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Aimee Adelia Griffen
Liliana is Norval’s wife and Iris and Laura’s mother. A very religious person, she dedicates her life to helping the less fortunate. She almost dies giving birth to Laura, and so she’s advised not to get pregnant again. However, she does, and this pregnancy results in a miscarriage which kills her while Iris and Laura are still children.
Liliana Chase Quotes in The Blind Assassin
The The Blind Assassin quotes below are all either spoken by Liliana Chase or refer to Liliana Chase. 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 3 Quotes
And then, after the wedding, there was the war. Love, then marriage, then catastrophe. In Reenie’s version, it seemed inevitable.
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What would that be like—to long, to yearn for one who is right there before your eyes, day in and day out? I’ll never know.
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Liliana Chase Character Timeline in The Blind Assassin
The timeline below shows where the character Liliana Chase appears in The Blind Assassin. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
...of those buried there: Benjamin Chase and his wife Adelia; Norval Chase and his wife Liliana; two young men, Edgar and Percival; and Laura. Last week, the newspaper printed a picture...
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...on after as a permanent housekeeper. She told Iris that Norval proposed to Iris’s mother, Liliana, at an ice-skating party. Because Liliana was Methodist and Norval was Anglican, Liliana was beneath...
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Liliana was a serious person: at only 18, she was already trained as a teacher. Her...
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Reenie’s description of the wedding centers on the Liliana’s outfit and the decorations. One month after the wedding, World War I begins, which dooms...
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Traveling by train, surrounded by young soldiers, Liliana suddenly realizes it’s possible that Norval might die in the war. Presently, Iris doesn’t know...
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...in France. In August, Benjamin has a stroke that damages his speech and memory, and Liliana becomes his “interpreter,” claiming she is the only person who can understand him. Presently, Iris...
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...of one leg; Iris thinks that the amount that had changed for both him and Liliana must have been overwhelming for them. Iris imagines an awkward reunion and she believes her...
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Liliana prays for the ability to forgive Norval for his infidelities, yet still feels jealous of...
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Iris recalls an evening in 1919 when she was sitting in with Norval and Liliana, who was mending dresses. In five years’ time, Liliana would be dead. Iris read to...
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...times it seemed like she was going to die as a newborn. Following the birth, Liliana was left weak and unwell. Laura was an “anxious” infant, scared of many things and...
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Liliana never usually wastes food, always compelling her daughters to think of the less fortunate, but...
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Iris and Laura are under the table when suddenly they hear Liliana collapse and her teacup smash. Reenie tells Iris to get Norval, but Iris can’t find...
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Later that day, Reenie takes Iris and Laura to see Liliana, who’s sleeping with a strange expression on her face. Lilian’s eyes open, and Reenie tells...
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...linen. These items convey a desire for others to “witness” people’s lives. The day after Liliana’s funeral, Reenie sends Iris and Laura out into the garden, her face flushed by crying....
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...unequivocal than that of others. In the garden, Iris tells Laura to stop singing because Liliana is dead. Laura replies that this isn’t really true because their mother is “in Heaven...
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About a month after Liliana’s death, Norval takes Iris into town without Laura. While they walk, Norval tells Iris that...
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...Iris if she understands what he’s explaining, Iris lies and says that she does. Before Liliana died, she’d told Iris, “Underneath it all, your father loves you.” Liliana rarely said things...
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Chapter 5
Returning to Avilion, Iris describes Liliana’s sealskin coat that she and Laura would play with after their mother’s death. Eventually, someone...
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...an extramarital affair. In June, Iris turns 10. One day, Iris overhears Reenie saying that Liliana had been a “saint on earth” and that she’s concerned that Laura will be forced...
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...a bloodstain on Iris’s bed, she weeps, thinking that Iris is going to die like Liliana. In a photograph taken during this time, both girls are smiling, but it is obvious...
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...kitchen, which Reenie reluctantly gives her. Reenie comments on the striking similarity between Laura and Liliana. Iris, meanwhile, is learning the button business from Norval, who teaches her how to help...
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Chapter 9
...was dying. Laura recalls the Christmas when Norval dressed up as Santa Claus, just before Liliana died. Iris argues that this was an example of Norval trying his best to be...
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Chapter 11
...hearing the news, Laura asks if Iris remembers the “kitten,” the stillborn baby that killed Liliana.
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...“lawyer” to rescue Laura from BellaVista, explaining that the man is a distant cousin of Liliana’s. Laura managed to sneak a letter out to Reenie via the BellaVista cook; she’d written...
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