The Blind Assassin

Iris explains that she is nearing the end of her narrative and asks "wolves" and "dead women with azure hair and eyes like snake-filled pits" to give her strength to continue, even if her motives in seeking "justice" aren't totally pure (497).

Back on the day of the accident, Iris opens up Laura's notebooks one at a time. The first contains a Latin translation of a passage from the Aeneid, where the goddess Iris releases Dido from her sufferings via death. Others contain the photo of Laura and Alex at the picnic, a description Laura once wrote of Port Ticonderoga, and a list of made-up words the sisters had discovered in the attic after sheltering Alex. The last, however, contains a series of dates that correspond to Richard propositioning her for sex.

Iris conceals what she's learned until after Laura's funeral, and then leaves while Richard is gone on a business trip. She returns to Port Ticonderoga with Aimee, threatening to reveal everything if Richard doesn't agree to give her a small allowance to live on. Richard ultimately complies, but Iris also wants a "memorial of some kind," and decides to publish The Blind Assassin (508). The book renews speculation that Laura committed suicide, and an inquiry into BellaVista Clinic turns up "damaging" letters between Richard and the director (510).