I am eighteen years old, and I live with my sister Constance. We see a glimpse of our protagonist, Merricat, and her role as an unreliable narrator in the book’s opening statement: Merricat, who, despite her seeming disassociation from reality, is actually very wise to his schemes, determines to undermine every external threat, including that of Charles. The three live a whimsically odd life until their cousin Charles arrives and threatens to take over the household, control Constance and banish Merricat. Merricat, in return, despises all of them. Regardless, the villagers still suspect the two girls of murder and use this as rationale for hating and mistreating the two. Everyone suspected Connie, who had prepared dinner that day, of having murdered them, but the court found her innocent. (And of course, Jonas, her cat.) Six years prior, the rest of the family died of arsenic poisoning. We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson is a story about a young woman, Mary Katherine “Merricat” who lives a very isolated life with her agoraphobic sister Constance and her dying Uncle Julian. So what’s the story about? (Beware! Plot Spoilers Ahead) Her use of an unreliable narrator, a constant stream of subtext and an immersive setting make this novella one that I could read over and over, never tiring of its complexity and beauty. If I had to pick a favorite work of Gothic writing, it would be Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle.
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