Book Review: We Have Always Live In The Castle by Shirley Jackson
I finished reading 'We Have Always Lived In The Castle' published in 1962. What an amazing read. I was fascinated my the characters Merricat and Constance Blackwood.
I've read Shirley Jackson before: The Haunting of Hill House, The Lottery, and Charles. I actually taught The Lottery and Charles when I was a teacher. And when I first read (years ago) 'The Haunting of Hill House' it was an incredible example on suspense and how it builds throughout a story, creating heightened tensions and fear of the unknown, the unexpected, and whether or not the haunting is real or just imagined.
There is also a Lottery-esque feel in 'We Have Always Lived In The Castle'. There's a small village, and the potential for violence from the villagers, who want to enact their own sense of justice on the main characters, especially Constance.
So Spoilers! If you actually want to read this book then go read this book because it is fascinating.
We Have Always Live In The Castle is about two sister that live in a wealthy home with their ailing uncle whom the older sister has to take care of. The story is told through Merricat's (Mary Kathrine) point of view. The POV is in first person so you see everything that Merricat is see and feeling so acutely. Merricat is eighteen years old, but the way she acts and behaves, she feels much younger. Like she is still stuck in twelve year old mind. Constance is the oldest sister. She's twenty-eight and has agoraphobia ever since her trial. We learn that six years previously the entire Blackwood family was poisoned from arsenic that was put in there desert sugar bowl and Constance and Merricat were the only two of the family to have not eaten the sugar. Uncle Julian, however, survived the poisoning, but has had extreme health and memory problems since. Constance was arrested but then acquitted by a jury. However, the Villagers do not agree with this sentence, they believe that she murdered her family, and have since bullied and isolated the Sister ever since. Hence why Constance every leaves the property.
Then one day Charles Blackwood, their first cousin, who had not been allowed to see or 'help' the family comes to visit once his father dies. His father was Julian and John Blackwood's brother, but wasn't as wealthy as Constance and Merricat's father, whom Julian and his wife were living with because he too, wasn't a good business man. Apparently Arthur Blackwood was estranged from his two siblings before the murder. Charles tells Constance that he is there to help her and family out. While the book progresses however you see that Charles is a greedy and selfish man, trying to manipulate Constance into giving him all of the family money, There's an innuendo that he intends to marry her to do it since the money isn't rightfully his.
Merricat hates him. Charles begins to become more and more like her father and she tries to figure out ways to get ride of him before he can take Constance (the only person that she loves) away from her.
There's a sight mystery in who the actual murderer is. But you don't learn about which sister murdered the family until the very end. However, Jackson does an amazing job at foreshadowing that night in question, as well as characterization of the two sisters., who avoid the topic. It is uncle Julian who is obsessed with the night of the murder and is trying to write a book about the event.
As I was reading I kept wonder why Constance was acquitted, but as you slowly start to know more about her, you realized that she is kind, naive, and has a strong morality. She takes care of Uncle Julian and Merricat to the best of her ability.
The thing about this book that is fascinating is I'm rooting for Merricat. I'm rooting for a murderer. Like a straight up psychopath that doesn't feel bad for killer her family; but to be fair from what little you gain about this family is that that were terrible emotionally abusive people. I also feel that Merricat (Mary Katherine) is autistic, and back in the late 1950's/early 60's american society didn't really acknowledge this mental disability. She shows no remorse about her actions, whether in the past or during the book. She enacts her own sense of justice. What she believe is write or wrong. She also is an amazing judge of character, but then wishes them dead.
Merricat is incredibly witchy. She believes in protective charms that used to be apart of her family's possessions. Which she bury's according to a book of spells she once read. She knows all about poisons, and has a cat named Jonas who acts like her familiar. She keeps wanting to take Constance to the moon. Because everything on the moon is better.
One of the most horrifying scenes in the book is the mod mentality that the Villagers take on. They start feeding off of each other and become violent and aggressive and dangerous. They lack empathy for the Blackwoods. They loath the Blackwoods. Not just because of the murders either but because they're rich and were once powerful. Once they get the change to humiliate and destroy the Blackwoods they take it and destroy what's left of the half burned house.
Mod mentality has always frightened me as a person. I've seen it before. The loss of oneself in a group whose emotions are heightened to a point where all individuality is gone. Its absolutely terrifying. Jackson writes about the horrible truths of humanity, which live under a guise of 1950 propriety and manners. It's truly terrifying.
I recommend this book to all. I really enjoyed reading it. The book was masterfully written, an excellent example of an unreliable narrator, and dramatic irony. A pinnacle of American Gothic Literature. If you too hope to become a writer I'd encourage reading Shirley Jackson. I know that I am. I already bought her short story collection and the next book I'm going to be reading from her will be 'The Sundial'.
Happy reading! Happy Writing!
I've read Shirley Jackson before: The Haunting of Hill House, The Lottery, and Charles. I actually taught The Lottery and Charles when I was a teacher. And when I first read (years ago) 'The Haunting of Hill House' it was an incredible example on suspense and how it builds throughout a story, creating heightened tensions and fear of the unknown, the unexpected, and whether or not the haunting is real or just imagined.
There is also a Lottery-esque feel in 'We Have Always Lived In The Castle'. There's a small village, and the potential for violence from the villagers, who want to enact their own sense of justice on the main characters, especially Constance.
So Spoilers! If you actually want to read this book then go read this book because it is fascinating.
We Have Always Live In The Castle is about two sister that live in a wealthy home with their ailing uncle whom the older sister has to take care of. The story is told through Merricat's (Mary Kathrine) point of view. The POV is in first person so you see everything that Merricat is see and feeling so acutely. Merricat is eighteen years old, but the way she acts and behaves, she feels much younger. Like she is still stuck in twelve year old mind. Constance is the oldest sister. She's twenty-eight and has agoraphobia ever since her trial. We learn that six years previously the entire Blackwood family was poisoned from arsenic that was put in there desert sugar bowl and Constance and Merricat were the only two of the family to have not eaten the sugar. Uncle Julian, however, survived the poisoning, but has had extreme health and memory problems since. Constance was arrested but then acquitted by a jury. However, the Villagers do not agree with this sentence, they believe that she murdered her family, and have since bullied and isolated the Sister ever since. Hence why Constance every leaves the property.
Then one day Charles Blackwood, their first cousin, who had not been allowed to see or 'help' the family comes to visit once his father dies. His father was Julian and John Blackwood's brother, but wasn't as wealthy as Constance and Merricat's father, whom Julian and his wife were living with because he too, wasn't a good business man. Apparently Arthur Blackwood was estranged from his two siblings before the murder. Charles tells Constance that he is there to help her and family out. While the book progresses however you see that Charles is a greedy and selfish man, trying to manipulate Constance into giving him all of the family money, There's an innuendo that he intends to marry her to do it since the money isn't rightfully his.
Merricat hates him. Charles begins to become more and more like her father and she tries to figure out ways to get ride of him before he can take Constance (the only person that she loves) away from her.
There's a sight mystery in who the actual murderer is. But you don't learn about which sister murdered the family until the very end. However, Jackson does an amazing job at foreshadowing that night in question, as well as characterization of the two sisters., who avoid the topic. It is uncle Julian who is obsessed with the night of the murder and is trying to write a book about the event.
As I was reading I kept wonder why Constance was acquitted, but as you slowly start to know more about her, you realized that she is kind, naive, and has a strong morality. She takes care of Uncle Julian and Merricat to the best of her ability.
The thing about this book that is fascinating is I'm rooting for Merricat. I'm rooting for a murderer. Like a straight up psychopath that doesn't feel bad for killer her family; but to be fair from what little you gain about this family is that that were terrible emotionally abusive people. I also feel that Merricat (Mary Katherine) is autistic, and back in the late 1950's/early 60's american society didn't really acknowledge this mental disability. She shows no remorse about her actions, whether in the past or during the book. She enacts her own sense of justice. What she believe is write or wrong. She also is an amazing judge of character, but then wishes them dead.
Merricat is incredibly witchy. She believes in protective charms that used to be apart of her family's possessions. Which she bury's according to a book of spells she once read. She knows all about poisons, and has a cat named Jonas who acts like her familiar. She keeps wanting to take Constance to the moon. Because everything on the moon is better.
One of the most horrifying scenes in the book is the mod mentality that the Villagers take on. They start feeding off of each other and become violent and aggressive and dangerous. They lack empathy for the Blackwoods. They loath the Blackwoods. Not just because of the murders either but because they're rich and were once powerful. Once they get the change to humiliate and destroy the Blackwoods they take it and destroy what's left of the half burned house.
Mod mentality has always frightened me as a person. I've seen it before. The loss of oneself in a group whose emotions are heightened to a point where all individuality is gone. Its absolutely terrifying. Jackson writes about the horrible truths of humanity, which live under a guise of 1950 propriety and manners. It's truly terrifying.
I recommend this book to all. I really enjoyed reading it. The book was masterfully written, an excellent example of an unreliable narrator, and dramatic irony. A pinnacle of American Gothic Literature. If you too hope to become a writer I'd encourage reading Shirley Jackson. I know that I am. I already bought her short story collection and the next book I'm going to be reading from her will be 'The Sundial'.
Happy reading! Happy Writing!
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