In these two gothic fiction novels, Shirley Jackson constantly reflects on themes of isolation and persecution of characters, particularly female protagonists , Merricat and Eleanor, alienated by their family or society. Jackson uses these novels to project her own feelings of being an outsider and her later developed state of agoraphobia. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Haunting of Hill House, published in 1959, is widely considered Jackson's best-known and most successful work. Inspired by reports from psychic readers in a similar 19th century setting, the novel focuses on four main characters with different motivations for temporarily residing at Hill House. Unexplainable events occur in the presence of the house, suspected to be supernatural forces. Eleanor, the female protagonist of this novel, is most affected by the experience of more intense and almost fatal disturbances. She left her family to participate in the experiment in order to free herself from her domesticity by living in isolation with a few others, but the hostile environment of the house possesses her and she ends up isolating herself not only physically but mentally of the environment that surrounds it. The cause of her suicide remains undetermined as to whether she became emotionally unstable due to alienation or because she was influenced by the supernatural forces of Hill House. We Have Always Lived in the Castle was the last book published by Jackson herself in 1962, the novel focuses on the lives of the three remaining members of the Blackwood family and the continuing torment they face. Merricat particularly faces judgment and taunts from the villagers as she is the only form of contact with the outside world, even though the villagers believe that Constance poisoned the deceased members of the Blackwood family. The villagers clearly express their hostility and Merricat acknowledges this by wishing them death and torture. Merricat is very overprotective of Constance who suffers from agoraphobia and she is wary of others intruding into their lives. So, when she is provoked by their ex-cousin, she takes action and their house sets fire. The villagers help solve the problem but then continue their torment. Later, the villagers regret this and bring food as a peace offering. The two siblings choose to live alone and isolated from the rest of society. These novels both reflect on isolation as We Have Always Lived in the Castle is more physically and socially while The Haunting of Hill House is about psychological isolation and its different effects. it has characters. In Haunting of Hill House, the isolation negatively affects Eleanor and leads to her ultimate demise, while in We Have Always Lived in the Castle, the isolation is welcomed by Merricat. Early in the novel, Merricat talks openly about herself and what she loves, including, interestingly, a deadly mushroom. “I love my sister Constance, Richard Plantagenêt and Amanita phalloides, the death cup mushroom.” Merricat lists all the things she likes but particularly mentions a poisonous mushroom. Her affinity for the Deadly Cup Mushroom foreshadows that she truly poisoned the rest of the Blackwood family and that she loves the Deadly Cup Mushroom because it was the cause of her family's death. The Blackwood family are estranged from the surrounding villagers and considered socially excluded. Merricatdoes not like visiting the village because she is subjected to constant taunts and childish nursery rhymes from the village children who remind her of her family history: “Merricat,” said Connie, “do you want a cup of tea? Oh no, said Merricat, you're going to poison me. Merricat, said Connie, would you like to go to sleep? In the cemetery ten feet deep! » This children's rhyme is used to suggest that Constance, Merricat's older sister, was responsible for the poisoning that occurred several years ago at the Blackwood estate, killing the entire Blackwood family except for Constance, Merricat and their uncle. Julian who left a damaged memory. The villagers isolate Merricat from them by allowing her to be terrorized and taunted. Shirley Jackson also uses rhyme to foreshadow the real truth revealed since Merricat was actually responsible for the poisoning, not Constance who appears to be responsible from the villagers' point of view. Merricat's actions are quite childish when she visits the village: "I played a game when I was shopping" and "crossing the street (losing a turn)". This imagery suggests that she perceives the village as a game board. Just like if you made a bad move in a game and lost, a bad move in the village could work against her. This also suggests that the villagers are adversaries of her and that one wrong move could benefit them. Shirley Jackson uses Merricat's first-person perspective in this novel to show Merricat's internal monologue which seems childish and dark. This hints that Merricat is the real poisoner because internally she has very sinister thoughts and wants the villagers dead. “I wish they were dead” and “I walk over their bodies.” This is repeated several times as Merricat walks through the village. village, emphasizing his strong desire for this to be true. His sinister internal monologue foreshadows the revelation that Merricat was responsible for his family's deaths. This also highlights his desire to be completely isolated from society. She wants this torment to end but also seems to want revenge. The disturbing images emphasize her horrific, vengeful thoughts by suggesting she wants to walk over their corpses. In contrast, the characters in The Haunting of Hill House are more psychologically isolated. At the beginning and end of the novel, Jackson emphasizes that the characters had to rely on themselves mentally to not be vulnerable to the overwhelming nature of the house: "Everything that entered it walked alone." This suggests that the characters have isolated themselves psychologically and Jackson repeats this to show the circular nature of the outcome of entering the house. The choice of the word "whatever" implies that other things could enter the house, not just humans like supernatural beings. At various points in the novel, Jackson asks Eleanor to repeat the phrase: "Journeys end with lovers meeting." This phrase is taken from William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and foreshadows Eleanor's future, the "end of her journey" being death and the "lover" she meets is Hill House. Symbolism is an important technique used in both of these novels and repeated throughout them. Shirley Jackson uses houses as symbols of imprisonment in We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Haunting of Hill House to emphasize the characters' physical isolation from the environment. "Hill House, not of sound mind, is stood alone against its hills, keeping the darkness within. » The house is personified and is a symbol of isolation and disconnection from society. Just as it means for an individual to display.