"Ten Tokens" of the 1962 Thriller Americana - "We Have Always Lived In The Castle"

Indiana Humniski
May 29, 2022
6 min read

Updated: Dec 22, 2022

Join alias as we explore my "ten token" quotes over tea at Blackwood Manor... take some extra sugar, if you dare! (insert evil laugh here)

Article Edited: December 22nd, 2022

"No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks." - Mary Shelley

(I feel as though there is a quiet need for an apology on my part, as this is my first article back from my hiatus! It was due to the end of my first year in university, I will hopefully be publishing more articles over the summer break! Starting... NOW!)

Signed with much love,

Your Favourite Alias.

Now...Never Heard of the Novel?

We Have Always Lived In The Castle... A "classic" novel from '62 that comes with themes of murder, mystery, sibling rivalry, and small-town gossip.

"It was Jackson's final work, three years before the author's death in 1965. The novel is written in the voice of eighteen-year-old Mary Katherine "Merricat" Blackwood, who lives with her sister and uncle on an estate in Vermont. Six years before the events of the novel,

the Blackwood family experienced a tragedy that left them isolated from their village."

I knew I needed to attack this piece when it was mentioned on Jeopardy more times than I can count. Which is a motivating factor for the majority of things I seek to research in my life. If I miss a Daily Double, it's time to hit the books!

The "Mania of Merricat" exists bound within the pages of Jackson's iconic thriller...

and I'm not talking about Michael!

Today, we're looking at the "ten token" terrors of Shirley Jackson!

"MELODY. GLOUCESTER. PEGASUS."

First Quote: Okay, one of my absolute favourite parts of the novel was Mary Katherine's ("Merricat") magic words of protection, kept in her head and held there safe... if left unsaid. (hey, that rhymed!)

Her fixation on the Duke of Gloucester is a foreshadowing look into her thinly veiled (spoiler alert) guilt surrounding her family's death (excluding her sister, Constance).

What name did the Duke of Gloucester get crowned under later on in life?

King. Richard. The. Third.

If you've read my previous article on Richard III (you should), you would know about Richard's murderous streak regarding his family. Especially since I recently analyzed that play for my university course (shoutout Dr. Weinberg!)... I immediately linked these two characters in my mind. So, I was left to wonder... what could have been the link between Merricat and Richard? With murder in the mix, foreshadowing follows...

READ MY PREVIOUS ARTICLE HERE

" 'We will have a spring salad" "We eat the year away. We eat the spring and the summer and the fall. We wait for something to grow and then we eat it.' 'Silly Merricat"

Second Quote: This one stood out to me as I am currently in a Food In Literature class, which looks into what different food items represent when aligned with pieces of the plot. To me as a reader, this symbolized Merricat's contentedness of residing in her home without ever leaving. To her, an exit from the sanctity of her home entails a journey into the town which judges her - and her beloved sister.

'I like my sister Constance, and Richard Plantagenet'

Third Quote: Once again, another foreboding mention of Richard III. Yet, the ordering of priorities done within this quote by Jackson brilliantly lays out a sequence of Merricat's affections. Regardless of how much she idolizes the Shakespearean featured King - her sister will always be superior in her eyes.

'I'm going to put death in all their food and watch them die.'

Fourth Quote: Alright party people, no spoilers. I will not tell you who says this quote but... it is a shocker when reading the story. Not exactly shocking WHO says it but the blatant and emotionless delivery truly allows the reader to see this character's lack of empathy to the suffering of others. This quote, more than any other in the story, lays out the central theme of selective love. In my interpretation, this is the most important question pushed forth by the narrative: Some characters love other characters to a blazing extent... yet how far can love push us?

'Oh Constance, we are so happy.'

Fifth Quote: This quote is insanely effective to me as, devoid of context from the story, this statement seems frilly, sweet, and lovely. Yet, in the context, deeper themes creep beneath these six simple words. In my opinion, this quote is a welcomed reality-check within the novel. The quote asks "which perspective is the truth? Why?"

'...and the leaves moved overhead and it would always be the same.'

Sixth Quote: Merricat states this in the novel whilst dreamily describing the continuation of life as she knows it. However, this life cannot be - as people, even people in books, cannot forever exist living in the exact same paradox forever and ever. At some time, things must either come to a climax or come to an end. In Merricat's case, she is so struck with a need for consistency - she is blinded to the ways of the world.

'Merricat, said Connie, would you like to go to sleep? Down in the boneyard ten feet deep!'

Seventh Quote: Obviously, I had to include an excerpt from the playground-style taunt that surrounds the lives of Merricat and Connie - yet Merricat more-so, as she is the one who ventures into town and is taunted by the cruel townsfolk with the rhyme.

'I had always buried things, even when I was small.'

Eighth Quote: I love the foreshadowing effect of this quote - setting up the narrative for the deeper reveals later in the story. Though I was able to guess the ending soon-after beginning the novel, it is quotes like these that add a new layer of realization upon second and third read-throughs of crime-based narratives such as Jackson's work.

'Every touch he made on the house must be erased.'

Ninth Quote: When speaking of the much-despised Cousin Charles, Merricat seems to almost treat his presence as if the "H" should be capitalized. What I mean is, Charles is less as a human, more of a distasteful object or disgraced god-like figure which demolished Merricat's world as she knows it. Merricat sees "Him" as a wrecking ball, ready to knock down the sanctity of her house (and by house, I also include the inhabitants - culminating in Merricat's main priority, Constance). Therefore, even the remnants of his touch are seen as destructive and potentially dangerous.

“I was wondering about my eyes; one of my eyes–-the left–-saw everything golden and yellow and orange, and the other eye saw shades of blue and grey and green; perhaps one eye was for daylight and the other was for night. If everyone in the world saw different colors from different eyes there might be a great many new colors still to be invented.”

Tenth Quote: I think this quote is absurdly underrated. In my opinion and interpretation, it showcases exactly what Merricat is composed of - imagination, destruction, and deeply-ingrained fear of herself. She admits here that she sees the world in two dimensions, the daylight which she reserves for Constance and their perfect world. This sunny view contrasts with the darkness found in the grey hatred she feels for threatening, destructive figures against her utopia AKA the "wrecking ball" of Cousin Charles. Though I do believe that Merricat believes she is doing what she needs to do in order to protect her family (what remains of it, at least), her methods are inarguably despicable. I also believe that there is a small seed of doubt planted deeply in her being that whispers "this is wrong".

Yet, blinded by the love she feels for her sister, Merricat ignores the all-too-human emotion of guilt in favour of pursuing her quests to quell the lurking-in-the-tall-grass evils around her. Though this makes for an extremely complex character, it also leads the reader down a rabbit hole of despair for both Merricat's sanity and Constance's illusions of reality.

Closing Thoughts:

The combination of these emotional waves leave the novel ringing with a disjointed tone of sadness, depth, and a distinctly bitter taste in one's mouth... or perhaps, that could be the arsenic...