We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962)

This story was a marvelous character study. While there are a few peripheral characters, most of the book is devoted to Merricat, Constance, Uncle Julian and Charles. I felt that much of this was a tug of war between the two dominant characters (Merricat and Charles) over the allegiance of Constance, with Uncle Julian serving the role of illuminating the back story. It is evident early on that Merricat, the narrator, is quite unreliable, and this is one of those novels that had me actively wondering how very different this would have been if it had been told from, say, Charles's perspective. I also enjoyed how my sympathies were played upon throughout: do I feel badly for Merricat? Charles? I was tugged back and forth. All of this is by way of saying that Ms. Jackson has created unforgettable characters here with neuroses that appear entirely believable and not at all over the top, and this is what struck me most about the story.

Ms. Jackson also creates an extraordinary sense of place. Having lived in New England all of my life, I know all too well these rural communities where others gossip and ostracize others for eccentricities. I also know many houses just like the Blackwood residence, though admittedly with less land.

Finally, I found it intriguing that the story spoke essentially of how a haunted house story gets started: a few traumatic events and a pinch of sheer weirdness and a murder and BOOM, you've got yourself a haunted house. A pleasant read for a Halloween season. ( )

We Have Always Lived In The Castle is a very slow build. Which is, in fact, what makes it good. It's a novel that is almost all atmosphere and has very little by way of plot. The main event has already happened, really: the novel is all about the aftermath. There's something sinister about it from the start, and the narrator Merricat's strange ways don't help. For all that she's eighteen, she's a creepy little girl type.

I can understand why people wouldn't like this. I can't really describe why I liked it so much. It was a slow build, I could easily put it down, I'm not sure I liked any of the characters... but the sense of wrongness, the atmosphere Shirley Jackson builds up, that's perfect. ( )

Mary Katherine "Merricat" Blackwood, her sister, Constance and, their uncle, Julian live reclusively in the Blackwood family home. Exactly why this is so is the story's ostensible raison d'etre; but in realty the story showcases a number of recurrent themes in Shirley Jackson's writings that in turn reveal the darker natures of ourselves, barely hidden by the thin veneer of daily life. Each of the Blackwoods adopts a tenuous hold on civilized life by narrowly defining their roles in the household. Merricat's quotidian routines involve heavily ritualized and superstitious behavior that enable her to function in and beyond the perimeter of the estate. Constance, a young woman in her early twenties, assumes the maternal role of cook, and caregiver to Uncle Julian; but she never goes beyond the garden borders. Uncle Julian, wheelchair-bound, spends his days writing and revising the family history, hung up on the chapter that fully explains what exactly happened that one night that lead to their present situation. Their neighbors in general, tease and bully Merricat; but don't actually touch or harm her. The listener realizes that there is something wrong , sensing the undercurrent of tragedy and the shadows of secrets among the Blackwoods. There is a tension built upon not knowing why the Blackwoods live such a circumscribed existence and, a certain anxiety as the listener watches the veneer being stripped away. And then there is the horror as the truth is revealed. To write unflinchingly of what is true is no task for the weak or for cowards; it is a task for masters such as Shirley Jackson. Ms Jackson wrote fiction and; wrote scenarios that defy credibility in a realistic context; but what she wrote of in terms of human psychology and dynamics is undeniably true and; there is the horror.

Bernadette Dunne narrates We Have Always Lived in the Castle perfectly. Her character voices reflect the artifice of their civilized lives, the calming and reassuring words and platitudes uttered to keep the monsters at bay, as well as the chaos as the story explodes into a night of terror. Dulcet tones, childlike simplicity and, good natured teasing are delivered with the artifice that each character warrants; but the dark creepiness is never far from the surface.

Redacted from the original blog review at dog eared copy, We Have Always Lived in the Castle; 10/26/2011 ( )

“My name is Mary Katherine Blackwood. I am eighteen years old, and I live with my sister Constance. …. Everyone else in my family is dead.” At one time there were seven Blackwoods, we learn during the course of the book that the others were poisoned. Constance was arrested for the crime then acquitted. Now Constance, Mary Katherine (called Merricat) and their Uncle Julian, whose health was ruined by the poison, are the only ones that survived and are now living in Blackwood house. Merricat does her best to protect Constance from the venom of the villagers, her protection falls short when a cousin comes to visit.

I first read this book when I was a young girl, I remember it was my sister’s book and she told me the “spoilers” before I even had a chance to read it. What makes this book enjoyable however is not the mystery of who did the poisoning, which is rather easy to figure out, but the telling of the relationship between Merricat and Constance, their treatment by the villagers, Merricat’s thoughts regarding the villager’s and her ability to see danger where Constance doesn’t and eventually drive out the danger makes this book worth reading. ( )

"My name is Mary Katherine Blackwood. I am eighteen years old, and I live with my sister, Constance. I have often thought that with any luck at all I could have been born a werewolf, because the two middle fingers on both my hands are the same length, but I have had to be content with what I had. I dislike washing myself, and dogs, and noise. I like my sister Constance, and Richard Plantagenet, and Amanita phalloides, the death-cup mushroom. Everyone else in my family is dead."


And so begins Merricat's story about life for the last surviving members of the Blackwood family. There has been some sort of tragedy in the past, but Mary Katherine doesn't want to talk about it. She does want to talk about how much the villagers hate her family, how much she hates them, and how she wishes she could live on the moon.

Unsettling. That is by far the best word to describe this book.

Odds are that you didn't make it through high school without reading Shirley Jackson's short story, "The Lottery." It would be a tossup between that and "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman for my choice as most disturbing short story ever.

Jackson somehow kept that same tone alive throughout a novel.

Short stories are generally creepier for me than novels are. Authors end up explaining too much in a novel and I'm able to put them out of my head. But all those unresolved questions in short stories cause them to stay with me in a way that very few novels do.

But Jackson pulled that off here. Wow.

So much of the eeriness comes from Mary Katherine, or Merricat, herself. She's eighteen, but it's almost like her mind stopped progressing at twelve, which is when the tragedy happened. I don't mean that she's "challenged" in anyway, it's just that she doesn't really see the need to grow up. I found myself constantly questioning her motives and her truths. Are her truths widely-accepted truths? And if not, who are you supposed to believe?

There is the feel of a hedge witch about Merricat. She has daily tasks that she sets herself, and part of that is making sure that their property is secure from strangers. Oh, she does check the locks, gates, and fences, but she also makes sure that the talismans she has hung from trees and buried in fields are also intact.

I felt sorry for her sister Constance. Constance is apparently beautiful and she seems to be happiest when she's taking care of others. But whatever happened in the past has left her ostracized from society, and honestly even agoraphobic. She should be raising a beautiful family, but she's instead trapped living in a museum of a house with her younger sister and her elderly uncle. But she sweetly goes about her days.

I do recommend this book if you're looking for something unexpected and...unsettling. That really is the best word. It was great for Halloween, and I won't be forgetting Merricat or Constance anytime soon. ( )