“I would have to find something else to bury here and I wished it could be Charles.”
In Shirley Jackson's quote, the protagonist expresses a desire to bury something other than Charles. This sentiment reflects the darker side of human nature and the lengths to which individuals may go to escape from difficult situations. In today's world, this quote may be relevant in highlighting the complexity of human emotions and the choices people make when faced with challenging circumstances. It serves as a reminder of the undercurrent of darkness that exists within each person, urging us to reflect on the consequences of our actions and the true extent of our capabilities.
In this quote, Shirley Jackson presents a chilling moment in her story where the character expresses a desire for someone else to suffer in place of someone they dislike. This displays the darker side of human nature and highlights the character's feelings of anger and resentment.
“I would have to find something else to bury here and I wished it could be Charles.” - Shirley Jackson
This quote from Shirley Jackson's story evokes a sense of chilling darkness and emotion. Consider the following questions for personal reflection:
Take some time to contemplate these questions and see how they deepen your understanding of the text.
“I could live there all alone, she thought, slowing the car to look down the winding garden path to the small blue front door with, perfectly, a white cat on the step. No one would ever find me there, either, behind all those roses, and just to make sure I would plant oleanders by the road. I will light a fire in the cool evenings and toast apples at my own hearth. I will raise white cats and sew white curtains for the windows and sometimes come out of my door to go to the store to buy cinnamon and tea and thread. People will come to me to have their fortunes told, and I will brew love potions for sad maidens; I will have a robin...”
“I remember that I stood on the library steps holding my books and looking for a minute at the soft hinted green in the branches against the sky and wishing, as I always did, that I could walk home across the sky instead of through the village.”
“My name is Mary Katherine Blackwood. I am eighteen years old, and I live with my sister Constance. 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 our family is dead.”
“All I could think of when I got a look at the place from the outside was what fun it would be to stand out there and watch it burn down.”
“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.”
“We started out making men in about the state of mind which I suppose created them in the first place -- we had run out of kinds of women, and had to think of something else.”