Mary Katherine (Merricat), is 18 years old and lives with her only remaining relatives her sister Constance and Uncle Julian. The novel is from the first person perspective of Merricat. Their entire family was murdered when someone put arsenic in the sugar bowl. Merricat was sent to bed without dinner, Constance has never taken sugar, and Uncle Julian only used a little bit so he lived but has ailing health. Uncle Julian is obsessed with what happened six years ago so he spends his time writing down every detail from that day. Constance is the caretaker she watches after Uncle Julian and Merricat, feeding the three of them, and Mary Katherine's cat Jonas, as well as neatening the house with some help from Merricat. Merricat has a very strict schedule and hates change. Constance sends her to the village on occasion to get library books and food they need. Uncle Julian and Constance never go to the village. The villagers are unkind to Mary Katherine as she goes through town. The children have come up with a rhyme to taunt her about the fact they all think her sister is a murderer. Merricat has weird tendencies such as burying objects in their yard, nailing items to the trees, and coming up with safe words, as long as they are not uttered within the week the family is safe, Merricat feels a change coming and does not like it. When one of her forms of protection of the house falls she knows something "bad" is going to happen. The family's cousin Charles shows up he is greedy and tries to change the family's routine going so far as to give Constance hope that they could return to society, Merricat hates this and wishes Charles was dead. One night, she is so angry with Charles she uses his cigar to light the house on fire. The villagers come to help put out the fire. Once the fire is put out the villagers start to destroy the house. It is revealed that Uncle Julian died which is the only thing that gets the villagers to leave. Just to be safe Mary Katherine and Constance sleep in one of Merricat's hiding spots for the night. It is revealed that Mary Katherine killed the family six years ago. Constance and Merricat move back into the half burned down mansion and live there. Villagers bring them food to apologize for their involvement in the ruining of the mansion, and to appease to the folklore that has started around the house, the sisters, and the Blackwood family.
Themes
The truth is relative - the truth isn't as important as what each character's version of the truth will allow them to do. (plot Motivator)
Guilt and the forms of justice (violence) it can lead to.
Female empowerment
Isolation - An objection to patriarchal and societal standards.
Favorite Quote
“I have often thought that with any luck at all, I could have been born a werewolf, because the two middle fingers on both my hands are the same length, but I have had to be content with what I had. I dislike washing myself, and dogs, and noise. I like my sister Constance, and Richard Plantagenet, and Amanita phalloides, the death-cup mushroom. Everyone else in my family is dead" (1).
This quote is in the first paragraph of the novel. It is my favorite because it tells us everything we need to know about Mary Katherine's character. She could be said to be loyal and love her family, because she clearly loves Constance but it could also be said that she has no loyalty to family as she has no feelings toward the rest of her family being dead. Just before mentioning the death of her family she states that she likes a poisonous mushroom which should automatically instill suspicion in the reader. Richard Plantagenet was a member of the English Dynasty but died before he ever was able to take the throne. This line goes to show just how peculiar Mary Katherine's tastes are. She also mentions that she does not like washing herself which could have multiple meanings, but she is eighteen and this helps to establish the young minded standpoint which her point of view is written.
Argument Overview
Mary Katherine is an unreliable narrator as she is plagued with multiple mental and psychological disorders that interfere with the reader's ability to correctly interpret the events and emotions displayed within the novel.