G.R.’s comment > Likes and Comments

constance seems like such a meek and self sacrificing character, i too felt at times that she was afraid of her sister, she was afraid of the outside world so it certainly seems that she would be equally nervous about letting her sister get upset or out of hand, it's strange that she seems so driven by guilt in almost everything she does yet she wasn't the guilty party, i may try to see if i can't find some interviews of shirley jackson about this story

we also have to remember that the story was told my merricat and she is an unstable and unreliable narrator, so just as you said about her not acknowledging the relationship of her charles and her sister, she may also be seeing all things in her own distorted way, making constance more agreeable to her then she actually is, i think it would have taken the story to the next level to have just one chapter from constance's point of view at the end, although it's kind of enjoyable to ponder about it all

I know what you mean. I've been wondering since reading the book what Constance is so afraid of. Perhaps she feels sexually threatened? It is only women who come to visit her and she seems to feel safe with Charles because of his family connection. Maybe both she and Merricat are refusing to develop sexually and that is why they are both stuck in this youthful mindset?

I completely agree! It would be SO interesting to see a chapter from another character's mindset. Merricat is so manipulative that I feel like she manipulates the reader with her prose.

Hey guys, I thought i'd jump in! Haha. I thought Constance's guilt was down to the fact that she felt she should have sought help for Merrikat after the incident and raised her better. Because really as her guardian lets face it she didn't do a great job briging Merrikat up, haha.

I thought she was definitely afraid of Merrikat and the way she would react to anything she disagreed with. At the end I don't think Constance was happy with the situation, instead I thought she was terrified of change and how change might upset Merrikat. I also felt like Merrikat probably made Constance more scared to leave by telling her how horrible the villagers were.

In terms of there sexuality it would appear as you said Rose that they hadn't developed at all. I found that pretty disturbing.

Anyways i've ran on now!

*Merricat (what a douche)

Hi Mercedes :)

I agree - Constance did seem to feel guilty about the whole thing and perhaps her shut-up existence was a form of cathartic guilt.

When you mention the villagers outside, it made me remember that I was confused when reading as to the time period. Inside the mansion felt very Victorian, where as the scene at the beginning with the villagers felt very modern. Perhaps the characters in the mansion are separated further from the outside by this dated lifestyle.