castle Flashcards
villagers
“men stayed young and did the gossiping”
“women aged with grey evil weariness”
- it is the silent work that women do that tire them out
“slow rot was a sign of ugliness of the villagers”
“burning black painful rot… i wished it on the villagers”
- been conditioned by her family to believe that the townspeople are uncultured
“walking on their bodies”
“searched thoughtfully”
“the village was the only proper place for them”
“sern unwelcoming face” – about the village
traits of fairytales in whalitc
- ugly village contrasting the lovely castle of the blackwood mansion
“But i wont have you frightened” - Merricat about Constance
“offering” to the monsters
“buried all my baby teeth”
“grow into dragons”
male power
“nice farm out there” “too bad about the Blackwood girls” “Man could get rich”
- only the man is able to hold skills have money to cultivate land
“much like our fathers”
“rightful places”
food + kitchen
a place where its usually the women has dominion over
- has become a place of power for the Constance
- control over food and the kitchen allows constance to control the only
“Uncle Julian will have …”
‘buries food like [her] treasures,”
the paradox between providing more preserves, but reluctant to touch the previous reserves made by the Blackwood women
“dinner revolves around my neice”
gothic features (and how Jackson uses them)
isolation
- “away from the front of the house facing the village”
magic
- powerful taunt web
- safe guards
- the book used to protect them from the villagers
- the gold watch represents Charles taking back the
madness
- “their tongues will burn”
- “he was a ghost”
moon
an idealistic place which women are in power
- the moon is associated with feminine power
“we are on the moon at last” once their house is burnt down
- not only witchcraft but also isolationist
- “all by myself”
merricat (as a childlike character)
“take an extra turn”
- when something goes well
“Blackwood girls”
- specifically the girls
- infantilises them, as if women aren’t able to take car of land like the men would be able to
“our mothers brown shoes”
- out in the village
- has to take a role of the mother
class divide (money)
“properly invited”
“good people, the clean and rich dressed one”
“close off the path and the fence”
- literally isolated from the world
- their father solidifying the class divide
house burning + the girls being witches
“opening a circle around [them]”
“start the fire again”
“dance around, singing”
picked it up thoughtfully (rock)
“vines grew over the roof of the house”
the house
“built up on layers of Blackwood property”
“i could never touch the top” – unable to escape from the Blackwood legacy
