In-Depth Notes on 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle'

Mary Katherine Blackwood

• Introduction

  • Character: Mary Katherine Blackwood, 18 years old.

  • Lives with her sister Constance; whole family is deceased.

• Persona & Preferences

  • Wishes she were a werewolf due to the same length of her middle fingers.

  • Dislikes washing, dogs, noise; enjoys Constance’s company and reading about death.

  • Events in their life seem contrasted between ordinary and macabre.

  • The Blackwood household is depicted as both orderly and eerie, showing their isolation from a hostile village.

Family and Home Dynamics

• Home Description

  • Describes tidiness: books and belongings never moved out of place, indicating a rigid adherence to tradition and routine.

  • Reflects on the history of their possessions rooted in the Blackwood family, emphasizing stability in what is otherwise a tumultuous life.

  • Introduces the home as feeling almost trapped in time, with an unsettling sense of decay under the surface.

• Routine and Isolation

  • Weekly trips to the village for supplies; Constance never leaves the garden and Uncle Julian cannot assist.

  • Mary Katherine’s trips result in anxiety and paranoia about the village's disdain for them.

  • Library visits serve as a reminder of their position in the world, with books representing both knowledge and a desire for escape.

Villagers and Perceptions

• Villagers’ Perspective

  • Describes the villagers' animosity towards the Blackwoods; sees them as grotesque and unfriendly.

  • Villagers maintain their façade of friendliness, masking deeper contempt and jealousy.

  • The Blackwoods possess wealth, which amplifies village resentment, leading to an aura of hostility toward Mary Katherine and Constance.

• Interactions in the Village

  • Reflections during shopping reveal Mary Katherine's sense of being watched and judged by villagers.

  • Describes a sense of game-playing in interactions with villagers, reflecting her desire for control and normalcy amidst fear.

  • Portrays grocery shopping as a battlefield, where every interaction seems loaded with contempt.

Daily Life and Mental Landscape

• Shopping Routine

  • Mary Katherine carefully curates her shopping list, avoiding interactions while feeling acutely aware of the villagers' scrutiny.

  • Experiences anxiety at the grocery store; items serve as metaphors for their lives (e.g., chicken and lamb as reminders of normality).

• Psychological State

  • Grapples between wanting to care and harboring hatred towards villagers; expresses violent wishes against them.

  • Shows distress at the idea of being perceived as weak or afraid, leading to a façade of stability.

  • Repeatedly daydreams about a life devoid of village interaction, emphasizing her desire for escape and detachment from reality.

Tension and Conflict

• Local Gossip

  • Encounters with Jim Donell become focal points of tension; he directly engages with her, stirring feelings of vulnerability.

  • Relies on mental illustrations of her home as her emotional safe haven against village life’s chaos.

• Closing Thoughts

  • The concluding moments juxtapose her thoughts on the villagers with her estrangement, revealing her fractured psyche and intense desire for solitude.

  • Round structure of the narrative reinforces the cyclical nature of her life—tied to both the family legacy and the entrapment within the village.

Summary of Themes

• Isolation vs Community

  • Explores themes of isolation and the fear of the outside world versus the comfort of self-imposed exile.

  • Dependency on familial bonds as both a source of strength and entrapment.

• Identity and Agency

  • Shows Mary Katherine struggling with self-identity in a world full of judgment, reflecting deeper existential themes of belonging and acceptance.

• Cycle of Hatred and Fear

  • Highlights the cyclical nature of violence, perceptions of evil, and societal rejection, emphasizing Mary Katherine’s constant inner turmoil.

The notes provide a detailed understanding of Mary Katherine's character, her family's background, her life in the Blackwood house, the villagers' hostility, and the overarching psychological themes in the text. They encapsulate her day-to-day struggles and existence in a world that feels alien and hostile.