The Blind Assassin : what do the white gloves mean

[justanotherdaduser]

In the first chapter of Margaret Atwood's Blind Assassin, the narrator recalls her sister Laura's suicide. Laura was wearing white gloves when she driver her car off a bridge --
"The white gloves: a Pontius Pilate gesture. She was washing her hands of me. Of all of us"

What do the white gloves means? And what's the link to Pontius Pilate?

I have Googled but not much luck.

Pontus Pilate is from the Bible. He was the Roman governor(?) who sentenced Jesus to death after a popular vote (?). Afterwards he announced that he knew J was innocent and said that his hands were clean - ie he wasn’t the one to blame.

The narrator is suggesting the the white gloves are symbolic of Laura’s Pontius Pilate- like attitude to the people around her. She thought they were bad people who did bad things, but her hands were clean, ie like Pontius Pilate she was the innocent person surrounded by sinners.

The narrator isn’t exactly reliable, so it’s really just her interpretation, at the time of writing.

Great explanation @MollyMunster . Thank you!

It's been years since I read this but i really enjoyed your knowledgeable reply @MollyMunster, and I realise I do not recall this novel at all so have made a mental note to dip back into MA when I'm next thinking about what to read - this year is already earmarked for Steinbeck though! Hooe is an enjoyably read @justanotherdaduser !

The royal family in the 20th century wore white gloves when mixing with the general public so they didn't have to actually touch us when mixing with us. If you were being introduced to them you had to wear white gloves as well. Like Pontus Pilate washing his hands before sentencing Jesus to death it's a visible way of distancing yourself from what you have to do. But for the royal family it was also a way of maintaining their mystic, holding onto a formal habit that the rest of us have given up on.

It's a way of saying, symbolically, my hands are clean. I have done nothing wrong, and I refuse to be tainted by this dirty world.

Pontius Pilate literally "washed his hands" of Jesus's death. Iris is tacitly casting herself in the Jesus role in the comparison.