“We Have
Always Lived in the Castle,” contains multiple tropes within Gothic Literature.
The Uncanny concept encompasses many things but repetition or doubles is one of
the characteristics shown in the book. When Cousin Charles comes to the
Blackwood house, Merricat is stunned by how easy it was to identify this man
because he looked almost identical to their father.
Another
characteristic of the uncanny are lifelike qualities of inanimate objects. Both
Merricat and Constance had somewhat of an obsession with cleaning the house.
They had a set day every week to clean everything. It was like they were
cleaning something that had life. Although nothing moved in their house, it was
seen as dirty to the girls. Maybe they were obsessed with cleaning away the evidence
from the poison or the ghosts of the parents and everyone that died that night.
This
novel did not scare me, but the way the family dynamic and how the town was
described was a little creepy. Even though it was not scary, this novel created
a strong sense of suspense throughout. When Merricat destroyed Cousin Charles’
room it created suspense when waiting for his response and repercussions to the
situation. Another time when the suspense was high was when the townspeople
were throwing things at the house when it was on fire. They were circling
around Merricat and Constance and I instantly started reading faster so I could
find out what happens. Suspense is a key component within this novel. It is
used to keep the reader engaged in the story.
I would give
this book a rating of an eight because of the way it immediately catches the
readers’ eye and its ability to keep the reader engaged until the end. In the
future, I would definitely recommend this book to someone interested in gothic
literature.
Reference:
Jackson, Shirley. We Have Always Lived In The Castle. New
York: Viking, 1962. 100. Print.
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