4. We Have Always Lived in the Castle By Shirley Jackson

(1) Red Rose Tea Set

The novel presents an invasion of the norm, an invasion of the ordinary. The storys shows how the protagonist and narrator cannot be trusted as she is later revealed to be the murderer of her family by putting arsenic in the sugar when they go to use it. Food is a central focus within the novel. Almost all interactions between characters are at a dinner, lunch or breakfast. Food is always shown in the background, as a product of family history as they keep decades of preserves in the cellar. The main room is their mother's drawing room, a place where they frequently have tea with visitors. 

Evidently, food is also portrayed frequently as a form of death. Especially when Merricat threatens the villagers:

"put death in all their food" (110)

which becomes a conflict as food is something that generally brings warmth, comfort, and wholeness. But instead, food is manipulated and endangered, to become something life-threatening and, quite simply, poisonous. What is evident about this quote is the personification of death. Merricat resorts to violence as a way of resolving something, but she mostly uses food, something that people generally trust and depend on, to kill people. This conflict of innocence and killer-like thoughts, creates an eerie atmosphere for the reader. The New York Review of Books shows a different review, focusing on the witchcraft presented in the novel. It states that 'Merricat's wholly sympathetic creator/collaborator Shirley Jackson has struck every essential note of her Gothic tale of sexual repression and rhapsodic vengeance; as it unfolds in ways both inevitable and unexpected.' (Oates). It's very interesting as they also present a comparison between the novel and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee in terms of innocence and repression. It says, 'Merricat Blackwood appears to be a typical product of small-town rural America - much of her time is spent outdoors, alone with her companion cat Jones; she's a tomboy who wanders in the woods, unwashed and her hair uncombed; she's distrustful of adults, and of authority; despite being un-educated, she is shrewdly intelligent and bookish.' (Oates). 

Another interesting quote is Merricat's knowledge of poisons itself, listing the side effects of the poison she is most attracted to: Amanita Phalloides. She frequently mentions this type of poison and choose to have it in her imaginary world when playing. This quote shows this example:

“I had made sure of what to say to him before I came to the table. 'The Amanita phalloides,' I said to him, 'holds three different poisons. There is amanitin, which works slowly and is most potent. There is phalloidin, which acts at once, and there is phallin, which dissolves red corpuscles, although it is the least potent. The first symptoms do not appear until seven to twelve hours after eating, in some cases not before twenty-four or even forty hours. The symptoms begin with violent stomach pains, cold sweat, vomiting--” (72)

This scene is shown when Charles is about to eat the pancakes Constance had made for him, the first thing he has eaten in the house. It's a tense scene but also comical as Merricat starts to list the side affects of eaten Amanita Phalloides, a poison. Merricat, knowing she can't touch any food prepared or sharp objects such as knives, instead verbally poisons his food, by scaring him with the idea of the pancakes killing him. 

Film

It's only been recently revealed that a film will be made for next year starring Sebastian Stan, Taissa Farmiga, Alexandria Daddario and Crispin Glover. Sadly there isn't a trailer available yet, but below is a theatrical production of the book by Yale Repertory Theatre in 2010. 

Works Cited:
(1) Frost, Bethany. Red Rose Tea Set. Photo. 2017.
(2) Ortberg, Mallory. Every Meal in We Have Always Lived in the Castle. 2016. n/a. The Toast, http://the-toast.net/2016/04/11/every-meal-in-we-have-always-lived-in-the-castle-in-order-of-sinisterness/. Accessed February 2017.
Jackson, Shirley. We Have Always Live in the Castle. London: Penguin, 2009. Print.
Oates, Joyce Carol. "The Witchcraft of Shirley Jackson". The New York Review of Books. 8 October 2009. Web. <http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2009/10/08/the-witchcraft-of-shirley-jackson/>