Title: Exploring the Complexities of Sisterhood in "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" Introduction: Shirley Jackson's "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" immerses readers in an atmospheric tale where sisterhood is not merely a secondary theme but a foundational element shaping the narrative's core. Within the eerie confines of the Blackwood house, the relationship between Merricat and Constance emerges as a compelling exploration of the complexities inherent in sisterly bonds. This essay seeks to delve deeply into the evolution of their relationship, tracing the trajectory from initial contrasts to unexpected similarities, and exploring the significance of their differences as well as the dual nature of protection and dysfunction within …show more content…
underscores Merricat's imaginative and whimsical nature, highlighting her desire for escape and fantasy. The Significance of Differences (250 words): Despite their growing similarities, the remaining differences between Merricat and Constance serve as a poignant reminder of the complexity inherent in their relationship. Merricat's fierce protectiveness and propensity for isolation stand in contrast to Constance's longing for acceptance and normalcy. These differences not only highlight the individuality of each sister, but also underscore the tension that exists within their dynamic. Merricat's paranoia and distrust of outsiders often clash with Constance's desire for connection, leading to conflicts and misunderstandings. Yet, it is precisely these differences that add depth to their relationship, fueling the narrative's intrigue and underscoring the intricacies of sisterhood. The quote “I believe the one you are wearing now was used for summer breakfasts on the lawn many years ago”. highlights Merricat's attachment to traditions and the past, contrasting with Constance's desire to move forward and embrace
Like the Good Other Woman, the Evil Other Woman often spends much of her life hidden away in the castle, secret room, or whatever, a fact suggesting that even a virtuous woman’s lot is the same she would have merited had she been the worst of criminals. The heroine’s discovery of such Other Women is in the one case an encounter with women’s oppression-their confinement as wives, mothers, and daughters-and in the other with a related repression: the confinement of a Hidden Woman inside those genteel writers and readers who, in the idealization of the heroine’s virtues, displace their own rebellious
American culture has defined the ideal dynamic for a family for many generations as one with a single, or perhaps multitude of dominant male figures, a submissive role or roles usually filled by the women in the household, and of course, children, who are deemed more acceptable if they are “seen and not heard”. Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping deconstructs and twists around what has grown to be custom in American Literature, and challenges the reader to feel uncomfortable about missing or swapped gender roles within the story itself. In Housekeeping, Ruthie and her sister Lucille have been transferred through several relatives after their mother’s death, and find themselves aching for a “normalcy” that they have never experienced, one that
In the story We have always lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson, the reader is presented with only one perspective and that is Mary Katherine "Merricat" Blackwood's point of view. While many aspect were present, the one that really stood out was that the Blackwood family does not appreciate change. Everything is preserved: objects, food, routines, rooms, etc. So, it is clear that when facing situations that cause change, both Mary Katherine and Constance Blackwood, the two sisters who survived the murder of the family, would react a certain way. Merricat's reaction is seen through different stages from non-verbal, to verbal, to violent. On the other hand, Constance seemed to welcome change for the most part until she decided to completely isolate herself in the end.
...en. Probably the most striking commonality is how women relate through those by which they are haunted: just as Marisa recalls her cousin Norma who was committed to a mental hospital, Alejandro's death seriously impacts Amalia; Mrs. Peters recalls her dead baby in an effort to relate to Mrs. Wright, and Mrs. Hale remembers the woman Mrs. Wright was before her marriage. Both Glaspell and Moraga explore the universal theme of isolation and how relationships can create, in the case of Mrs. Wright, or diminish it, as with Marisa and Amalia.
Mary Katherine, a young adult with sociopathic behavior, displays her disorder with frequent outbursts, lack of remorse and disregard for social norms throughout the novel We Have Always Lived in The Castle by Shirley Jackson. Her sociopathic tendencies are constant in the novel with mention that this behavior has been consistent since she was a child. Mary Katherine progressively shows her volatile actions in the story and her actions cause way to a multitude of problems for anyone in her path, especially her close older sister Constance. Her personality disorder coupled with her schizotypal disposition is inherent and not due to being spoiled or temperamental despite her being raised wealthy in a large household.
Constance, a selfless and tolerant sister, typically did not correct Merricat when she spoke of Jonas other than passively avoiding the topic. When Merricat was unable to find Jonas after the fire, Constance smiled and said, “He was annoyed too. He went out the back door when I took Uncle Julian in to get his papers” (Jackson 151). This shows that Constance was pleased in believing that Merricat’s hallucinations were at least temporarily subsided. An example of Constance’s passiveness is when she tells Merricat that the two of them“are all that is left” (Jackson 172). When Merricat reminds her, “Jonas” (Jackson 172), she replies with, “Jonas. We are going to locker ourselves in more securely than ever” (Jackson 172). Constance realizes that Merricat is incapable of knowing that Jonas is only real to her. Perhaps the most obvious evidence of all is when Constance tells Merricat that refusing to wear Uncle Julian’s clothes “may be all very well for the moon, Miss Foolishness. On the moon you may wear a suit of fur like Jonas, for all of me” (Jackson 198). By relating Jonas’ fur to the moon, she hints to the reader that his fur is as real as Merricat’s wish to live on the moon. In Merricat’s mind, the moon is a perfect reality. She often dreamed of living there to escape her imperfect, isolated life.
The novel We Have Always Lived in The Castle by Shirley Jackson is a very unique book. This is due to the very strange behavioral patterns from the two sisters, Merricat and Constance, in the poem. But what is the most unusual about the two sisters is their definitions of happiness. To see Merricat’s definition of happiness is best seen when she refers to the “moon” and under the same weekly routine schedule she has always been under since she her family was murdered. Constance’s definition of happiness clearly displayed when Charles comes to the house and when she starts embracing Merricat’s “moon” fantasy world. By looking at the two girls’ definition of happiness we can see what the girls truly need and want in order to be happy.
Humanity, since the dawn of time, fears anything they have little knowledge about. Instead, humans create superstitious beliefs based on fear and curiosity. In Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Constance Blackwood, Mary Katherine, Merricat, Blackwood, and Julian Blackwood are a wealthy family that live just outside the town. Six years ago, the rest of the Blackwood family is murdered at the dinner table with arsenic. The townspeople blame Constance because she cooks the food for the family and is an expert with herbs, but she is acquitted of the murder. Despite being acquitted, the townspeople abuse both Constance and Merricat simply because they believe that Constance was the only one who could have killed the family.
Mrs. Mallard’s repressed married life is a secret that she keeps to herself. She is not open and honest with her sister Josephine who has shown nothing but concern. This is clearly evident in the great care that her sister and husband’s friend Richard show to break the news of her husband’s tragic death as gently as they can. They think that she is so much in love with him that hearing the news of his death would aggravate her poor heart condition and lead to death. Little do they know that she did not love him dearly at all and in fact took the news in a very positive way, opening her arms to welcome a new life without her husband. This can be seen in the fact that when she storms into her room and her focus shifts drastically from that of her husband’s death to nature that is symbolic of new life and possibilities awaiting her. Her senses came to life; they come alive to the beauty in the nature. Her eyes could reach the vastness of the sky; she could smell the delicious breath of rain in the air; and ears became attentive to a song f...
Both the protagonists, Jane and Mrs De Winter in Rebecca are characterised as nave females who have encountered traumatic and demoralising events in their early years. Through the subsequent events of the plot, these females undertake a bildungsroman journey to adjust to high class society. The heroine in Rebecca has been constantly haunted by the ghost and ‘femme fatale’ figure of Maximillian’s deceased wife (Rebecca) and is unable to live up to society’s expectations. In contrast, Jane can appear to be left demoralised by her extended family, her Aunt and cousins, where she was abused, from a very young age, for standing up for herself. However, her punishment can be seen as a blessing because the time spent in the ‘red room’ was the reason for her independence.
Like all compelling characters, Merricat is both strong and weak, both villain and hero. If you spoke to her, she might sprint off into the woods with her cat Jonas, but if you anger her she might set one’s room on fire. Merricat would be impossible to live with, which is why Constance fears her. As some may say Constance is weak and is still paralyzed by the townspeople, Charles their cousin, comes to town to challenge her ways and is tested to see if she will follow him into the outside world or be subsumed into Merricat’s fantasy. As the novel goes on, the reader learns that Merricat killed her whole family except Constance. This shows that Merricat
Anne Bronte 's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall’s themes of marital abuse and women 's silence and solitude of a marriage are explored in depth. Consider the relationship between Helen and Milicent, two wives of alcoholics. Recognize the lack of communication between them and the connection between their silence and the cycle of abuse within families and within society. Now, take into consideration why the primary narrator of Bronte’s novel is a man, and what it “does” to the text as a feminist novel. My understanding suggest that the feminist author wants the audience to see the book from a man’s
Jeannette Walls reluctantly wrote Glass Castle in an attempt to show that even those with very different backgrounds and cultures really aren't all that different after all. Walls wrote of ridiculous situations and her experiences while growing up with a family that lacked the regular structural culture of other families, which included qualities such as morality, integrity, and a basic knowledge and feeling of obligation to follow the law of the land. Her parents both held values that were unique to each one of them as they lived their lives strongly expressing, through actions and words, that the normal values of other people simply weren’t right. Jeanette’s parents, though unconventional, were just as loving, if not more loving towards their kids as other parents. I think the reason the family was so strange, was simply because of the parents’ values that they taught their kids. The values your parents raise you with can greatly affect your future, and who you become as a person; this is what I can relate to. I’ve become conscious of how the values I grew up on evolved into more of a belief system, if not a stubborn pride-driven ability to deny handouts or help from people. Add this characteristic of mine to the fact that my parents wouldn’t allow me to drive until I turned eighteen, the fact that I lived on an isolated
Recognition takes on many forms, and it is requested and demanded by many individuals who believe they not only deserve acknowledgement, but also feel it is their right to be entitled to it, regardless of its underlying merits or how it should be properly bestowed and earned at large. When delving into the multifaceted nature of this concept and its profound implications for social justice, Canadian identity, and political reality, I've always believed that recognition should be earned through merit, a reward that authentically reflects and validates one's exceptional contributions or achievements. This perspective aligns with my East Asian upbringing and the Chinese Confucian values inculcated in me throughout my personal and academic journey.
Constance's family life is a major point of interest in the book and is really what the story revolves around. Coming from a broken family, with her dad leaving Constance, otherwise known as Clare with 5 other brothers and sisters and her mum. The Father was hardly around only to bring Christmas presents and food. Clare was abused by her mother everyday, terrible physical abuse was inflicted on the growing body of Clare, benign cancer of the breasts caused by constant punches and squeezing from her mother. Emotionally shut out and neglected by her mother, taunted and teased all the time by her mother and her new husband, frequently called UGLY and told she was not welcome and unwanted. Home life was so bad Clare took herself off to social services and asked to be put into a home but was refused, feeling helpless and life was not living she attempted suicide by swallowing a bottle of bleach. "I felt sick, happy and sad. I was happy because tonight if the bleach worked I would die. No more Tomorrows. Hip, Hip hooray." This quote shows the extent of the abuse her mother used on Constance, her home life was unbearable. It is very sad to think that many children and teenagers are stuck in abusive families with no escape.