Andre Fennell Dr. Sara Laws 4/3/2024 Univ. 112. "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" is a haunting and atmospheric film adaptation of Shirley Jackson's enthralling 1962 novel. The movie version follows the reclusive Blackwood family, made up of sisters Constance (Alexandra Daddario) and Merricat (Taissa Farmiga), and their ailing Uncle Julian (Crispin Glover). They live in isolation on their family estate, shunned by the townspeople due to a tragic incident from their past involving poisoned sugar that killed several family members. The film expertly builds a sense of Gothic unease and dread through its moody cinematography, eerie score, and the eccentric, perhaps at times unhinged, behavior of the Blackwood sisters. Constance and Merricat …show more content…
The film has many themes throughout the run-time such as isolation, trauma and trauma bonding, greed, and more; however, what truly sticks out and becomes a major driving force of the plot is the clear imagery of witchcraft. At first glance, the movie is an interesting psychological thriller about isolation, but I argue that it is a whole lot more. Is the film really nothing more than a tale of two sisters shunned from reality? Or is it a modern take on the ever-exciting witch trials of old? Merricat’s witchcraft is strewn liberally throughout the movie in increasingly interesting ways. We can see her burying objects of importance from people to either protect them or ward them off, such as her father’s watch, which is a sort of spell against Charles. Notably, the book that is pinned to the tree in the woods, which Merricat frequently revisits before she leaves the estate. Throughout the film, the main character Merricat is shown to be a practitioner of witchcraft and in some cases is completely obsessed with the magic her spells and rituals carry. She becomes almost reliant on the supernatural to keep her, her sister, and her lifestyle safe. Interestingly enough, however, the film seems to support the idea that this magic is real and has
. She claims that the proceeding force connected with lady as-witch in this combination creative ability handles the problem on the power that surpasses embellishment and design the particular discernment connected with witches and witchcraft throughout. Looking at these kind of queries could encourage selection that the mention of their imagination and prejudices attached to the particular "lady as-witch" idea that the current strain on females building in popularity can easily trigger anger these days. She slyly evaluates having less adequate traditional beliefs with regards to the part women performed inside creating our community, at a variety of instances.
The book begins with a brief history of the colonial witchcraft. Each Chapter is structured with an orientation, presentation of evidence, and her conclusion. A good example of her structure is in chapter two on the demographics of witchcraft; here she summarizes the importance of age and marital status in witchcraft accusations. Following this she provides a good transition into chapter three in the final sentence of chapter two, “A closer look of the material conditions and behavior of acc...
Australia has the terrible condition of having an essentially pointless and prefabricated idea of “Aussiness” that really has no relation to our real culture or the way in which we really see ourselves. We, however subscribe to these stereotypes when trying to find some expression of our Australian identity. The feature film, The Castle, deals with issues about Australian identity in the 1990’s. The film uses techniques like camera shots, language and the use of narration to develop conflict between a decent, old fashioned suburban family, the Kerrigans and an unscrupulous corporation called Airlink. Feature films like The Castle are cultural products because they use attitudes, values and stereotypes about what it means to be Australian.
The Castle, directed by Rob Sitch, is an Australian comedy, which delves into the lives of a stereotypical Australian family, the Kerrigans. The film touchs on issues close to home in a humourous way. The audience is introduced to the classic Aussie family, narrated in the viewpoint of the youngest of the Kerrigans, Dale.
Witchcraft is the most illogical and despised practices involving the supernatural power. “It implies the ability to injure others. A witch usually acquires his power through an inherent physical factor or through the power of another witch. Witch possess a special organ called mangu, located somewhere behind the sternum or attached to the liver.”[11] Woman/man may become a witch through the influence of another witch or contact with another witch. Witches do not intend to do harm; they are as much the victims of witchcraft as those upon whom they practice it. They have innate power and often don’t know what they are doing. The belief in witchcraft helps people explain the causes of illness, death and misfortune experienced by a person or a group when no other explanations can be found. Most of the time when witches create injury and calamity, they were punished by death, sometimes by exile. They also were forced into admission of guilt by torture, fear, or the hope for lighter punishment. “Most witches work by night, are capable of covering long distances very rapidly, tem...
At the beginning of the novel, we are expecting to see a secure society, peaceful, tight knit and strongly Christian; however as soon as the curtain rises, we can sense the tension in the town. As the first act progresses, we see through the numerous conflicts between the characters that this society isn’t as close a kinship as it claims to be. We witness Parris’ wish to be included in the community – so strong that he wants to cover up any trace of witchcraft associated with him or his daughter. He is essentially excluding his daughter to assure his own inclusion with the town. The act draws to a close with the girls’ hysterical cries – Abigail is using the accusations against her to gain a position of power in the society. I...
... life and goes back to these girls who turned on her in an instant. Others even confess to witchcraft because, once accused, it is the only way to get out of being hanged. The confessions and the hangings actually promote the trials because they assure townsfolk that God?s work is being done. Fear for their own lives and for the lives of their loved ones drives the townspeople to say and do anything.
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.
Hysteria took over the town and caused them to believe that their neighbors were practicing witchcraft. If there was a wind storm and a fence was knocked down, people believed that their neighbors used witchcraft to do it. Everyone from ordinary people to the governor’s wife was accused of witchcraft. Even a pregnant woman and the most perfect puritan woman were accused. No one in the small town was safe.
Religious influence, the manipulation of fear, and the frightening aspects of witchcraft all are very influential to the popular belief of witchcraft during this time period. The popularity of witchcraft in this time period is important because it has shown how in the past when there is no logical explanation they would automatically blame Satan and say it was Satan’s doing. It also shows that history repeats itself because during the Cold War many individuals were accused of being communist even though there was no hard evidence proving this accusation; however, out of fear people will still be convicted, just like during the witch trials. Moreover, witch trials were not only influenced by many things but they have been influential; therefore, showing that they influenced things in our time
The term witchcraft is defines as the practice of magic intended to influence nature. It is believed that only people associated with the devil can perform such acts. The Salem Witch Trials was much more than just America’s history, it’s also part of the history of women. The story of witchcraft is first and foremost the story of women. Especially in its western life, Karlsen (1989) noted that “witchcraft challenges us with ideas about women, with fears about women, with the place of women in society and with women themselves”. Witchcraft also confronts us too with violence against women. Even through some men were executed as witches during the witch hunts, the numbers were far less then women. Witches were generally thought to be women and most of those who were accused and executed for being witches were women. Why were women there so many women accused of witchcraft compared to men? Were woman accused of witchcraft because men thought it was a way to control these women? It all happened in 1692, in an era where women were expected to behave a certain way, and women were punished if they threatened what was considered the right way of life. The emphasis of this paper is the explanation of Salem proceedings in view of the role and the position of women in Colonial America.
In this essay I will discuss the role of gender in witchcraft and why the majority of people executed as witches were women. There have been various explanations by different historians for why the majority of witches accused were women. One of the first models concerning Witchcraft and gender to be produced was the ‘Witch-cult‘ idea. This theory was devised by Margaret Murray in the early 20th century and revolved around the idea of Witchcraft being an actual pre-Christian religion. This pagan woman-based religion centred around ‘The Horned God’ who from the Christian point of view was Satan.
Fear is an unexplainable feeling that is caused by a certain someone or something. Fear plays a significant role in the novel We Have Always Lived in The Castle. With tiny details she gnaws away at things that seem unimportant until the ending of the book. As Shirley Jackson first introduces Merricat, making the reader love this strange, broken girl, then revealing her true nature, one will see how everyone fears Merricat. Constance’s fear of Merricat, the fear that the villagers have for the Blackwoods, and Merricats fear of being without Constance, shows it is evident that fear caused all the major issues in this book.
In addition, this book connects these views of women to the cause of witchcraft, not blaming the ‘devil’ for the possessions, but the women themselves. Shown in an excerpt from the book about the disproportionate possessions of women not only blaming the women, but using misogynistic terms and language to do so, as seen here; “As for the first question, why a greater number of witches is found in the fragile feminine sex than among men. Wherefore it is good, for the admonition of women, to speak of this matter; and it has often been proved by experience that they are eager to hear of it, so long as it is set forth with discretion.” (Kram In this excerpt, Kramer (the author) states that women are fragile, therefore they cannot resist the temptation. The temptation being in reference to sexual activity, often seen in relation to the devil, therefore being the reason they became possessed (Kramer, “Malleus Maleficarum Part 1 Question VI.”).
Witchcraft persecution peaked in intensity between 1560 and 1630 however the large scale witch hysteria began in the 14th century, at the end of the Middle Ages and were most intense during the Renaissance and continued until the 18th century, an era often referred to as the Enlightenment or Age of Reason. Representation of witches, nay, representation in general is a political issue. Without the power ot define the female voice and participate in decisions that affect women -similar to other marginalised groups in society- will be subject to the definitions and decisions of those in power. In this context, the power base lay with men. It can be said that the oppression of women may not have been deliberate, it is merely a common sense approach to the natural order of things: women have babies, women are weak, women are dispensable. However the natural order of things, the social constructs reflect the enduring success of patriarchal ideology. As such, ideology is a powerful source of inequality as well as a rationalisation of it. This essay will examine the nature of witchcraft and why it was threatening to Christianity.