Winifred also arrange for Laura to attend “a proper school,” an institution called St. Cecilia’s. Laura...
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Richard claims to be “besotted” with Iris, a sentiment that confused her. Winifred, meanwhile, is occupied with finalizing the redecoration of the house and designing the garden. Iris...
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...out, which would cause a scandal. Sunnyside is a popular vacation destination, although Richard and Winifred would never have gone there. Iris recounts that at some point later, Winifred mentioned that...
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...than being surrounded by partygoers, she is alone in Avilion. Back in 1935, Richard and Winifred ensure that no one finds out about Laura’s escape attempt, inventing a story about a...
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Winifred keeps Iris occupied with various meaningless tasks, including organizing the Xanadu ball. Events like this...
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Chapter 9
...fellow.” Iris makes a sound of agreement, but she isn’t really listening. At this point, Winifred thinks Iris is a harmless fool. Years later, Winifred tells Iris, “I used to think...
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Back in 1936, however, Winifred still treats Iris as her “protégée.” Lately, people have been asking Iris when Richard is...
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In May, Iris, Laura, Richard, and Winifred go to England, returning on the maiden voyage of the Queen Mary. The ship is...
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...seeing Reenie—until Richard informs her that Reenie has been dismissed. When they get to Avilion, Winifred walks around the house complaining about the dust while Richard goes to inspect Norval’s old...
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Winifred mentions that Callie was recently arrested during a roundup at “a pinko party.” She called,...
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...anyone has caught him yet. The day before the family is due to leave Avilion, Winifred and Iris are sitting together when Winifred points out that Richard successfully managed to get...
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Chapter 10
...gossip column of Mayfair magazine announces the birth of Iris’s daughter, Aimee Adelia Chase Griffen. Winifred threw a luncheon in honor of Iris and the new baby that was attended by...
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Chapter 11
...need to get a job and thus doesn’t need to be educated. Following this announcement, Winifred recruits Laura to work for a charitable group called the Abigails, which visits people in...
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Winifred is still going ahead with planning Laura’s début, although she shares none of this information...
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Later, Iris tells Laura that Winifred is troubled by her statements about marriage and love. Laura defends herself, maintaining that what...
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...By February 1938, Iris is seven months’ pregnant. Walking downstairs from a nap, she finds Winifred and Richard sitting in the living room together, looking somber. Richard tells Iris to sit...
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...that she needs to see Laura, and then she starts to cry. At this point, Winifred reveals that Laura also claimed to be pregnant, though she hadn’t said who she thought...
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...matters worse, Aimee then had to endure the custody battle that ensued between Iris and Winifred. Given all this, it is perhaps unsurprising that Aimee turned to substance abuse and sexual...
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...up hope that one day she and Aimee will reconcile—but Aimee rejected both Iris and Winifred. She’s evicted, arrested, and imprisoned—though she’s wealthy enough to not have to work. The last...
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Iris is 60 when Winifred assumes custody of Sabrina. Sometimes Iris drives to Toronto and idles outside of Sabrina’s fancy...
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...be weak and unwell for as long as possible. Iris can’t decide whether to believe Winifred’s account of Laura’s apparent mental instability. Iris is terrified of the prospect that Laura might...
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By the time summer comes, Winifred begins encouraging Iris to spend outside tending to her rock garden. Yet Iris knows that...
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...suddenly realizes that Laura probably left the message in Iris’s wedding album, where Richard and Winifred were certain not to accidentally find it. In the album, Laura had hand-tinted two photographs:...
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Chapter 13
...was saying she was pregnant. Laura explains that she was pregnant and that Richard and Winifred had her institutionalized in order to avoid scandal. Iris finds this plausible. Laura explains that...
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...Laura took. Iris walks home, trying to think of what she would tell Richard and Winifred. Yet Richard isn’t home—he’s giving a speech at a club. Iris knows that Richard is...
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...Street, Iris waits by the telephone, but no one calls. She goes to lunch with Winifred and two of “her committee members,” where they discuss the cabaret Winifred is planning to...
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Chapter 14
...been living after running away from BellaVista. Richard doesn’t come to Port Ticonderoga, instead sending Winifred on his behalf. Coldly, Iris asks Winifred if Richard believed he was getting “two for...
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...dead in the Water Nixie not long after. He actually dies in the boathouse, but Winifred makes it look like the boat was on the water so that it seems less...
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After Richard’s death, Winifred declares “open war” on Iris, which takes the form of a custody battle over Aimee....
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...shock for Sabrina to learn that she is not biologically related to either Richard or Winifred. Because Sabrina’s real father, Alex, was an orphan, much of Sabrina’s heritage is a mystery....
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