Elements Of Southern Gothicism In Shirley Jackson's The Possibility Of Evil

In Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Possibility Of Evil” a reader should look at the literary movement of Southern Gothicism to understand the story better. The characteristics of this literary movement tend to show isolation, mystery, and melodrama. All of which this short story shows in some way or another. We see some isolation in the characters that Miss Strangeworth is greeting. According to Miss Strangeworth, they are most likely acting differently than usual. The mystery can be found through Miss Strangeworth’s letters to the townspeople, of whom she considers to be her people. She writes notes that seem to be rude and snobbish to people and not sign them, so the townspeople are left wondering who sent them, this is a mystery because