The following is an excerpt from our We Have Always Lived in the Castle Study Companion, available on the resources page of our website.
By the time we first finish reading We Have Always Lived in the Castle we may find ourselves asking questions about what’s really happening in the text. It is not a plot-heavy text. The climax of the story is of course the fire, however much of what we get from the text comes from the mystery and intrigue of Mary Katherine’s view of the world and past events that readers are slowly enlightened of. Without numerous bold plot points to use for analysis, we instead can find deeper meaning in the dynamic between the Blackwood family and the people of the village, as well as Constance’s experiences after the poisoning, during Cousin Charles’ visit and then following the fire.
Jackson mentions various members of the village as they interact with the Blackwoods, however she also refers to them as a collective quite often, critiquing their group behaviours and attitudes. From early in the novel, we are led to understand that the “people of the village have always hated” the Blackwood family. Whilst the poisoning accelerates and enhances the feelings of mistrust and ill-will towards the Blackwoods, Jackson points out that such feelings were present before the event and that the family has long been seen as a despised group by the people of the village. Readers are left to consider if such hatred has been born out of jealousy of the Blackwood’s financial situation, fear of their differences or simply through the need for a collection of people to have a group through to which they can channel their most negative and evil traits towards.
When viewing the people of the village as a collective, readers can consider Jackson’s motivations to portray them in such a way and what she may be saying about how societies organise themselves and define themselves as groups. There is a strong sense of an ‘Us and Them’ type attitude as Mary Katherine is made to feel uncomfortable during her time in the village. Jackson also speaks to how hatred and intolerance is taught and sustained through generations as she includes childish chants used to taunt the Blackwoods.
“Merricat, said Connie, would you like a cup of tea?
Oh no, said Merricat, you’ll poison me.
Merricat, said Connie, would you like to go to sleep?
Down in the boneyard ten feet deep!”
Mary Katherine’s narration draws readers into viewing the people of the village as “drab” and “unpleasant”, with each individual needing the connection to those around them and feeding upon the ugliness of their surroundings. Readers are told that “whatever planned to be colourful lost its heart quickly in the village”, further enhancing the idea that those who conform and conspire to hate others are lacking in any genuine humanity. It is clear that Jackson is critical of society’s need for conformity, criticising the bullying of those who do not, or can not, observe the unwritten rules of the larger group with whom they live. Jackson’s criticism of how society treats those who it sees as ‘different’ is seemingly based on the presumption that people will attack what they are afraid of and what they don’t understand.
“Poor strangers, they have so much to be afraid of.”
Mary Katherine is portrayed as being immune from this fear, just as she is portrayed as an outcast from society, the people of the village for whom she holds great disdain and hatred.
When considering the individuals within the village, Jackson portrays them as dull and unintelligent. One of the most overt in showing his hatred and harassment is Jim Donell, who is supported by others as he confidently taunts Mary Katherine early in the story. Rather than feel intimidated, Mary Katherine instead remarks on Donell’s vapidity, feeling a sense of pity for him.
“When Jim Donell thought of something to say he said it as often and in as many ways as possible, perhaps because he had very few ideas and had to wring each one dry.”
Through encounters such as these, Jackson further portrays the wider society as drab, fearful and unimaginative. Through Mary Katherine’s experiences with the people of the village, Jackson is able to illustrate how groups of people can fear those that they don’t understand and instead seek safety through conforming to a similar way of living. The rejection of this way of living by the Blackwood sisters confuses, scares and angers those from the village. Ultimately, Jackson is able to portray Mary Katherine and Constance as extreme outsiders, and because of this, she is able to examine the behaviours of those who organise themselves into insular groups, particularly in the way in which they lash out at those who refuse to live in a similar manner.
As the novel nears its conclusion, the behaviour of the people of the village is further exhibited. The fire becomes a point of release, where the ugliness of hatred and fear is unleashed through violent calls to let the house burn and the hopes that the Blackwoods will perish inside of it. Not seemingly satisfied with the chaos of the fire, the mob of villagers engage in further destruction of the property, unleashing their pent up aggression and fear upon the Blackwood home and its possessions. Jackson’s allusions to the simmering mistrust, fear and hatred through verbal taunts and social snubbing graduate to physical violence through the fire as it electrifies the group and provides them an outlet for all of their previously held feelings.
However, it is also worth considering the aftermath of the fire and the actions of some from within the village to provide for the sisters. Whilst Jackson is scathing of the mob mentality of people within a larger society, she does also highlight that such acts are a part of frenzied behaviour and that individuals within such a group are capable of remorse. Tellingly, those who offer up food for the sisters do so “in darkness”, hiding from the others, as if it is “a shameful thing to do in public.”
The offer of apologies and reparations for the damage caused allows Jackson to condemn the actions of the larger group, whilst pointing out that such a group can ironically be made up of decent individuals who are able to see the hurt that they have caused. Thus, readers are encouraged to see the importance of critical thinking and individuality. Through the actions of the people of the village, Jackson invites readers to question the standards of their own society and the behaviours that draw hatred and fear from such a group.
Ben Taylor - The English Lab
We have lots more to say about this text! If you’d like for Ben to speak to your students or to your teaching team, please contact hello@englishlab.com.au
Please also look around our website for further resources and services that can help your Year Twelve teachers and students get the best out of themselves. Our study guide (of which this post is an excerpt from) is available by clicking on the ‘Resources’ tab at the top of this page.
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