Summary
Shirley Jackson's 1962 novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle is widely regarded as her masterpiece. This chilling gothic tale follows the reclusive Blackwood sisters and their ailing uncle, who live in isolation after a family tragedy. Jackson's exquisite prose and masterful storytelling create an atmosphere of creeping dread and psychological tension.
The novel's unreliable narrator, 18-year-old Mary Katherine “Merricat” Blackwood, provides a unique perspective on the family's dark secrets and strained relationship with their village neighbors. Jackson explores themes of persecution, otherness, and the consequences of small-town prejudice, drawing parallels to her own experiences living in rural Vermont.
In 2018, We Have Always Lived in the Castle was adapted into a feature film directed by Stacie Passon. The movie, starring Taissa Farmiga, Alexandra Daddario, and Sebastian Stan, brought Jackson's haunting story to the screen, introducing new audiences to this classic work of American Gothic literature.
Plot
Mary Katherine “Merricat” Blackwood lives with her older sister Constance and ailing Uncle Julian in a large house isolated from the nearby village. Six years earlier, most of the Blackwood family died from arsenic poisoning during dinner. Constance was arrested but acquitted of the murders, though the villagers still believe she is guilty. The three survivors now live a secluded life, with Merricat making occasional trips to town for supplies despite facing hostility from locals.
The family's quiet existence is disrupted when their cousin Charles arrives for a visit. He quickly ingratiates himself with Constance, much to Merricat's dismay. Charles shows interest in the family's fortune and encourages Constance to rejoin society. Feeling threatened, Merricat attempts various magical and disruptive tactics to drive Charles away. Tensions rise as Charles becomes increasingly rude to Merricat and impatient with Uncle Julian.
One evening, in a fit of anger, Merricat sets fire to the house by pushing Charles' pipe into a wastebasket full of newspapers. As the villagers arrive to help extinguish the blaze, they unleash their long-repressed hostility towards the Blackwoods by vandalizing the property. Merricat and Constance flee into the woods, while Uncle Julian dies during the chaos. The sisters seek refuge in a hideaway Merricat had prepared, where Constance reveals she always knew Merricat was responsible for poisoning the family.
Upon returning to their damaged home, Merricat and Constance salvage what they can and begin a new life in the remaining habitable rooms. The house, now roofless, resembles a castle “turreted and open to the sky.” The sisters live in isolation, observing the outside world through hidden peepholes. Feeling remorseful, villagers leave food on their doorstep and develop folklore about the house. When Charles returns once more, Constance ignores him. The sisters choose to remain alone, unseen by the rest of the world, in their unconventional sanctuary.
Themes
Isolation and social exclusion
Family loyalty and devotion
Persecution of outsiders
Mental illness and agoraphobia
Power of ritual and superstition
Unreliable narration
Preservation of the status quo
Setting
Set in the mid-20th century, We Have Always Lived in the Castle unfolds in a small, unnamed New England village. The story primarily takes place on the Blackwood family estate, an isolated property that stands apart from the rest of the community both physically and socially.
The Blackwood house, once grand and imposing, becomes increasingly dilapidated as the novel progresses. Its deterioration mirrors the decline of the family's reputation and their growing isolation from society. The estate's grounds, including Constance's meticulously tended garden, serve as a buffer between the Blackwoods and the hostile villagers.
The village itself plays a crucial role in the story, embodying the small-town prejudices and mob mentality that Jackson often critiqued in her works. The local grocery store, library, and surrounding woods all feature as important settings, highlighting the stark contrast between the Blackwoods' secluded existence and the outside world that views them with suspicion and fear.
Characters
Mary Katherine “Merricat” Blackwood: The 18-year-old narrator and protagonist. Merricat is deeply protective of her sister Constance and practices sympathetic magic to keep their family safe. She is the only one who ventures into the village for supplies, enduring harassment from the townspeople. Merricat has an intense dislike for her cousin Charles and is ultimately revealed to be the one who poisoned her family six years earlier.
Constance Blackwood: Merricat's 28-year-old agoraphobic sister. Constance hasn't left their property in six years, since being acquitted of murdering her family. She cares for Uncle Julian and does all the cooking and cleaning. Constance is trusting and naive, initially welcoming Charles before realizing his true nature. She remains fiercely loyal to Merricat despite knowing the truth about the poisoning.
Uncle Julian Blackwood: The elderly, wheelchair-bound uncle of Merricat and Constance. Julian survived the poisoning but was left confused and obsessed with writing his memoirs about the incident. He is cared for by Constance and dies during the fire that destroys their home.
Charles Blackwood: The greedy cousin who arrives unexpectedly. Charles attempts to ingratiate himself with Constance while eyeing the family fortune. His presence disrupts the sisters' isolated life and ultimately leads to the destruction of their home.
Jonas: Merricat's cat and close companion. Jonas provides comfort to Merricat and is often involved in her magical rituals.
Quick facts
We Have Always Lived in the Castle was Shirley Jackson's final novel, published in 1962, three years before her death.
The novel's first-person narrator, Merricat Blackwood, is considered one of the most memorable unreliable narrators in literature.
The story is believed to be partly inspired by the real-life unsolved poisoning of the Borden family in 1892.
Jackson based the fictional village in the novel on North Bennington, Vermont, where she lived and encountered hostility from locals.
The book's opening line, “My name is Mary Katherine Blackwood,” is often cited as one of the best opening lines in literature.
TIME magazine named We Have Always Lived in the Castle one of the Ten Best Novels of 1962.
The novel has been adapted into a stage play, a musical, and a 2018 film starring Taissa Farmiga and Sebastian Stan.
Jackson's biographer described the book as “a paean to agoraphobia,” reflecting the author's own struggles with the condition.
The character of Merricat Blackwood was ranked 71st on Book magazine's list of Best Characters in Fiction Since 1900.
Jackson admitted that the characters of Merricat and Constance were loosely based on her own daughters.
About the Author
Shirley Jackson was an influential American author best known for her chilling short story “The Lottery” and novels like The Haunting of Hill House. Born in 1916 in San Francisco, Jackson began writing as a teenager and went on to study at Syracuse University, where she met her future husband Stanley Edgar Hyman. After graduating, the couple moved to Vermont, where Jackson balanced raising four children with a prolific writing career.
Jackson's work often explored the dark undercurrents of small-town American life, blending elements of horror, mystery and the supernatural. Her breakout story “The Lottery,” published in The New Yorker in 1948, shocked readers with its portrayal of a sinister ritual in an otherwise ordinary village. Jackson went on to publish several acclaimed novels, including The Haunting of Hill House in 1959, widely considered one of the finest ghost stories ever written.
Despite her literary success, Jackson struggled with agoraphobia and addiction in her later years. She died suddenly of heart failure in 1965 at the age of 48, leaving behind an unfinished novel. In the decades since her death, Jackson's reputation has only grown. Her psychological insight and gift for unsettling prose have influenced generations of writers in the horror and literary fiction genres.
Jackson's legacy continues to resonate today through film and TV adaptations of her work, scholarly reappraisals of her artistic achievements, and an annual literary award given in her name. Though often pigeonholed as a genre writer during her lifetime, Jackson is now recognized as a major figure in 20th century American literature who deftly probed the anxieties and divisions lurking beneath the surface of postwar society.
