This Resource on Basic Notes in the play ‘Twelfth Night’ by William Shakespeare is for Year 12 Students studying in the Victorian VCE Curriculum.

Background

Twelfth Night is the only one of Shakespeare’s plays published at the time with an alternate title, What You Will. Widely regarded as one of his greatest comedies. The first known reference to the play in performance dates back to 1602 when the lawyer and diarist John Manningham noted that he had witnessed a performance of the play.

Twelfth Night corresponds with the Feast of the Epiphany, when the three wise men of the East visited the newly born Jesus. It falls, naturally enough, on the twelfth day after Christmas. In the Elizabethan world, it was celebrated as a holiday that was characterised by revelry and high jinks as it signalled the end of the Christmas season.

Shakespeare appears to have based his work on the 1537 Italian play called Gl’ingannati (The Deceived) which contains a plot involving the twins and other recognisable elements of the play such as the girl disguising herself as a page.

Transvestite Comedy

Twelfth Night, is often referred to as one of his transvestite comedies since his female protagonist, Viola, disguises herself as a young man. As was the custom and the law at the time, all of the female roles were played by men on the Elizabethan stage since women were not allowed to act. To this end then, a man pretending to be a woman, pretending to be a man, would have played Viola.

Genre

Twelfth Night is a comedy. Specifically, it falls into the category of Shakespearean romantic comedies, which typically involve:

• Light-heartedness: Although the characters are sometimes melancholic, the overall tone of the play and their interactions with others is comedic. The playful banter and witty dialogue add to the humorous situations in which the characters find themselves.
• Sophisticated plotting: The mistaken identities and romantic entanglements require a high degree of skilful plotting so that the audience can easily follow the storyline.
• Joyful conclusions: Despite the misfortunes that they encounter, by the end of the play, resolutions to the plot ensure that the characters end up with happy marriages, or with order being restored.
• Love: Various aspects of love are explored in the text. These include romantic love and unrequited love.
• Satire: Social norms and conventions, as well as individual characters are knowingly mocked or critiqued in the play.

Setting

The fictional kingdom of Illyria is the setting for the play. Although a real place called Illyria existed in Roman times (which is now found on the coast of modern-day Albania and Montenegro), its purpose in the text is to provide a fantasy kingdom for the Elizabethans. The coastal location provides the backdrop for the opening scenes when Viola and Sebastian are shipwrecked on the shores. It is home to people from a diverse range of classes though the actions mostly take place in the household of the wealthy Duke Orsino, and in Olivia’s palace. Illyria is depicted as a place where festivities, revelry, and entertainment are common, as seen in the various celebrations and the presence of Feste the clown who entertains the characters.

Message and Moral of Twelfth Night

Written as entertainment for the Christmas season, this play celebrates the fun and foolishness of people in love. The main message and moral of the play revolve around the themes of love, identity, and the folly of ambition. The play suggests that love can lead to both joy and heartache, identity is fluid and can be mistaken, and excessive ambition or self-deception can lead to one’s downfall. Ultimately, it promotes self-awareness and the acceptance of life’s complexities.

Complex Gender Roles and Identity

More than 500 years after it was first written and performed, Twelfth Night still has much to say about representations of female strength and gender construction. The complex plotlines and characters wilfully subvert contemporary notions of gender roles and identity. In Twelfth Night, Shakespeare presents a complex exploration of gender and female strength. Viola’s cross-dressing and Olivia’s assertiveness challenge conventional gender roles, while Maria, although a secondary character, contributes to the play’s subversion of norms through her pragmatic involvement in the comedic and critical elements of the narrative. Through these characters, Shakespeare not only questions the rigid boundaries of gender identity but also celebrates the strength and resilience of women within a restrictive society.

In a feminist reading of the text, the play explores gender as a fluid and constructed concept rather than a fixed binary. This is most apparent in the character of Viola who disguises herself as Cesario. This transformation challenges gender roles. In particular, through Viola/ Cesario, we can see the ways in which identity is both performed and perceived depending on the situation. Viola successfully adopts a male disguise and is able to gain political influence. This suggests that gender identity is not necessarily tied to one’s biological sex.

STRUCTURE & PLOT OF PLAY
ACT 1	Scene 1 = In Duke Orsino’s palace, Orsino expresses his deep infatuation with Lady Olivia, who is mourning her brother’s death and has sworn off men for seven years. Orsino indulges in melancholy music, hoping it will cure his lovesickness. Scene 2 = On the seacoast of Illyria, Viola, who has been shipwrecked and separated from her twin brother Sebastian, believes he has drowned. Alone in a strange land she decides to disguise herself as a young man named Cesario and to seek employment with Duke Orsino. Scene 3 = At Olivia’s house, her uncle Sir Toby Belch and her maid Maria discuss Olivia’s prolonged mourning. Sir Toby introduces his foolish friend, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, who is trying to court Olivia. Maria warns Sir Toby about Sir Andrew’s foolishness and wastefulness. Despite this, Sir Toby encourages Sir Andrew to pursue Olivia, hoping to continue benefiting from Sir Andrew’s wealth. Scene 4 = Viola, disguised as Cesario, has quickly become a favourite of Duke Orsino. Orsino sends Cesario to woo Olivia on his behalf, unaware of Viola’s own blossoming love for him. Viola reluctantly agrees to deliver Orsino’s message of love to Olivia. Scene 5 = At Olivia’s house, Feste, the clown, makes light of Olivia’s mourning, and Malvolio scolds him. Viola (as Cesario) arrives to deliver Orsino’s message and Olivia becomes infatuated with Cesario instead of Orsino. She sends Malvolio after Cesario with a ring as a token of her affection.
ACT 2	Scene 1 = On the seacoast, it is revealed that Sebastian, Viola’s twin brother, is alive. Antonio, a sea captain, who becomes devoted to him, rescued him. Sebastian plans to go to Orsino’s court, and Antonio decides to follow him despite having enemies there. Scene 2 = Malvolio catches up with Cesario to return the ring that was left behind. Viola realises Olivia has fallen in love with Cesario, creating a messy love triangle between them. Scene 3 = Late at night in Olivia’s house, Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Feste are drinking and partying. Maria joins them briefly and warns them to be quiet. Malvolio arrives to scold them, but Sir Toby mocks him. Maria devises a plan to humiliate Malvolio by forging a letter that will make him think Olivia is in love with him. Scene 4 = In the Duke’s palace, Orsino and Cesario discuss love and women. Orsino insists women cannot love as deeply as men, and Cesario (Viola) hints at her own unspoken love for Orsino through a story about a sister. Scene 5 = In Olivia’s garden, Malvolio finds the fake letter supposedly from Olivia, which makes him believe Olivia loves him. The letter instructs him to behave oddly (smile constantly, wear yellow stockings, and be cross-gartered) to show his love for her. Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Fabian watch with delight as Malvolio falls for the trick.
ACT 3	Scene 1 = Cesario visits Olivia again. Olivia declares her love for Cesario, and Viola tries to let her down gently while maintaining her disguise. Olivia’s directness catches Viola off guard, and she struggles to navigate the situation without revealing her true identity. Scene 2 = Sir Andrew, feeling discouraged by Olivia’s affection for Cesario, decides to leave. Sir Toby and Fabian persuade him to stay and challenge Cesario to a duel to prove his bravery and win Olivia’s favour. They convince him to write a letter of challenge, which they plan to deliver to Cesario. Scene 3 = Antonio and Sebastian arrive in Illyria. Antonio gives Sebastian his purse for safekeeping, revealing his loyalty and affection. They agree to meet later at an inn. Antonio’s concern for Sebastian’s safety underscores his deep feelings for him. Scene 4 = In Olivia’s house, Malvolio, dressed and behaving absurdly, appears before Olivia. She thinks he is mad and asks Sir Toby to look after him. Meanwhile, Sir Toby, Fabian, and Maria enjoy their trick on Malvolio. Cesario arrives, and Sir Andrew attempts to duel him, but Antonio intervenes, mistaking Cesario for Sebastian. Antonio is arrested by officers and asks Cesario for his purse, which confuses Viola.
ACT 4	Scene 1 = Outside Olivia’s house, Sebastian is mistaken for Cesario by Sir Andrew and Sir Toby, leading to a scuffle. Olivia intervenes, inviting the bewildered Sebastian into her house, thinking he is Cesario. Sebastian, though confused, goes along with her. Scene 2 = Feste, disguised as a priest named Sir Topas, visits Malvolio in his dark cell and torments him by pretending to exorcise his madness. Malvolio begs for help, realising he has been tricked, but Feste continues to mock him. Scene 3 = Olivia finds Sebastian and, thinking he is Cesario, proposes marriage. Bewildered but agreeable, Sebastian accepts, and they go off to be married secretly. Sebastian is astonished by the sudden turn of events but is charmed by Olivia’s beauty and wealth.
ACT 5	Scene 1 = In front of Olivia’s house, the Duke arrives with Cesario (Viola), and a series of revelations occurs. Antonio accuses Cesario of betrayal, but Sebastian appears, and the twins are reunited. Viola reveals her true identity. Olivia learns she married Sebastian, not Cesario. The Duke realises his love for Viola and proposes. Malvolio is released and vows revenge on everyone who wronged him. The play ends with plans for multiple marriages and a festive conclusion, despite Malvolio’s unresolved bitterness.

THEMES
love and desire	love as pain	love as complex
gender& uncertainty & fluidity	sexual identity	melancholy
madness	fools & foolishness & clowning	rules and order
role of music	folly of ambition	appearance & reality
deception	loss	disguise
joy & sorrow of festivities	social class & mobility	language & communication

CHARACTERS
Viola (Cesario)	Protagonist & comic heroine. Twin sister to Sebastian. Aristocratic woman tossed up in a shipwreck on the coast of Illyria at start of play. Needing a refuge, she disguises herself as the pageboy Cesario at Count Orsino’s court. She falls in love with Orsino who sends her to woo Olivia for him but Olivia falls in love with Cesario. Patient and fair she admits her disguise when Sebastian returns and she can marry Orsino.
Olivia (wealthy Countess)	Beautiful and intelligent, Olivia is a noblewoman of Illyria. Mourning the loss of her brother she rejects the unwanted advances of both Orsino and Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Yet impulsive declares her love for Cesario. Then transfers her affections to Sebastian readily, when the truth of the twins’ identities is revealed.
Orsino (Duke of Illyria)	As duke and ruler of Illyria, Orsino’s aristocratic nature makes him – like Olivia – somewhat susceptible to being indulged. His pining for Olivia and his melancholic and brooding nature suggests that he is more in love with the idea of love than in genuinely loving Olivia and he appears to enjoy the role of the brooding, spurned lover. Declares his love for Viola shifting affections from Olivia suddenly at the end of the play.
Sebastian (Viola’s twin brother)	In looks and in personality, Sebastian is like his sister Viola. He is the only character in the play who does not act to deceive others. He is mistaken for his sister (Cesario) which culminates in Olivia’s marriage proposal. Sebastian’s immediate acquiescence in this continues the play’s exploration of mistaken identity and is part of the narrative device of a series of rapid marriages, which ends the play.
Malvolio (Olivia’s most senior servant)	Malvolio (which means ‘ill will’ in Italian) is a trusted member of Olivia’s household. Ambitious and self-righteous, he alienates the other members of the household. His desire to rise above his station and to be ‘Count Malvolio’ reveals his arrogance and sense of self-importance, thinking that he will be a suitable match for Olivia. It is this specific desire that is exploited by the other characters who will use this knowledge against him.
Sir Toby Belch and Sir Andrew Aguecheek (a comic pair)	Sir Toby, Olivia’s uncle, and his best friend, the wealthy Sir Andrew, are in many ways opposites. Vulgar and crass, Toby lives up to his surname. A drunkard and a lover of puns and frivolity, he does bring disorder and chaos to the household, in keeping with the spirit of the Twelfth Night celebrations.
Maria (lady in waiting to Olivia)	Maria is clever and feisty, is attentive to Olivia and loyal. Her infatuation with Sir Toby, whom she will eventually marry, sometimes brings into conflict her desire to see order and decorum in the house, and her love for Toby. She enjoys bringing Malvolio asunder with her ‘gulling’ of him.
Feste (court jester Olivia’s ‘allowed fool’)	Feste is in the unusual position of moving between Orsino and Olivia’s houses. Despite his joke-making and humour, he often offers good advice and makes astute observations. As a commentator on the other characters, he uses his privilege as the ‘allowed fool’ to peep behind and convey serious wisdom with the mask of folly.
Antonio (sea captain)	He rescues Sebastian from drowning proves himself a loyal and devoted friend. He willingly enters enemy territory to remain with Sebastian and his generosity subsidises Sebastian during the time following the rescue. He is prepared to step in to support his friend in the duel. His fondness for Sebastian has romantic allusions.
Curio & Valentine (Gentlemen attending Orsino)	Curio tells us what Orsino will do and there someone is. Valentine served as Orsino’s messenger to Olivia before Viola arrived, he informs the duke of Olivia’s resolve to spend 7 years in seclusion and mourning of her brother.
Fabian (servant to Olivia)	Fabian is a device to advance the story than a character in his own right. He shares Sir Toby’s devotion to revelry, but serves to explain to Olivia, better than those more fully entangled could, the plot for the mocking of Malvolio.

All Resources created by englishtutorlessons.com.au Online Tutoring using Zoom for Mainstream English Students in the Victorian VCE Curriculum 2025

This Resource on Key Themes and Quotes in the film ‘Sunset Boulevard’ by Billy Wilder is for Year 12 Students studying in the Victorian VCE Curriculum.

The Superficial Celebrity Image & Hollywood

Above all else, Sunset Boulevard a cautionary warning about the artifice [pretence] of Hollywood. Wilder reviews contemporary Hollywood unravelling the nightmares behind the curtains of the dream machine, particularly the vanity that the star system perpetuates. Sunset Boulevard makes the case that the star system has something cruel and inhuman at its centre that exploits youth and beauty treating stars as commodities.

Artie’s NYE party = “Hollywood for us ain’t been so good. Got no swimming pool. Very few clothes. All we earn are buttons and bows”.

DeMille = “You know, some crazy things happen in this business, Norma”.

Norma Desmond = “I am big. It’s the pictures that got small”.

Joe Gillis = “Audiences don’t know somebody sits down and writes a picture; they think the actors make it up as they go along”.

Betty Schaefer = “I had ten years of dramatic lessons, diction, dancing. Then, the studio made a test. Well, they didn’t like my nose – slanted, this way a little. So, I went to a doctor and had it fixed. They made more tests and they were crazy about my nose. Only, they didn’t like my acting”.

Max = “She was the greatest. You wouldn’t know. You are too young. In one week she got seventeen thousand fan letters”.

Control / Manipulation & Deceit

The film highlights that all characters adopt manipulative schemes in order to deceive others for their own personal success. Wilder illustrates that not only do characters manipulate and deceive but it is endemic [rife] to the entire film industry in Hollywood. Hollywood itself manipulates and deceives an array of talented and not so talented people who want to be part of the movie industry as the quintessential [typical] dream factor. The reality is that not all dreams come true as Hollywood is full of narcissistic personalities, inflated expectations, and aggressive rivalries. Everyone is competitive and about the relentless pursuit of fame and money that challenges personal integrity.

Gillis = “Wait a minute, haven’t I seen you before? I know your face”.

Gillis = “I sure turned into an interesting driveway”.

Gillis = “I started concocting a little plot of my own”.

Gillis = “You’re Norma Desmond. You used to be in silent pictures. You used to be big”

Desmond “I am big. It’s the pictures that got small”

Gillis = “There’s nothing tragic about being fifty—not unless you try to be twenty-five”.

Gillis = “Look sweetie be practical. I’ve got a good deal here. A long-term contract with no options”.

Norma Desmond = “All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up”.

Schaefer = ‘Look at this street – all cardboard, all hollow, all phoney, all done with mirrors’.

Stardom Fame and Vanity

Sunset Boulevard also offers a heavy critique of contemporary Hollywood, unravelling the nightmares behind the curtains of the dream machine, particularly the vanity that the star system perpetuates. Norma Desmond is a silent film star whose glory days are behind her; she is played by Gloria Swanson, a famous silent-era actor herself. Norma has a toxic characterization of Hollywood and its obsession of image has rubbed off on her. The film predominantly shows Norma in front of mirrors, snapshots of her old photographs, and her “celluloid self”. These details put an emphasis on Desmond’s refusal to accept her fading stardom, and by extension, the dangerous appeal of intoxicating fame.

Gillis = “You’re Norma Desmond. You used to be in silent pictures. You used to be big”.

Desmond = “There once was a time in this business when I had the eyes of the whole world!”

Desmond = “The stars are ageless, aren’t they?”

Desmond = “Great stars have great pride!”

Gillis= “Audiences don’t know somebody sits down and writes a picture; they think the actors make it up as they go along”.

Love & Relationships

For a story so bleak, Sunset Boulevard is not completely devoid of sentiment, and love informs the relationships between several characters. However, those who love and profess to feel it are mercilessly scrutinised. Love can be destructive and ego-driven like Norma’s love for Joe and this is juxtaposed with genuinely unselfish love of Betty for Joe. Love can also be bound up with betrayal and good people can deliberately hurt those to whom they are closest.

Norma Desmond = “I’m in love with you. Don’t you know that? I’ve been in love with you all along”.

Joe Gillis = “You want a Valentino, somebody with polo ponies, a big shot!”

Norma Desmond = “What you’re trying to say is that you don’t want me to love you. Say it. Say it!” [then she slaps Joe hard across the face].

Artie = “Hey Joe, I said you could have my couch. I didn’t say you could have my girl”.

Max = “I discovered her when she was sixteen”. He refuses to “let her be destroyed”.

Schaefer = “Of course I love him. I always Will. I’m just not in love with him any more”.

Death

Death, both literally and figuratively, casts a looming presence in nearly every scene of the film. Sunset Boulevard begins with Joe’s corpse in the pool, immediately introducing audiences to the film’s bleak, cynical tone. Norma’s dead monkey signifies the emptiness of her existence and the opening for a new companion in her life—a role soon fulfilled by Joe. At the same time, Norma’s career is figuratively dead; she is no longer wanted in Hollywood due to her age and her associated with outmoded silent films. A sense of death also permeates her rotting, decaying mansion—it is a type of house “crazy movie people built in the crazy 20s,” thereby belonging to the forgotten era of Hollywood silent film. Death is narratively and symbolically integral to Sunset Boulevard, which renders a film noir, unflinching portrait of Hollywood. Norma like other actors who have been left stranded by changes in Hollywood as the silent era transitions to a ‘talkie’ industry are literally the living dead.

Man’s voice = “You see, the body of a young man was found floating in the pool of her mansion, with two shots in his back and one in his stomach”.

Gillis = “They beached me, like a harpooned baby whale”.

Gillis = “This is where you came in. Back at that pool again, the one I always wanted”.

Gillis = “As if she were laying to rest an only child. Was her life really as empty as that?”

Gillis = The only company Norma tolerates at the palazzo are the living dead “the waxworks” who are “dim figures you may still remember from the silent days”.

Reality & Self-delusion

The film blurs the distinctions between fantasy and reality. The film industry relies on its ability to create illusions, and Norma—herself a product of this toxic system—can no longer detach her real self from her former onscreen persona. Her grandiose gestures and dramatic expressions evoke the physicality of a silent film actress, but, more importantly, she, with Max’s help, has fooled herself into believing she is still a massively adored star. By the time Joe finally gets up the courage and reveals the truth of her obsolesce, Norma’s delusions have become so entrenched that she refuses to believe the truth and murders him in revenge.

Gillis = “You don’t yell at a sleepwalker. She was sleepwalking along the giddy heights of a lost career”.

Desmond = “I am a star … the greatest star of them all”.

Desmond = “No one leaves a star. That’s what makes one a star.”

Gillis = “… still waving proudly to a parade which had long since passed her by”.

Discontent with Hollywood

Discontent underlies both Norma and Joe’s demeanours in the film. Norma is unsatisfied because of the neglectful film industry and public who have forgotten her and left her to rot in her dilapidated mansion with her ex-husband—another dim figure from the silent era. Joe is a fundamentally dissatisfied person, something that is evident in the first sequences in the film where he expresses frustration in his career and crippling financial status. Joe’s fate underscores the dubious line between fame and notoriety. Like so many others, he came to Hollywood to make a success of his writing career. He initially dreamed of fame and success when arriving in Hollywood. After a lacklustre screenwriting career, Joe is discontent, jaded, and ambivalent, which explains why he endures his relationship with Norma—a clearly manipulative and unstable person—for so long. With Norma, Joe no longer has to put forth any legitimate effort in his life: by succumbing to her opulence and narcissism, he gets a home and lavish belongings, which is preferable to getting into car chases and asking for personal loans from studio executives out of sheer desperation. The pervasiveness of discontent in the film illuminates the predatory, vicious nature of Hollywood; the industry constantly rejects aspiring filmmakers and destroys their ambitions, resulting in a multitude of tormented, troubled souls.

Prologue = “He always wanted a pool”.

Gillis = “Audiences don’t know somebody sits down and writes a picture; they think the actors make it up as they go along”.

Desmond = “I hate that word. It’s a return, a return to the millions of people who have never forgiven me for deserting the screen”.

Desmond = “There once was a time in this business when I had the eyes of the whole world!”.

Desmond = “They took the idols and smashed them, the Fairbanks’s, the Gilberts, the Valentinos!”.

Gender Roles

At face value, Hollywood is an atypical milieu [environment], unique due to its glamour and creativity. At the same time, it is also a microcosm [miniature] that mirrors the conservative values of the wider community. In particular, the roles assumed by the men in the text signal the dominant patriarchal ethos of postwar American society. It is men who hold positions of authority and influence – producers, directors, screenwriters, and agents are male. Film actresses – even the most successful – are strictly contracted to the studio system that is controlled and headed by men. The gender divide in Hollywood is not only evident in its power structures but shows in the types of work that men and women do that reflect a traditional gender bias that underlines the established dichotomy between an active masculine role and a more passive feminine role.

Significantly, the film both subverts and adheres to classic gender norms in American society along with the film noir traditions. Joe, as leading man, in his relationship with Norma he does not embody normative masculinity, which is often synonymous with strength, domination and aggression. Here, he becomes submissive and subservient to Norma and her many wishes and desires and is threatened by her. She also holds command over Max, her former husband and turned into a butler. It is when Joe tries to reclaim his masculinity and integrity by leaving Norma, he is shot dead by the femme fatale in revenge.

Schaefer = “It’s not your career — it’s mine. I kind of hoped to get in on this deal. I don’t want to be a reader all my life. I want to write”.

Gillis = Calls Betty “One of those message kids”.

Schaefer = “Now I’m a Reader”.

Ageing for women in Hollywood & Youth & Beauty

The film also addresses the issue of gender and ageing for women in Hollywood. It is youth and beauty that have currency. This has a negative implication for women in particular, whose credibility in leading parts is seen to be limited by age. In 1950’s Hollywood there was a clear double standard, skewed firmly in favour of men. Male stars were still playing romantic leads well into their 60’s but actresses of 40+ struggled to secure roles. This issue impacts Norma as she has not been able to transition from the silent screen to talkies and the harsh reality is that by Hollywood standards, she has passed her use-by date at the age of 50. This is shown in Norma’s obsession with her image and the need to undergo many procedures of beauty treatments to conform to Hollywood’s patriarchal expectations of her as a celebrity actress, especially if she is to make her return to the screen in the ‘Salome’ film.

Similarly, Betty Schaefer was turned down in a role she auditioned for due to her unattractive nose. When she had it changed, people could not stop talking about her nose instead of paying attention to her acting skills. Betty decides after being rejected, to become a screen writer, signalling her escape from the superficiality of traditional feminine notions that are subjected upon women by a toxic Hollywood, one that fetishises [obsesses over] physical beauty and youth.

Gillis = “Norma, you’re a woman of 50, now grow up. There’s nothing tragic about being 50, not unless you try to be 25”.

Gillis = After that, an army of beauty experts invaded her house on Sunset Boulevard. She went through a merciless series of treatments, massages … She was determined to be ready – ready for those cameras that would never turn”.

Schaefer = “Well, they didn’t like my nose – slanted, this way a little. So, I went to a doctor and had it fixed”.

All Resources created by englishtutorlessons.com.au Online Tutoring using Zoom for Mainstream English Students in the Victorian VCE Curriculum 2025

This Resource on Key Themes in We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson is for Year 12 Students studying in the Victorian VCE Curriculum.

Family / Domesticity / Power

Jackson’s work reflects concerns about family units and the role of individuals within families, resonating with her own experiences as a daughter, wife, and mother. The Blackwood house foregrounds this focus on domesticity and family, yet Merricat, Constance and Julian undermine the conventional patriarchal structure of a nuclear family. Since Julian is in a wheelchair, he is unable to serve as the conventional patriarch and command the household, instead that responsibility is shouldered by Constance. Merricat is the ‘child’ of the family despite being 18, and is infantilised by Constance.

• Merricat’s attitude towards family might seem to be chaotic and illogical, Jackson’s portrayal of the gendered nature of family life and the tendency for the traditional nuclear family to oppress women gives insight into Merricat’s extreme actions and desires.
• Male power is especially present in money, as men have traditionally been breadwinners and have used this position to control women. Blackwood men in particular base their identity and success largely on their ability to make money. By entirely disregarding the value of money, Merricat and Constance simply deny the power of men.
• Cousin Charles introduction challenges the established family dynamics and female power of the household. He automatically assumes a position of power, disciplining Merricat and taking control of their father’s room, clothes and patriarchal role.
• Female power in the family and the actions of the female characters reveal a desire for revolt against the patriarchy. Due to family tragedy and social isolation, Merricat and Constance have power over their day-to-day lives that is unusual for young women in the 1960s, and the book is concerned with the sisters’ struggle to defend that power from men who would usurp it.
• Female power and food is where Merricat and Constance rely on feminine power as vested in the traditional female connection to food preparation. In fact, their lives revolve almost entirely around food, and by the end of the book, they spend practically all of their time in the kitchen, with Constance preparing food and Merricat eating it.

Witchcraft / Female Power

Witchcraft historically has been used to undermine female power through demonising unconventional and non-conforming women. There are key historical connections to the Salem Witch Hunt in the 1600’s. While Merricat distances herself from all forms of traditional womanhood, Constance on the other hand depends on it, yet they both have the same fate and are branded as ‘witches’. It is the villagers’ reactions to Constance and Merricat and their capacity for evil that shape our perspective of the girls as witches and victims of a hysterical witch hunt.

• Merricat creates her own brand of witchcraft as she buries protective objects all over the property and decides on words that she believes are powerful. Her cat, Jonas, even acts like her family member, an animal believed to aid witches in their work.
• The demonisation of women is most obvious in the mob’s behaviour towards the sisters. The destruction of the house through fire and the villagers’ throwing of objects mimics the execution of witches by burning or stoning. Except in this instance, Merricat and Constance not only survive the symbolic execution, but find themselves happier than ever after it, as it leaves them entirely out of reach of the male-centric world, with only each other for company.

Paranoia / Fear

Paranoia and fear are a prominent part of the novel, and intersect with wealth, witchcraft, and social exclusion. The Blackwoods are notably paranoid family, guarded about their wealth and the Blackwood men in particular base their identity and success largely on their ability to make money. The Blackwood sisters inherit a similar paranoia, although theirs is directed towards fear of change and an intrusion from outside of their home.

• Jackson uses Charles Blackwood, the sisters’ cousin, to represent the worst of masculinity. He is obsessed with money and he comes to the house with the goal of wringing money out of the sisters under the guise of helping them. He becomes the central danger to the relationship between Merricat and her sister.
• When Charles appears, Merricat detests him with her fear he will disrupt the balance of power in the household by assuming the patriarchal role. It is his striving to lure Constance into a relationship would not only pull her away from Merricat, but would also pull her out of the female-centric world that Merricat has created in their house. Moreover, Merricat’s paranoia of male authority is closely linked with her psychology as her rituals become connected to obsessive compulsive behaviour and reflect an unstable mind.
• Constance’s agoraphobia severely limits her socially and does not allow her to conform to expectations of marriage and society. Since the poisoning of the family and the court case against her, Constance remains the nurturing head of the family and like Merricat at the end of the novel Constance has reached a level of insanity, where her utopia is created from her fears to a state of self-imposed entrapment inside her ‘castle’.
• The anger of the mob against the sisters reveals the nature of paranoia to overthrow people who have not achieved respectability, especially when connoting the witchcraft imagery circulating Merricat and Constance. The villagers exhibit fear and anger towards the sisters, hoping the house will be burnt down and then stone the house smashing everything.

Trauma / Psychology

Merricat is an isolated, estranged hypersensitive young female protagonist, socially maladroit [awkward], highly self-conscious, and disdainful of others. At times she appears more childlike than her 18 years and behaves as if mildly retarded, but only outwardly, inwardly, she is razor sharp in her observations and hyperalert to threats to her wellbeing. Like any mentally damaged person she most fears change in unvarying rituals of her household.

• The trauma and troubled mind associated with Merricat is unclear, Jackson leaves it ambiguous as to what was the motive for her murdering the family. If it was because Merricat was often neglected by her family and sent to bed without dinner, her desire for violence and destruction is about revenge. It could also come down to her psychopathic tendencies and her desire to reject masculine power and the traditional nuclear family.
• Perhaps the trauma was caused to Merricat and Constance they were sexually abused by their father. But the absolute strangeness of Jackson’s novel, and Merricat Blackwood, is rendered glaringly familiar. At the root of it all is an abusive father: Merricat killed the abuser and the rest of the family who allowed the abuse to continue and then she saved her sister and herself.
• Merricat is definitely uncomfortable around men. She is alarmed when Jim Donell approaches her, she detests Charles, perhaps scared that he would inflict the same kind of harm towards her as her father had. Her constant fantasy of living on the ‘moon’ represents an extreme form of escapism in a life free from patriarchal control.
• In the end Constance and Merricat in their solitude appear to resort to insanity they become completely absorbed by one another’s psychological strangeness and never move beyond their paranoid-schizoid thoughts and behaviours, thinking they are happy in their own world.

Truth / Guilt / Punishment

The subjectivity of truth, and the fine line between reality and imagination, is a constant and unanswered question in the novel. Because the story revolves around a mysterious past event, much of the narrative prompts the reader to try to figure out exactly what happened on the fatal night of the poisoning. Throughout the novel, there is a sense that this truth lies just out of sight. For some characters (like the villagers and Uncle Julian), truth is the same as conjecture, and for the two characters that do know the truth (Merricat and Constance), their individual truths never quite line up.

• Merricat’s narration is never reliable. The fact that the murderer narrates the story means that the reader can’t take what she says at face value; instead, one must constantly work to infer what Merricat is leaving out in order to figure out the true story. Furthermore, the reader quickly realises that Merricat isn’t entirely sane, meaning, for example, that she might laugh at something that is actually evidence of her own murderous tendencies.
• What is the truth to the murders? Just like the reader, the characters who don’t know the truth (everyone besides Merricat and Constance) are always working to find the truth or to fight for their version of it. The villagers refuse to believe the outcome of the trial, which found Constance innocent of the murder. Though they might not have the opportunity to accuse Constance to her face, their repetition of a rhyme about Constance poisoning Merricat shows that Constance’s guilt has attained almost mythic proportions among them, regardless of the fact that she’s innocent. Merricat and Constance seem to be the only characters who don’t obsess about the past, in part because they know exactly what happened.
• Uncle Julian is unreliable as a narrator. His love of recounting the night of his own poisoning provides important exposition about the murders. However, the fact that Uncle Julian’s storytelling is the most concrete account of that critical event adds to the impossibility of ever knowing what is true. Uncle Julian is even less reliable than Merricat, as the poison affected his memory.
• Guilt and punishment. This novel revolves around an unsolved crime: the murder of Merricat and Constane’s family six years earlier. While Constance was initially blamed for the poisoning, she was acquitted at her trial, which left the public with no clear answer about who was actually to blame. Meanwhile, Merricat, the real murderer, is never publicly suspected, though, privately, Constance knows Merricat was responsible. The extent to which Constance was complicit in the murder is never fully clear, and, as a result, issues of unresolved guilt and punishment permeate the story, leading to discord among the characters.

Wealth and Class

Wealth and class act as dividers in the novel, exacerbating the isolation and exclusion of the Blackwoods. The house itself symbolises this, being grand, Gothic, and reminiscent of a castle. A key symbol, the house forms the primary setting of the novel, positioned on large grounds, although unkempt, and shut off from the rest of the village. It opposes the houses of the villagers and Mrs Blackwoods drawing room symbolises her obsession with materialism and aestheticism, especially as she did not like to look at ‘commoners’ and instructed the path from the house to be closed off to the villagers.

• Mr Blackwood is obsessed with his own wealth, tracking money people owed him and kept his safe in his study. He controlled his power through money and did not spend money on unessential things and was notoriously miserly with his brother Julian and his sister-in-law Dorothy.
• On the other hand, Merricat and Constance are indifferent to the value of money, only using it to buy necessities from the village. Merricat buries valuable things in the ground, including silver dollars and nails her father’s gold watch chain to a tree. When Charles arrives, and assumes the role of Mr Blackwood, he becomes obsessed about the safe and the value of money, becoming enraged when he finds out how Merricat treats expensive treasures.
• At the end, the house is ruined, all the symbols of power and wealth have been lost. Constance and Merricat are confined to the house and have no need for money at all, receiving food from the villagers and dressing themselves in Julian’s clothes and tablecloths. The house which used to represent class and wealth has been burnt and destroyed and Merricat and Constance break away from the patriarchy along with rejecting class and social status as they relinquish connection with the outside world. Paradoxically, they are free from the suffocating divides of the real world but are prisoners of their own paranoid minds.

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This Resource is for students in Year 12 studying ‘Sunset Boulevard’ Film Directed by Billy Wilder in AOS1: Unit 3, Reading & Responding to Texts, Analytical Text Response, in the Victorian VCE 2025-2026 Mainstream English Curriculum

The Year 12 Study Guide for Analytical Texts – Context in Which a Text is Created and Read

Consider the ways in which meaning is affected by the contexts in which a text is created and read. The readers historical context shapes their response to and interpretation of a text. An Analytical text response therefore must demonstrate a close knowledge of the ‘world of the text’ that is the world literally outside the text. The ‘world of the text’ puts emphasis on historical, religious, racial, gender, social values, cultural values, attitudes, and behaviours of the period of time the text is based on.

What does the ‘World of the Text’ Look Like?

America in the 1950’s

Post-war America had entered into a period of unprecedented economic prosperity. It was a time of fiscal growth – driven by a number of factors including the rapidly developing car industry and a housing boom – increased consumerism and employment opportunities. The film industry was booming despite a repressive political climate.

HUAC Committee to Counter Communism

Politically the 1950’s was a deeply conservative decade, dominated by the Cold War and fear of communism. The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) had been established to counter the communist ‘menace’ and intensified its efforts to flush out and vilify those viewed as a threat to the American way of life. A purge ensued that divided and damaged Hollywood. Right wingers testified against friends and colleagues, while directors and actors who were suspected of communist affiliations were targeted by the HUAC and blacklisted. Wilder had experienced Nazi Germany and was opposed to the overreach of the HUAC. He supported Hollywood professionals who had been targeted by the HUAC and refused to endorse the oath of allegiance proposed by the Screen Directors Guild.

Conservative 1950’s Gender Roles

In the 1950’s gender roles were clearly delineated and society was extremely conservative. Women were largely dependent on men, economically and socially. Although Hollywood was one of the few contexts in which women could have careers as actresses, all the power structures in the film were invested in men. Society was patriarchal and this male-dominated hierarchy did not start to change until the late 1960’s with the advent of the feminist movement.

How does the Context of 1950’s America Influence Sunset Boulevard?

The Film Noir Conventions in Sunset Boulevard

• Noir films explore the underbelly of the human experience = Showcases a bleak, nihilistic world of moral corruption and human fallibility. Anti-hero protagonist – Joe Gillis – talented but disillusioned scriptwriter – becomes Norma’s gigolo – toy boy lover bought and sold by aging actress – has the ‘perfect’ Hollywood lifestyle of endless champagne and caviar, expensive clothes, but it’s a cliché he hates it because he has to sell his soul – “The poor dope, he always wanted a pool. Well, he got one but the price turned out to be a little high”.
• Typically gloomy, oppressive settings, shadowy lighting shot in black & white to contribute to the ambience of brooding menace = The darkness of Sunset Boulevard reflected the disenchantment of the times. Pessimism and disillusionment became increasingly present in the American psyche due to the Cold War, the looming threat of atomic war, Communism “Red Scare” all manifested in a collective sense of uncertainty and paranoid behaviour. The corrupt and claustrophobic world of film noir embodied these fears.
• Characters are alienated = Operate in their own bubbles rarely wanting to intersect with the outside world = in particular Norma’s reclusive lifestyle means that she seldom leaves the house, let alone Hollywood – she is tormented by her use by date – we first see Norma in the distance behind blinds with dark sunglasses covering her eyes – hence indicating both her imprisonment within her horror house and her distorted vision of the world outside. Furthermore, Wilder relates the bygone greatness of her glory days in Hollywood to a horror-inspiring confinement to the past and blindness.
• Femme fatale = Norma Desmond – a grandiose dame who emasculates her male victims – juxtaposed with ‘Salome’ Biblical figure who has John the Baptist beheaded. Norma’s cigarette holder with a clip entraps her unsuspecting victims
• The macabre = The chimpanzee’s macabre funeral with Norma grotesquely absorbed in the dead pet with one comic companion turning into one long nightmare for Joe – Joe recounts a disturbing dream of a monkey dancing for pennies – in a Freudian context the film noir element has alarming nightmares – for Joe he is foreshadowing his own dancing for $500 per week entrapped by Norma and his potential death – the paranoia of the 1950’s suggests the doomed ending for people under the threat of the atomic bomb
• Tight concise dialogue = Use of flashbacks & voice over narrative of a dead man – Joe’s dialogue is cynical, disillusioned, and pessimistic – “Just a movie writer with a couple of B pictures to his credit”
• High contrast lighting = Chiaroscuro style lighting using special placement of spotlights – juxtaposition between light and dark – film drenches dramatic moments in atmosphere – emphasises shadow and light to create dramatic tension. The darkness of the film also reflected the disenchantment of the times.

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English Texts for 2026

For Year 12 Mainstream English in 2026 I am teaching some of the selected texts from the VCAA Lists 1 & 2. I am NOT teaching every text on the 2 lists.

All Classes are online using Zoom

Check out my website for extensive Year 11 and Year 12 Resources @ https://englishtutorlessons.com.au

Experienced Teacher with proven Track Record of achieving high ATAR Scores for students I teach studying VCE Year 12 Mainstream English

The texts I will be teaching for Section A in the 2026 Exam:

• Sunset Boulevard film by Director Billy Wilder
• Oedipus the King play by Sophocles
• Chronicle of a Death Foretold novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• The Complete Stories short stories in Every Move You Make by David Malouf
• My Brilliant Career novel by Miles Franklin
• Twelfth Night play by William Shakespeare
• We Have Always Lived in the Castle novel by Shirley Jackson
• The Memory Police novel by Yoko Ogawa
• Born a Crime novel by Trevor Noah
• Bad Dreams short stories by Tessa Hadley

The Frameworks I will be teaching for Section B in the 2026 Exam:

• Protest
• Personal Journeys
• Play
• Country

Fees for one-on-one Lessons = $80 per 1 hour

Lessons include notes on the texts with essay scaffolding of prompts

Contact me to discuss a class tailor-made just for you:

Via email = margaretnmorris@gmail.com

Via mobile = 0418 440 277

This Resource is for Mainstream English Year 12 Students writing Analytical Essays for Reading and Responding to Texts AOS1 Units 3 & 4 in the SAC and VCE English Exam Section A.

It is a good idea to vary the type of words you use to write an analytical essay for Section A in the VCE English Exam. Below are helpful ways to introduce your essays, body paragraphs, conclusions and other alternative words so that your essay flows with a higher level metalanguage.

To introduce This essay discusses … … is explored … … is defined … The definition of … will be given … is briefly outlined … … is explored … The issue focused on …. … is demonstrated … … is included … In this essay ….. … is explained … … are identified … The key aspect discussed … … are presented … … is justified … Views on …. range from …. … is evaluated … … is examined … The central theme … … is described … … is analysed … Emphasised are … … is explained and illustrated with examples …   Introduction Starters Lines In (title), (author) explores the idea of (theme/idea) through (technique/character/setting) (title) by (author) contends/argues/suggests that Set in … (title) examines/explores/questions The central idea of (concept/idea) is the tension/conflict between At the centre of (title) is the tension/conflict between The viewpoint/perspective of (character) reveals to the reader/audience that Throughout (title), (author) utilises/exploits/employs (technique) in order to (character) embodies the qualities of … through their (character) demonstrates this idea/these values by Similar/opposing qualities are displayed by (character) who The relationship between (character) and (character) can be seen as representing the tension between While the actions of most of the characters suggest that … the behaviour of (character) demonstrates The journey/transformation from … to … highlights the values of Ultimately (title) highlights/reveals/exposes   Body Paragraphs As shown by (textual evidence), (what the textual evidence suggests or implies) This is significant/revealing because … Furthermore/Moreover, (textual evidence) also supports the idea that … In contrast/However, (textual evidence) implies/reveals that … Although, (counterargument), (argument) The sense of … pervades the opening of the text, suggesting that … The image/motif of … symbolises the idea of … It is at this point that the tension between … and … becomes explicit, showing the need for … This is seen most clearly when …, highlighting …       Body Paragraphs to explain effects of language affects / illustrates / reinforces / characterises / impacts on / reveals / demonstrates / implies / subverts / exemplifies / portrays / underscores   To conclude In summary, … To review, … In conclusion, … In brief, … To summarise, … To sum up, … To conclude, … Thus, it is evident that … Hence, … It has been shown that, … In short, … Therefore, … As a result, … In light of … Consequently, … Clearly, … On the whole,… This demonstrates … Finally, … Overall … Given these points … Ultimately, … The evidence supports … Taken together … In conclusion, it is clear that (restate contention) Overall, the evidence supports the idea that (contention) Given these points, it is evident that … Taken together, the arguments presented demonstrate that … Thus, it is evident that …  Alternatives to presents conveys / explores / implies / demonstrates / illustrates / indicates / signals / suggests         Alternatives to presents positively advocates / endorses / promotes / recommends / supports Alternatives to presents negatively challenges / condemns / critiques / exposes / questions To compare and contrast Similarly, … In the same way … Likewise, … In comparison … Complementary to this … Then again, … However, … This is in contrast to … In contrast, … And yet … Nevertheless, … Conversely, … On the contrary, … On the other hand, … Notwithstanding … Whereas … In contrast to … That aside, … While this is the case … … disputes … Despite this, …         To add ideas Also, … Equally important … Subsequently, … Furthermore, … Moreover, … As well as …. Next… Another essential point… Additionally, … More importantly, … In the same way … Another … Then, … In addition, … Besides, … Then again, … Firstly, … secondly, … thirdly, … finally, … To elaborate, …   To present uncommon or rare ideas Seldom … Few … Not many … A few … … is uncommon … is scarce … Rarely … … is rare … … is unusual …   To present common or widespread ideas Numerous … Many … More than … Several … Almost all … The majority … Most … Commonly … Significant … … Is prevalent … is usual … Usually …   To present inconclusive ideas Perhaps … may be … … might be … There is limited evidence for … … is debated … … is possibly … Could … may include …     To give examples For example, … … as can be seen in … … supports … An illustration of … … as demonstrated by … … is observed … Specifically, … is shown … exemplifies … Such as … As an example … To illustrate, … For instance, …       To show relationships or outcome Therefore … As a result … For that reason … Hence, … Otherwise, … Consequently, … The evidence suggests/shows … It can be seen that … With regard to … After examining …. These factors contribute to … It is apparent that … Considering … it can be concluded … Subsequently, …. The effect is … The outcome is … The result … The correlation … The relationship … The link … The convergence … The connection … interacts with … Both …. affects … Thus it is … … causes … influences … predicts … … leads to … informs … presupposes … emphasises … demonstrates … impacts on … supports …   To present prior or background ideas In the past, … Historically, … Traditionally, … Customarily, … Beforehand, … Originally, … Prior to this, … Earlier, … Formerly, … Previously, … Over time, … At the time of … Conventionally, … Foundational to this is … In earlier … Initially, … At first, … Recently … Until now, … The traditional interpretation …     To present others’ ideas According to … Based on the findings of … it can be argued… … proposed that … As explained by … … states that … … claims that … However, … stated that … … suggested … … concluded that … Similarly, … stated that …. … for example, … … agreed that … Based on the ideas of … … defined …. as …. … relates … As identified by … … disputed that … … contrasts … With regard to … argued that … … concluded that … … confirmed that … argues …. highlights … demonstrates … found that … identifies … wrote that … demonstrated … also … reported …. pointed out that … maintained that … hypothesised that … … expressed the opinion that … also mentioned …. asserts that …. identified … goes on to state/suggest/say … emphasises … challenges the idea …. showed that … explored the idea …

All Resources created by englishtutorlessons.com.au Online Tutoring using Zoom for Mainstream English students in the Victorian VCE Curriculum

This Resource is for Mainstream English Year 12 Students writing Analytical Essays for Reading and Responding to Texts AOS1 Units 3 & 4 in the SAC and VCE English Exam Section A.

Identifying the key elements of the topic that includes content words specify what the essay should cover. Identifying direction words (task words such as discuss, do you agree, how) tell you how to approach the essay and indicate the type of answer you should provide.

Look for limiting words – adjectives or adverbs such as ‘limited’, ‘always’, ‘essential’ and ‘inevitably’ that will have a significant impact on your response. Take these words into account when forming your opinion. Rephrase the topic in your own words and if in doubt, use a dictionary to look up words that you are unsure of, then try to answer the question.

Is there a quotation from the text in the prompt? Identify where the quotation is from in the text and who said it. What is the quotation telling you? Address the quotation in one of your body paragraphs.

Your approach to each essay will depend on what type of prompt is being asked. Regardless of whether the prompt is character/ theme/ quote/ how/ metalanguage or film technique based, you must always consider Message of Author OR Director in every body paragraph.  Does your response and contention to the prompt consider how the Author or Director feels about these issues, views and values and how they want their audience to react?

1. Discuss-based prompts:

These prompts typically require an in-depth answer that takes into account all aspects of the debate concerning a topic or argument.  It is important to have a clear Main Contention that explores your side of the answer to the topic and have a proper resolution or conclusion.  Don’t leave the discussion open-ended but make sure you conclude with a purpose.  

If you are going to challenge the prompt in your discussion, use body paragraph 2 to do this and back your challenge up with evidence from the texts.  You must demonstrate reasoning skills with this type of question, by using evidence to make a case for or against the topic/argument. It is important to note that while challenging the prompt is acceptable, do not go off topic and keep addressing the content in the topic.

2.            Character-based prompts:

These prompts focus on one or more characters if the character’s name is mentioned in the prompt.  In this case, you would most likely structure your body paragraphs based on particular characters or something in common with a set of characters.  Your examples need to be relevant to the specific character named in the prompt but also consider themes or relationships of that character with other characters.  As characters in texts are always interrelated to other, the actions of others are also connected to the themes and ideas the author is trying to convey.  Don’t forget minor characters.

3.            Theme-based prompts:

Usually your paragraphs will be based around particular themes.  For example, in this case, paragraphs may be based on ‘love’, ‘escape’, ‘horrors of war’ etc.  These paragraphs can have character discussions embedded within them in order to demonstrate how the characters represent each theme.  Discussion of the author’s choice of language such as symbols or imagery can be essential to the analysis of a theme.

4.            Quote prompts:

These prompts can be character or theme-based.  However, it differs from other essay topics because it includes a direct quote from the text.  Remember that the quote is part of the prompt, so ensure that you address it.  One of the best ways of doing so is to contextualise the quote into one of the body paragraphs and analyse it in your discussion.

5.            How question prompts:

These prompts are usually structured, ‘how does the character/event/theme do this?’  OR ‘how does the author explore the idea?’  How prompts position you to focus on the author’s writing intentions through the literary construction of the text.  This can be achieved by discussing structure, language, symbols, motifs, themes, characters and the literary techniques explored in the text and then explain how they affect the narrative and the topic in the prompt.  Use the techniques as evidence to support arguments that attack the main themes/ideas/values mentioned in the prompt.

In ‘how’ type questions in films, rather than focusing on literary construction, it is important to focus on the director’s film intentions using CAMELS = camera techniques / acting / mise en scene / editing / lighting and sound.

6.            To what extent prompts:

By asking the question “to what extent’ the prompt is asking you to discuss how one element is greater in validity than the other element.  You need to answer whether the claim is to “a greater extent” or “to a lesser extent”that the assumption in the question is valid or verifiable [provable].  Therefore, there is more than one angle to answer the question.  You need to think about your opinion but also weigh up each side to the answer and discuss both sides.  To say the question definitely was “to a greater extent” you then must build your case, support it with evidence to make it valid.  Then give the other side of the case, how it was “to a lesser extent” and support it with evidence to make it valid.

7.            Do you agree prompts:

When answering these questions, the most important thing is to work out your argument – what you think about the ideas put forward in the prompt?  Are they right, or wrong?  You need a clear Main Contention as to which way you are handling the idea behind the question.  Once you decide if you agree with the question then do not answer ‘I agree’ you must use wording that shows you understand how the author/director views this topic.  Suggested answer would be ‘the author endorses the value of [the idea in the prompt]’ OR ‘the author supports the idea that [concept from the text]’.

8.            Metalanguage or film-technique prompts:

This type of prompt is very similar to How-based prompts, specifically in the fact that the discussion of film element techniques is essential.  For this type of prompt specifically, however, the actual techniques used can form more of a basis for your arguments, unlike in How-based prompts.  Look at film techniques the Director has used to get his idea across about the character, theme or event and with the elements of the film explain how these features combine to help create the film’s overall meaning.  Suggested elements of CAMELS = camera techniques / acting / mise en scene / editing / lighting and sound.

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This Resource is for Mainstream English Year 12 Students studying the novel ‘We have always lived in the castle’ by Shirley Jackson in Units 3 & 4 AOS 1.

Mary Katherine Blackwood (Merricat) Narrator

The opening chapter establishes Merricat as the 1^st person narrator of the novel who narrates using a mordant [harsh], sarcastic and biting tone but also grim humour from her own perspective. In her narrating she is unreliable as she can deceive readers when it suits her. She tells us from the start her relationship with her sister Constance and her opinion of the world which is clearly affected by her eccentric state of mind. “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” (p.1). She tells us about what she likes and dislikes “I like my sister Constance, and Richard Plantagenet (King of England in 1483 assassinated his 2 young nephews who stood in his way to the throne), and Amanita phalloides (poisonous death-cup mushroom). Everyone else in my family is dead.” (p.1)

Why is everyone dead?

Six years ago, the Blackwood family – John Blackwood (father to Merricat & Constance), Ellen Blackwood (mother), Aunty Dorothy (married to Julian, John’s brother) and Thomas (young brother of the girls) mysteriously died of arsenic poisoning at a family dinner. Julian survived but was disabled and mentally affected by the arsenic. Constance was tried for the murder of her family and acquitted, although everyone in the town believes she is guilty. What we learn late in the novel, though, is that it was Merricat, twelve years old at the time, who poisoned her family. She put arsenic in the sugar because she knew that her beloved sister Constance did not use sugar. Why Merricat poisoned her family is the strange terrain that Jackson’s novel explores. The answer is never entirely clear, although what is clear is that Jackson never gives us anything like a motive that would, from a normative [standard] perspective, to either explain Merricat’s actions or justify her family’s slaughter.

Why did Merricat poison her family?

Jackson’s Merricat shows herself to be angry, unruly, wilful, and resistant to change. She is also violent, describing her hatred for the villagers she encounters in her twice-weekly trips to the village; she imagines them suffering and dead on the ground. She also seems obsessed with punishment. What does become clear is that her family punished her for her wild behaviour, for roaming the grounds, burying objects, wielding her magic spells of protection around the sister she loves. Early on, Constance tells the one person who still visits the girls, a friend of her mother’s, Helen Clarke, that Merricat “was always in disgrace” and that she was a “wicked, disobedient child” (p.34). Later, in a scene that is crucial in illuminating her character, Merricat hides outdoors and fantasizes her parents talking about how she must never be punished, must never be sent to her bed without dinner; they tell Merricat’s brother to give her his dinner and insist that Merricat must always be “guarded and cherished” (p.96). One can only presume this is pretty much the opposite of how Merricat’s parents actually treated her.

Merricat’s parents punished her & sent her to bed without dinner

Jackson walks a fine line here. On the one hand, Merricat seems to have a primal intolerance for what seem to be quite acceptable forms of parental discipline. All we know for sure of Merricat’s past is that her parents punished her by sending her to bed without dinner. Merricat responds to these banal punishments with rage, and to the extent that she has a motive for killing her family, it seems to be precisely this intolerance for punishment. Merricat wanted revenge being sent to bed without dinner made her angry and she also did not have the loving family she wanted.

Merricat was singled out because she diverged from gender norms

There are also hints that Merricat was unfairly singled out by her parents because of her divergence from gender norms. There is no sense that her brother Thomas, who spent at least some time, for instance, climbing trees, was subject to the same discipline as Merricat. He got to eat his dinner. Merricat is clearly not a beautiful, charming young woman like Constance, and she is not a boy like Thomas. Herein, perhaps, lies some of Merricat’s rage and some of her justification.

Merricat is strange, weird, enigmatic, and possibly a psychopath or paranoid schizophrenic

Merricat is an isolated, estranged hypersensitive young female protagonist, socially maladroit [awkward], highly self-conscious and disdainful of others. At times she appears more childlike than her 18 years and behaves as if mildly retarded, but only outwardly, inwardly, she is razor sharp in her observations and hyperalert to threats to her wellbeing. Like any mentally damaged person she most fears change in unvarying rituals of her household. Merricat’s strangeness, her demonic energy, her predilection for magic and casting curses appears to be self-invented witchcraft but she does not align herself to the male power of Satan. For 100 pages she taunts readers with her sharp, teasing and at times funny voice, but tells us only what she wants us to know, and not why she has a complete absence of guilt for poisoning her family. It seems what Merricat wants is to be alone with her cat Jonas and with Constance. Is Merricat a typical product of small-town America? Much of Merricat’s time is spent outdoors. She appears like a tomboy who wanders in the woods, unwashed and her hair uncombed, distrustful of adults and of authority.

Could there be an unambiguous notion John Blackwood abused his two daughters?

One assumption for the reason Merricat poisoned her family was because their father was abusing Constance and herself. We do not know for sure that it was specifically sexual abuse, but it is only hinted at. But the absolute strangeness of Jackson’s novel, and Merricat Blackwood, is rendered glaringly familiar. At the root of it all is an abusive father: Merricat killed the abuser and the rest of the family who allowed the abuse to continue and then she saved her sister and herself. Charles’s similarities to Merricat’s father are made explicit several times in the book. He wears Mr. Blackwood’s clothes, he sleeps in his bed, he is greedy, much like Mr. Blackwood, (who kept a book full of names of people who owed him favours and cash.) Charles arrives around the same that Mr. Blackwood’s book falls of the tree, breaking Merricat’s “protective spell.” (p.53) All of this, along with a few of Merricat’s strange aspects leads us to believe that Merricat was sexually abused by her father. The rest of the family either did not know, or refused to do anything about it.

Hypothetical reasons why Merricat poisoned the family

It is never stated what Merricat did get sent to bed without supper, but if all of the previous evidence is considered, this is what might have taken place:

• Merricat is abused at least once by her father, probably fantasizing about her moon dreamhouse during the act. The mother witnesses, or is at the very least aware of the abuse, but does little to stop it.
• Merricat tells on her father to the rest of the family, who does not believe her, and she is sent upstairs without dinner. The only one who believes her is Constance, who was also possibly abused. She comforts Merricat.
• Merricat poisons the family for revenge. She chooses the sugar, knowing that Constance would not eat it.
• Constance washes the bowl immediately afterwards to hide any evidence that Merricat was the killer.
• Merricat does not just hate Charles because he reminds her of her father, she also hates him, at least subconsciously, because she fears he will abuse her the same way.

Merricat’s fantasies are alarmingly sadistic

Definitely Merricat’s fantasies are not only childish but alarmingly sadistic hating the villagers enough to see herself “…walking on their bodies” (p.10) and “I am going to put death in all their food and watch them die” (p.10). She has unmitigated hatred hoping the Elberts and their children were “lying there crying with pain and dying” (p.9). Certainly, the villagers taunt Merricat treating her like an outsider with the village children chanting a hectoring rhyme to intimidate her and embeds the notion that Constance poisoned her family “Merricat said Connie, would you like a cup of tea? Oh no, said Merricat, you’ll poison me” (p.16).

Moreover, Merricat’s hatred for cousin Charles, who has literally changed their lives when he invades the Blackwood household without having been invited, is shown clearly in Merricat’s description of him as a “ghost” (p.61) who has positioned himself at the head of the dining room table and looks like their late father. Merricat sees Charles for what he really is a scoundrel after their money and dehumanises him using her witchcraft ideas she “could turn him into a fly and drop him into a spider’s web” or she “could bury him in the hole where my box of silver dollars had been” (p.89). Merricat laughed when she found a round stone similar to the size of his head and she would bury it in the hole saying “Goodbye Charles” (p.89)

Merricat’s Confesion p. 130

Throughout the novel there is the prevailing threat of the murderous Merricat whose fantasy life is obsessed with rituals of power, dominance, and revenge “bow your heads to our beloved Mary Katherine … or you will be dead” (p.111). Certainly, it is the hideous arsenic deaths that constitute the secret heart of the novel and how could such a passive character like Constance be accused of murder when she acknowledges Merricat did poison the family on page 130. Merricat “I put it in the sugar”. Constance “I know, I knew then”. Merricat “You never used sugar”. Constance “No”. Merricat “So I put it in the sugar”. Constance sighed “Merricat we’ll never talk about it again. Never” (p.130). So, the sisters are linked forever by the deaths of their family, as in a quasi-spiritual-incestuous bond by which each holds the other in thrall.

The sisters are finally happy in their ‘castle’

It is also true that by isolating themselves after the fire from a world that hates them, treating them as others, the sisters are happy at last. Possibly Merricat who is psychologically damaged would not survive in a world of normal people and Constance helps to protect her sister from the cruel people and live in their house that had turned into a magical place transformed “Our house was a castle, turreted and open to the sky” (p.120). Against all expectations the Blackwood sisters are happy in their private paradise “on the moon” (p.133).

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