Shirley Jackson's final novel, "We Have Always Lived in the Castle," is a haunting masterpiece that delves into the depths of human isolation, family secrets, and the power of the mind. Published in 1962, this Gothic thriller has captivated readers for decades with its unique narrative voice and unsettling atmosphere. The story follows the lives of two sisters living in seclusion after a family tragedy, and explores themes of ostracism, agoraphobia, and the dark side of human nature.
Introduction
"We Have Always Lived in the Castle" opens with one of the most striking introductions in literature. Our narrator, Mary Katherine Blackwood, introduces herself in a way that immediately sets the tone for the entire novel:
"My name is Mary Katherine Blackwood. I am eighteen years old and live with my sister Constance. I have often thought with any luck at all I could have been born a werewolf.... Everyone else in my family is dead."
From these opening lines, we're plunged into a world of mystery and unease. Mary Katherine, who goes by the nickname Merricat, reveals herself to be an unusual and potentially unreliable narrator. Her likes and dislikes are peculiar, to say the least, and we quickly realize that there's much more to her story than meets the eye.
The Blackwood Family
The novel is set in a small, unnamed village where the Blackwood family has lived for generations. Once a respected and wealthy family, the Blackwoods are now social outcasts, living in isolation in their large house on the outskirts of town. The family consists of:
- Merricat Blackwood: Our 18-year-old narrator, who has a childlike demeanor and a penchant for magical thinking.
- Constance Blackwood: Merricat's 28-year-old sister, who hasn't left the house since being acquitted of murder six years ago.
- Uncle Julian: The sisters' elderly uncle, who is confined to a wheelchair and obsessed with the events surrounding the family tragedy.
We learn early on that the rest of the Blackwood family died six years ago in a tragic incident involving arsenic poisoning. This event is the central mystery of the novel, and its details are slowly revealed throughout the story.
Life in Isolation
The Blackwood sisters live a life of strict routine and isolation. Constance never leaves the house, tending to the garden and taking care of Uncle Julian. Merricat is the only one who ventures into town, making weekly trips for groceries and library books. These trips are fraught with tension, as the townspeople shun and sometimes openly mock Merricat.
The sisters' life is one of quiet contentment, at least from Merricat's perspective. She's happy with their secluded existence and goes to great lengths to protect it. Merricat engages in various rituals and "magic spells" to keep evil at bay:
- Burying objects in the yard
- Nailing books to trees
- Creating protective barriers around the property
These actions reveal Merricat's superstitious nature and her deep-seated fear of change. She often daydreams about living on the moon with Constance, far away from the threats of the outside world.
The Fateful Dinner
Through Uncle Julian's ramblings and the sisters' conversations, we gradually piece together the events of the night that changed everything for the Blackwood family. Six years ago, during a family dinner, arsenic was mixed into the sugar bowl and sprinkled over blackberries for dessert. The poisoning killed:
- John Blackwood (Merricat and Constance's father)
- Ellen Blackwood (their mother)
- Thomas Blackwood (their younger brother)
- Aunt Dorothy
Uncle Julian barely survived, but the incident left him in poor health and mentally unstable. Merricat was sent to her room without dinner that night as punishment for misbehaving. Constance, who doesn't like berries and never takes sugar, was the only one at the table who wasn't poisoned.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, Constance was arrested and put on trial for murder. She was eventually acquitted, but the experience left her traumatized and unwilling to leave the house. The townspeople, however, remain convinced of her guilt, leading to the family's ostracism.
The Arrival of Charles
The sisters' carefully maintained routine is disrupted by the arrival of their cousin Charles Blackwood. Charles is the son of their father's brother, and he bears a striking resemblance to their late father. While Constance welcomes Charles, Merricat immediately sees him as a threat to their way of life.
Charles's motives for visiting are unclear, but it soon becomes apparent that he's interested in the family's remaining wealth. He begins to ingratiate himself with Constance, encouraging her to rejoin society and subtly criticizing the sisters' isolated lifestyle. This creates tension between Merricat and Constance, as Constance begins to consider the possibility of a different life.
Merricat, determined to protect her sister and their way of life, becomes increasingly hostile towards Charles. She sees him as an evil intruder and tries various "magical" methods to drive him away. Her actions become more extreme, culminating in her trashing Charles's room in an attempt to "exorcise" him from the house.
The Fire and Its Aftermath
The turning point of the novel comes when Merricat, in a final attempt to rid the house of Charles, knocks his pipe into a wastebasket, starting a fire. The fire quickly spreads, causing significant damage to the upper floors of the house. As the fire rages, several important events unfold:
- The townspeople gather to watch the fire, many of them hoping the house will burn to the ground.
- Charles tries to remove the family safe from the house but fails.
- Once the fire is extinguished, the crowd turns violent, looting and vandalizing the house.
- Uncle Julian dies of a heart attack during the chaos.
- Merricat and Constance flee to the woods, hiding in one of Merricat's secret places.
It's during this frantic night that the truth about the poisoning is finally revealed. We learn that it was 12-year-old Merricat who poisoned the family, not Constance. Even more shockingly, we discover that Constance has known this all along and has been protecting her younger sister.
The New Normal
In the aftermath of the fire, Merricat and Constance return to find their house in ruins. The roof and upper floors are destroyed, and much of their possessions have been vandalized or stolen. However, rather than despair, the sisters begin to adapt to their new circumstances.
They clean up what they can and board up the windows, turning their damaged home into what Merricat describes as a "castle." The cellar, which was untouched by the fire and looters, provides them with enough preserved food to survive. Slowly, a new routine emerges, one that's even more isolated than before.
The townspeople, perhaps feeling guilty about their actions during the fire, begin to leave food at the sisters' door. Merricat and Constance accept these offerings, taking them inside under the cover of darkness. They never show themselves, leading to wild speculation and scary stories among the villagers about what might be happening inside the house.
For Merricat, this new life is a dream come true. She and Constance are truly alone now, living in their own world, just as she had always wanted. She revels in the fear they inspire in the local children, who dare each other to approach the house. From Merricat's perspective, she and Constance are finally living on the moon, safe from the outside world.
Themes and Analysis
Isolation and Agoraphobia
One of the central themes of "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" is isolation. The Blackwood sisters live cut off from society, both physically and emotionally. Constance's agoraphobia, which keeps her confined to the house and grounds, is a physical manifestation of this isolation. Merricat, while able to leave the property, is equally isolated in her own way, viewing the outside world with fear and hostility.
This theme likely reflects Shirley Jackson's own experiences. By the time she wrote this novel, Jackson herself rarely left her house due to poor health and her strained relationship with the community in North Bennington, Vermont, where she lived. The novel can be seen as an exploration of the author's own feelings of isolation and alienation.
The Unreliable Narrator
Merricat is a classic example of an unreliable narrator. Her perspective is skewed by her mental state, which many critics have suggested might indicate a condition like paranoid schizophrenia. Her magical thinking, violent impulses, and arrested development (she seems frozen at the mental age of 12, when the poisoning occurred) all contribute to a narrative that readers must approach with caution.
Despite her unreliability, Merricat is also a compelling and sometimes sympathetic narrator. Her observations can be insightful, funny, and even poetic. This complexity makes her one of the most fascinating narrators in modern literature.
Family Dynamics and Secrets
The relationship between Merricat and Constance is at the heart of the novel. Their bond is intense and codependent, with Constance taking on a maternal role despite being the victim of Merricat's crime. The revelation that Constance has always known about Merricat's guilt adds another layer of complexity to their relationship.
The novel explores how family secrets can shape and distort relationships. The Blackwood sisters have created their own closed world, bound together by their shared knowledge of what really happened on the night of the poisoning.
Social Outcasts and Mob Mentality
The treatment of the Blackwood family by the townspeople is another key theme of the novel. Jackson paints a scathing picture of small-town life, showing how quickly a community can turn against those who are different. The mob violence during the fire scene is particularly disturbing, revealing the thin veneer of civility that can quickly give way to chaos and cruelty.
This theme echoes Jackson's earlier work, particularly her famous short story "The Lottery," which also depicts the dark side of seemingly ordinary small-town life.
The Power of the Mind
Throughout the novel, we see the immense power of Merricat's mind. Her magical thinking, while delusional, has a real impact on the world around her. Her belief in her own spells and rituals shapes her reality, and ultimately, her desire for isolation becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
This theme speaks to the broader idea of how our perceptions shape our reality. Merricat's worldview, while disturbed, is internally consistent and allows her to find happiness in circumstances that others would find intolerable.
The Ending: A Subversive Happy Ending?
The conclusion of "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" is both unsettling and strangely satisfying. Merricat gets exactly what she's always wanted: complete isolation with her sister, free from the intrusions of the outside world. The sisters live in their "castle," accepting food from the villagers but never showing themselves, becoming the stuff of local legend.
This ending can be seen as a dark victory for Merricat. She's successfully driven away all threats to her and Constance's way of life, including their own uncle. The townspeople, who once tormented them, now leave offerings of food out of a mixture of guilt and fear.
However, the happiness of this ending is questionable. While Merricat is content, it's less clear whether Constance truly shares her satisfaction with their new life. The sisters' existence, while peaceful, is also deeply dysfunctional. They live in a partially ruined house, cut off from all human contact except each other.
Some critics have interpreted the ending as a reflection of Jackson's own misanthropic tendencies. The idea of retreating completely from a hostile world might have held a certain appeal for the author, who struggled with her own community's judgment and lack of understanding.
Shirley Jackson's Masterpiece
"We Have Always Lived in the Castle" is widely regarded as Shirley Jackson's crowning achievement. It brings together many of the themes she explored throughout her career: the darkness lurking beneath the surface of everyday life, the cruelty of communities towards outsiders, and the power of the human mind to create its own reality.
The novel's strength lies in its ambiguity. Jackson never fully explains all the mysteries she presents, leaving readers to draw their own conclusions about Merricat's mental state, Constance's true feelings, and the nature of the sisters' new life at the end of the book.
The book's lasting impact comes from its unique narrative voice and its subversion of traditional storytelling norms. Merricat is an anti-hero of sorts, a murderer who nonetheless earns our sympathy. The "happy ending" is deeply unsettling, forcing readers to question their own ideas about happiness and normalcy.
Conclusion
"We Have Always Lived in the Castle" is a novel that continues to fascinate readers decades after its publication. Its exploration of isolation, family dynamics, and the power of the mind remains relevant and thought-provoking. The book's ambiguous ending leaves readers with lingering questions about guilt, justice, and the nature of happiness.
Shirley Jackson's final novel is a testament to her skill as a writer and her deep understanding of human psychology. It's a story that stays with you long after you've turned the final page, inviting multiple readings and interpretations. In Merricat Blackwood, Jackson created one of literature's most unforgettable narrators, a character whose voice echoes in the mind like a half-remembered dream.
For those who haven't read it, "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" offers a unique and unsettling journey into a world where reality and fantasy blur, where family bonds are tested to their limits, and where the line between victim and villain is never quite clear. It's a novel that challenges our perceptions and forces us to confront the darkness that can lurk within even the most ordinary-seeming lives.
In the end, the Blackwood sisters' castle stands as a powerful metaphor for the fortresses we build in our minds, the ways we protect ourselves from a world that often seems hostile and incomprehensible. Whether we see their final state as a triumph or a tragedy likely says as much about us as readers as it does about the characters themselves. And perhaps that's the true magic of Jackson's work – its ability to act as a mirror, reflecting our own fears, desires, and hidden truths back at us.