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It seems only three or four of us have got through it!
Some of the themes of the book seem to be the attitudes of society in Victorian times (and I assume it is appropriate to use that term for Canada as part of what was then the British Empire) to gender, criminality and sanity. I suppose class and nationality should be added in there, given the references to both Grace and James McDermott being Irish servants.
Is there somewhere that we can go with these themes while we wait for others to join in?
From the little I have read, it seems that opportunities for women were as limited in other countries. Housewives, domestic servants, farm labourers, prostitutes and nuns seem to be the only roles available. Education was of course minimal. So Grace's opportunities to improve her lot in life were very limited and the opportunities for being exploited sexually or financially were many and varied. She should have taken up the offer of the entrepreneurial Jeremiah!
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