Previous
“Happiness is a garden walled with glass: there’s no way in or out. In Paradise there are no stories, because there are no journeys. It’s loss and regret and misery and yearning that drive the story forward, along its twisted road.”

This quote occurs in Part XV, drawn from the Epilogue to The Blind Assassin. On the surface, the unnamed female protagonist is reflecting on the experience of her tragic affair. However, readers know that the same ideas also apply to Iris. The quotation establishes a link between tragic experiences and creativity as well as between tragedy and wisdom. If the woman had not had her affair, she would never have engaged in storytelling and had a window to a world outside of her privileged and sheltered life. Similarly, if Iris had not been in love with Alex, she would not have had the inspiration to write her famous novel. Iris experiences a lot of suffering, and she has regrets about her life and some of the choices she made. She transfers these feelings to the protagonist of her novel. However, she can also look back with gratitude and recognize that her complex life has been meaningful.

Previous section Important Quotes Explained Page 4

Popular pages: The Blind Assassin

Take a Study Break