In the previous story “I Dream of Zenia with the Bright Red Teeth” I had difficulty determining who was at the center — who was the story really about. I had no such problem in “The Dead Hand Loves You.” This is very clearly a story about Jack Dace, a man who is now in his old age (along with his former roommates Rod, Jaffrey, and Irena) but is looking back on the contract and the novel that changed the course of his life. Jack resembles Victor Frankenstein to some extent, staying up at odd hours with his obsession to finish the novel, and the story he’s writing even seems reminiscent of Shelley’s Frankenstein. Jack himself sort of resembles the undead as well, living alone in the attic going days, even weeks without setting foot outside the house. There’s the obvious allusion in bringing the dead back to life (even in pieces) but Atwood’s story and characters mimic the romantic era in general. Their home is described as Victorian and Jack’s writing embodies many of the characteristics of romanticism: the irrational, the personal, the spontaneous.

I’m interested in Jack’s verbosity (?) as well. Toward the end of the story, Atwood writes “He had a facility with adjectives and adverbs, he was told…” (199). He describes things at length often with hyphenated words like “clanking-radiatored” and “hooker-frequented.” Several paragraphs are made up of single sentences. We are able to see inside his head, the words pouring out onto the page, adding to the mania of his character. This is a relatively long story but the story within the story creates an incredible amount of tension and excitement. Jack’s characters are “funhouse mirrored” images of his roommates and it seems as though he is better able to express his suppressed feelings towards Irena through the severed hand. It is quite literally an extension of himself.

I’m not sure what to make of the ending. The last line is a strange question about the time Jack has left or doesn’t have left. At several moments it seems as though Jack has taken on the anger and the frustration of the hand, plotting the ways in which he might kill his former roommates to take back his share. But he never goes through with any of it and we’re left wondering if, perhaps, Irena is the one who has truly lost her marbles.