We Have Always Lived in the Castle

We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a 1962 novel by author Shirley Jackson. In 1966 the novel was adapted into a play by Hugh Wheeler. This article deals only with the novel, which differs in many respects from the theatrical production.

Related Topics:
1962 - Shirley Jackson - 1966 - Hugh Wheeler

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The novel, narrated in first-person by eighteen-year-old Mary Katherine "Merricat" Blackwood, tells the story of the Blackwood family. A careful reading of the opening paragraphs reveals that the majority of this novel is a flashback.

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As the main portion of the story opens, Merricat, her elder sister Constance, and their ailing uncle Julian live in isolation from the nearby village. Constance has not left the house in seven years, seeing only a select few family friends. Uncle Julian, slightly insane and confided to a wheelchair, obsessively writes and re-writes a novel while Constance cares for him. Through Uncle Julian's ramblings the reader begins to understand what has happened to the remander of the Blackwood family: seven years ago, both the Blackwood parents, an aunt, and a younger brother were killed from sugar mixed with arsenic and sprinkled onto blackberries. Julian, though poisoned, survived; Merricat, sent to bed without supper as a punishment, avoided the arsenic, and Constance, also unscathed, was arrested for and quickly acquitted of the crime. The people of the village openly believe that Constance has gotten away with murder, and the family is ostricized, leading Constance to become something of an agoraphobic. Despite this, the three Blackwoods have grown accustomed to their isolation, and lead a quiet, happy existence.

Related Topics:
Arsenic - Agoraphobic

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Merricat is a strange young woman, deeply protective of her sister and a fierce believer in homopathic magic. As the major action unfolds, Merricat begins to feel that a dangerous change is approaching; her response is to reassure herself of the various magical safeguards she has placed around their home, including a box of silver dollars buried near the creek and a book nailed to a tree. After discovering that the book has fallen down, Merricat becomes convinced that danger is imminent. Before she can warn Constance, a long-absent cousin, Charles, appears for a visit.

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It is immediately apparent to the reader that Cousin Charles is pursuing the Blackwood fortune, which is locked in a safe in the house. Charles quickly befriends the vulnerable Constance. Merricat believes Charles to be a demon, and tries various magical means to exorcise him from their lives. In the course of driving Charles away, Merricat accidentally sets fire to the family home, destroying much of the upper portion of the house. The villagers arrive to put out the fire, but, in a wave of long-repressed hatred for the Blackwoods, break into the remaining rooms and destroy them. In the course of the fire, Julian dies of what is implied to be a heart attack, and Charles proves himself indistinguishable from the cruel villagers. Merricat and Constance flee for safety into the woods. Constance confesses for the first time that she always knew Merricat poisoned the family, and Merricat readily admits to the deed.

Related Topics:
Exorcise - Heart attack

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Upon returning to their ruined home, Constance and Merricat proceed to salvage what is left of their belongings, close off those rooms too damaged to use, and start their lives anew in the little space. The house, now without a roof, resembles a castle "turrented and open to the sky." The villagers, awakening at last to a sense of guilt, begin to treat the two sisters as mysterious creatures to be placated with offerings of food left on their doorstep. The story ends with Merricat's observation that she and her sister are happier than ever.

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The novel, which has been described by Jackson's biographer as "a paeon to agoraphobia," is alleged to have been based largely on the author's own agoraphobia and nervous conditions. Jackson freely admitted that the two young women in the story were liberally fictionalised versions of her own daughters. Written in deceptively simple language, the novel is disturbing in its implications that the two heroines may choose to live forever in the remaining three rooms of their home, while the genuine affection of the Blackwoods' relationship, as well as most of Julian's rambling exposition, is charming and quirkily amusing. Merricat has been labelled by many critics as the boldest and best of Jackson's female characters.

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In 1966, We Have Always Lived in the Castle was turned into a Broadway play written by Hugh Wheeler. The play ran nine performances and closed after only one week.

Related Topics:
1966 - Broadway - Hugh Wheeler

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