We Have Always Lived In The Castle Literary Analysis

The novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson is the dark story of a girl named Mary Katherine Blackwood. Her family is mysteriously poisoned at a family dinner, but Mary, her sister Constance, and their Uncle Julian lives are spared. This book belongs in the gothic unit of the English curriculum because it features gothic elements such as isolation, family secrets, and death. The whole Blackwood family is isolated from the rest of society. Constance and Uncle Julian never leave their home. Constance isolates herself from the outside world because she is put on trial for the murder of her family, and citizens believe she did it. When she decides it is safe to return to society, her cousin Charles convinces her it’s a bad …show more content…
In gothic literature there is a common theme of isolation. This theme is present in the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and it is currently read in the gothic unit. Victor Frankenstein’s creature isolates himself from human life because he was abandoned by Frankenstein. The theme of isolation is not only common in characters but also setting. Both homes in We Have Always Lived in the Castle and Frankenstein were closed off from society. The house the Frankenstein's live in is miles away from the main town, and the Blackwood’s home is completely gated. Within their homes there is isolation due to the detached relationships between the family. Furthermore, the isolation of the novel creates a mysterious feeling that is woven throughout the story. There are lots of family secrets trapped in their home. Mr. Blackwood’s study and safe are always locked, and even after he dies only Constance occasionally goes in for money. Also, Mr. Blackwood and Uncle Julian have papers with confidential information that is never disclosed to the reader and is kept from Mary and Constance. The book begins six years after Mary’s mother, father, and