For those Year 12 English students studying this complex text ‘Flames’ by Robbie Arnott in the Victoriam Curriculum VCE, I hope this essay helps you to revise for the Exams.

Essay Prompt ‘How does dramatic character progression in ‘Flames’ allow Arnott to expose key messages in the text?’

The Essay follows a TEEL structure with a Topic Sentence, Evidence, Explanation & Link back toTopic. Body Paragraph 1 = Background/Cause. Body Paragraph 2 = Response. Body Paragraph = Consequences.

Introduction is colour coded to help you.

Introduction / Context / Main Contention / Message of Author

Whilst Tasmania is the ‘setting’ of the novel ‘Flames’ by Robbie Arnott, it is also in a way, the main character, where the other characters, both realistic and supernatural, form a web of relationships that highlights interconnectedness and passions both constructive and destructive as they travel in their narratives around the island. In this Tasmanian gothic, the novel explores the inner worlds of a number of characters, often times utilising the genre of magic realism to depict the rapid transformation of characters in times of crisis. Moreover, traumatic events act as a catalyst for intense character progression, allowing Arnott to contrast the different ways people respond to these events. Furthermore, he is able to expose the absurdity of common beliefs and values entrenched in masculinity, grief, and love. Ultimately, Arnott explores how some characters change for good through love, trust, friendship, and internal self-reflection, while others descend into mental instability and create pain for those around them due to their skewed values and negative influences.

BP1 – Background – focus Allen Gibson

Topic Sentence: Perhaps one of the greatest transformations that occurs in Flames is that of the farm manager Allen Gibson during the wombat killings in Melaleuca. He is introduced as a level-headed, hard-working man who is initially compassionate towards the wombats and is saddened by their deaths. Hence, he is determined to find the wombat killer. He states how, “the deaths are taking a significant toll on [him]” because of his “strong bond with the wombats” and how they are the “closest thing to family” to him. He is also respectful towards the farm-hands, Nicola and Charlotte, and calls Nicola the “most reliable hand the farm has ever hired”. However, as he begins to be increasingly plagued by strange and horrific dreams, he becomes less angered by the suspected killer, the cormorant, and states how he “no longer feels horror when they swamp [his] sleeping mind, only curiosity”. At the same time, he grows paranoid of the farm-hands and becomes misogynistic towards them, stating how “their attachment to the wombats once such a benefit to the farm, is now a sappy and engaging show of foolishness” which he blames on their “futile, feminine softness”. Furthermore, his curiosity about the power of the cormorant to kill the wombats turns into respect, he admires its “calculated wisdom” and now sees the wombats as “four-legged lumps of uselessness made flesh”. Allen’s abrupt character change throughout the chapter ‘Feather’ is finally complete when he is revealed as the killer of the wombats and he decides to completely abandon his morals and integrity to obey the wishes of the cormorant. Arnott uses magic realism when describing the effects that the cormorant has on Allen. By the end of the novel, Allen has lost his humanity and has physically morphed into a half-bird, half-man creature with his “burning skin fused with [cormorant] feathers”. The powerful cormorant spirit is as a metaphor for how the need to belong to a group can easily corrupt one to suddenly change and commit unthinkable crimes. Arnott depicts how these negative influences can exploit the vulnerability of the powerless and offer them hope and security. Link to topic & message of author: Thus, Arnott portrays how the vulnerable like Allen crave the sense of power that comes from belonging to a group and commit horrific crimes as though they are possessed by some external force, they do not recognise that came from their own minds.

BP2 – Response – focus Levi McAllister

Topic Sentence: Furthermore, Levi McAllister is another character that regresses throughout the novel, descending into severe mental illness after the death and consequent resurrection of his mother. From the outset of the novel, Levi puts on a façade, initially becoming arrogant and conceited, stating that “he quickly got over” his mother’s return from the dead. The matter-of-fact tone Levi uses to describe the horrific details of his mother’s self-immolation on their father’s front lawn indicates to the audience the growing mental instability in his character. This is cemented when Levi states that he will bury his sister “whole and still and cold”, the polysyndeton emphasising the grotesque nature of his admission. Through Levi, Arnott portrays how the stereotypical societal toxic beliefs of masculinity pressed onto young men to be strong, unemotional, and take control of those around them, cause unnecessary suffering, mental decline, and pain. Although hyperbolised, Arnott reveals the ways in which men can suffer when they are not able to feel and come to terms with their grief. This is further analysed by Arnott through omniscient narration later in the novel, where the narrator reveals that “Levi is not realising [that] he could have just spoken to her [Charlotte]” about his grief and difficulty with honest communication to heal the rift in his relationship with his sister. Other characters also reveal that Levi is “nervous” and “shaky” exposing the lies that people tell themselves to stay in control. Levi’s obsession and need to control Charlotte in particular, and his own emotions, eventually leads him to finish making the coffin for his sister by himself. Charlotte finds Levi maniacally swinging an axe at a tree fern looking “emaciated” with his “ribs slant[ing] out at harsh angles” showing how his mental health has affected his physical health too. When Charlotte calls out “Levi” his head snaps towards her but “there is no recognition in his eyes” admitting that he has been “a bit preoccupied” fixated on “building [Charlotte] a coffin”. When Charlotte asserts that she does not want a coffin, Levi barrages her with his opinions, unable to listen, telling her what he thinks she wants “a coffin” so she “won’t be cremated”. Arnott shows that through Levi’s clear descent into madness is catalysed by his inability to accept his feelings of grief and the dangers of damaging patriarchal ideals which coerce men to feel nothing in the face of grief. His stoic attitude leaves him sick, alone, and afraid. However, after reuniting with Charlotte and finally accepting how irrational his behaviour had been, Levi is able to recover. In the final chapter ‘Sea’, Levi feels a sense of solace by connecting with Karl as a mentor and experiencing the wonder of the natural world by being open to other’s experiences. Although Levi’s dramatic character changes are hyperbolised and laden with elements of magic realism, Arnott clearly depicts the ways in which toxic masculine values can affect men and those around them and cause unnecessary isolation and suffering. In the end Levi’s journey and character progression throughout the novel is a coming-of-age story, where after a traumatic event Levi must learn to deal with grief and survive in a world without his parents. Link to topic & message of author: Ultimately, Arnott uses Levi’s character transformation to purport that one must be open to listening to others and accepting their own emotions in grief to attain mental and physical wellbeing.

BP3 – Consequences – focus Charlotte McAllister

Topic Sentence: Although Charlotte McAllister also runs away from her grief and problems, like her brother Levi, Arnott explores how her character is able to undergo a drastic change to become a better person through the love, trust, and respect of Nicola. This is apparent in the transformation of Charlotte from a defensive and guarded girl, who has a hard time being vulnerable, even to those she loves and trusts, to a more mature and patient woman. Charlotte is initially portrayed as someone who is afraid of communicating and instead runs from her problems and the people she loves as a coping mechanism. The chapter ‘Sky’ starts with a short abrupt line told in third person, present tense “Charlotte is running” to convey a sense of urgency and restlessness as she runs from place to place reflecting her inner world which has been thrown into turmoil by her mother’s death and discovery of Levi’s plan to build her a coffin. Similar to both Karl and Levi, who attempt to distract themselves from the pain and grief they are experiencing, Charlotte too avoids dealing with her trauma by running from everyone she knows and loves. While appearing to the audience to be a strong, assertive, and bold character, free to choose her own path in life, Arnott projects Charlotte as a woman who defies the ‘damsel-in-distress‘ trope. Furthermore, she is opinionated and someone who does not like to be controlled, Charlotte shared her looks and values with her mother Edith. However, she does have flaws with deep emotions that are hard to control that she inherited from her father Jack. Using magic realism Arnott describes how Jack transferred “a drop of fire that descended, globular and hot” into Charlotte’s mouth as a baby, that had negative consequences for her future life as “flames of rage and loneliness”. In chapter ‘Grove’ Charlotte recognises her own flaws in the female detective and reflects that “she is not as tough as she would have us believe. She is just like me”. A turning point in Charlotte’s character is when the detective is questioning her and Nicola and instead of following her instincts of raging towards the detective, she simply sits and listens because “Nicola trusts her”. Moreover, Arnott uses magic realism when showing how Nicola can soothe and extinguish Charlotte’s fires, as she states “her touch had travelled through Charlotte’s heat. She had quenched the rage; she had stopped the fire”. Even when Charlotte returns to her childhood house and is anxious, she remarks how Nicola’s “touch is natural, easy” and how she “can’t trip or curse or sweat without popping out to support me”. This support from Nicola makes Charlotte more aware of her actions and how they have consequences on others, and in the end, she even asks Levi for forgiveness, saying that she will forgive him, “as long as [he] forgives [her] too”. Thus, with Nicola’s compassion and understanding and due to the love and comfort she feels around her, Charlotte is inspired to change for the better. In contrast to Levi and Allen, Charlotte had a person who trusted and respected her, allowing her to grow for the better, under a positive, reassuring influence. Unfortunately, Levi and Allen were infected with toxic values that led them to isolation and madness and Arnott clearly contrasts their character progressions as different from Charlotte. Link to topic & message of author: In the end Arnott identifies how characters need compassion, trust and positive influence in hard times and characters like Charlotte are able to recognise love from a trusted person in Nicola, and through internal self-reflection, she could transform into a better person.

Conclusion / Message of Author

Through the many contrasting character transformations that take place in Flames, Arnott depicts how toxic beliefs of control and masculinity can only lead to pain and suffering when exacerbated by traumatic events. Instead, he purports that the most successful personal changes are those that happen internally as a result of self-reflection, trust and respect from others when faced with hard times.

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

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 and Quotes in the play ‘Oedipus the King’ by Sophocles is for Year 12 Students studying in the Victorian VCE Curriculum.

Fate vs Free Will / Prophecy

The play is known as a tragedy of destiny – its tragic effect is said to lie in the contrast between the supreme will of the gods and the vain attempts of mankind to escape the evil that threatens them. The lesson is to learn from the tragedy – submission to the divine will and realisation of his own impotence [powerlessness].

The play hinges on two prophecies. The first is the prophecy received by King Laius of Thebes that he would have a son by Queen Jocasta who would grow up to kill his own father. The second is the prophecy that Oedipus received that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Laius, Jocasta, and Oedipus all work to prevent the prophecies from coming to pass, but their efforts to thwart the prophecies are what actually bring the prophecies to completion.

This raises a question at the heart of the play: does Oedipus have any choice in the matter? He ends up killing his father and marrying his mother without knowing it? Does he have free will—the ability to choose his own path—or is everything in life predetermined?

Oedipus’s destruction comes not from his deeds themselves but from his persistent efforts to learn the truth, through which he reveals the true nature of those terrible deeds. Oedipus himself makes a different argument at the end of the play, when he says that his terrible deeds were fated, but that it was he alone who chose to blind himself. Here, Oedipus is arguing that while it is impossible to avoid one’s fate, how you respond to your fate is a matter of free will.

For the Chorus, prophecy is synonymous with the will and knowledge of the gods that “destiny will guide me”, although they do at times waver in this devotion under the influence of their loyalty to Oedipus.

Quotes

“This day will bring your birth and your destruction” (Tiresias line 499 p.184)

“An oracle came to Laius one fine day … and it declared / that doom would strike him down at the hands of a son / our son, to be born of our own flesh and blood” (Jocasta lines 784-8 p.201)

“Apollo was explicit: my son was doomed to kill my husband … my son, poor defenceless thing, he never had a chance to kill his father. They destroyed him first” (Jocasta lines 944-7 p.208)

“It’s all chance / chance rules our lives. Not a man on earth / can see a day ahead, groping through the dark / Better to live at random, best we can” (Jocasta lines 1069-72 p.215)

“I count myself the son of Chance / the greatest goddess” (Oedipus lines 1188-9 p.224)

“Destiny guide me always / Destiny find me filled with reverence pure in word and deed” (Chorus lines 954–956 p.209)

Sight vs Blindness

Oedipus lack of wisdom is highlighted by the central idea of blindness. When Oedipus publicly declares his intention to solve the mystery of King Laius’s murder like a determined detective seeking the truth, he says, “I’ll start again—I’ll bring it all to light myself” but his overarching pride is his true blind spot. Oedipus’s vision and intelligence have made him a great king of Thebes—he solved the riddle of the Sphinx and revitalized the city. But he is blind to the truth about his own life and cannot see the truth clearly.

Ironically it takes the blind prophet, Tiresias, to point out his ignorance and to plant the first seeds of doubt in Oedipus’s mind. Tiresias first informs him of his fate by speaking in riddles. He tells Oedipus: ”Eyes hast though, but thy deeds thou canst not see.” In this, Tiresias tells Oedipus is blind even though he may have working eyes. He then warns him that this will not always be the case, when he says, ”in thine eyes now light, but then darkness.”

Oedipus responds to Tiresias’ riddles with anger. He asks the prophet to speak plainly. When Oedipus mocks Tiresias’s blindness, Tiresias predicts that Oedipus himself will soon be blind and beggared, which comes true by the end of the play. Indeed, when Oedipus learns the full story—that he has killed his father and married his mother—he gouges out his eyes. He learns the nature of fate and the power of the gods, but at a great cost. Although he is blinded, he has learned to see something he could not see before (or perhaps chose not to see). He also asks to be exiled, eventually becoming a beggar.

Quotes

“I’ll start again—I’ll bring it all to light myself” (Oedipus line 150 p.167)

“You’ve lost your power, stone blind, stone death – senses, eyes blind as stone” (Oedipus lines 423-4 p.181)

“Blind, who now has eyes, beggar who now is rich, he will grope his way toward a foreign soil, a stick tapping before him step by step” (Tiresias lines 516-19 p.185)

“Not a man on earth can see a day ahead, groping through the dark. Better to live at random, best we can” (Jocasta lines 1070-1 p.215)

“What good were eyes to me? Nothing I could see bring me joy” (Oedipus lines 1472-3 p.241)

Truth

In his search for the truth Oedipus is engaged in a great calculation, to determine the measure of a man. However, the terrible deeds that are Oedipus’s undoing actually took place long before the play begins. King Laius has been dead for many years, Oedipus has ruled for some time, and his marriage to Jocasta has produced four children. They might have all remained happy in their ignorance had the plague not come to Thebes and the oracle not commanded that the murderer of Laius be found. Good king that he is, Oedipus swears he will find the murderer. Every step of the way, people are reluctant to speak and try to tell him that it would be better if the past were left alone. Creon suggests that they discuss the oracle behind closed doors, not in front of everyone, but Oedipus wants to show that he is open to the truth and keeps no secrets from his people.

Tiresias refuses to say what he knows, and only speaks when he has been insulted and accused of treachery. Jocasta begs Oedipus to cease his investigations. The old shepherd gives Oedipus the final pieces of the puzzle only when threatened with death. In his desire to seek out the truth and save his people from the plague, Oedipus becomes his own prosecutor, and then his own judge and punisher.

Oedipus is a free agent, by his own self-willed action he discovers that his own predicted destiny has already been fulfilled. His heroic achievement is the discovery of the truth about the prophecies, about the gods and about himself regardless of disaster.

Quotes

“Lord Tiresias sees with the eyes of Lord Apollo / Anyone searching for the truth, my king, might learn it from the prophet, clear as day” (Chorus Leader lines 323-5 p.174)

“How terrible to see the truth when the truth is only pain to him who sees” (Tiresias lines 359-60 p.176)

Identity & Self-Discovery

In the play the consultation of oracles is strongly associated with the search for a character’s identity. All the characters in the play who seek the truth about themselves through the word of oracles – Laius, Jocasta and Oedipus – come to bad ends. Those characters who seek the truth about their fates and then once received the prophecy they go about trying to alter their fates. Sophocles is telling us that those people who try to alter their fates do so and court catastrophe.

Truth about his identity is the reason Oedipus consults the oracle in the first place after a drunken reveller at one of Polybus’ banquets accuses him of not being the king’s natural son. When the oracle offers a prophecy “you will kill your father and couple with your mother” Oedipus knows that he is the man who will do those deeds and it changes everything about him, marking him, from that moment on, with a new identity.

Before Oedipus learns his identity, he was – son of Polybus, husband of Jocasta, foreign to Thebes, savour of Thebes, King of Thebes and ‘tyrannos’ (signifies the throne was not gained through an inheritance). After he learns his identity, he is revealed to be – son of Laius, son of Jocasta, native to Thebes, scourge of Thebes, outcast and a ‘man of agony’.

“Count no man happy till he dies” by the Chorus is a theme that leads to self-discovery which suggests a causal link between Oedipus rise and his fall. The road to self-discovery adopted by Oedipus leads him to his downfall and tragic end. Oedipus knows the answers to the Sphinx riddles but does not know his past. Despite his popularity, knowledge and tireless efforts to make his kingdom safe. Oedipus, eventually falls in the pit of disgrace and discovers that he was just a pawn in the hands of nature or gods.

Quotes

“Here I am myself / you all know me, the world knows my fame / I am Oedipus” (Oedipus lines 7-9 p.159)

“I stand revealed at last / cursed in my birth, cursed in marriage / cursed in the lives I cut down with these hands” (Oedipus lines 1308-10 p.232)

“Count no man happy till he dies” (Chorus line 1684 p.251)

Cost of Ignorance & Value of Knowledge

Inscribed upon the pediment at Delphi was the maxim ‘Know thyself’. Sophocles definitively utilises the myth of Oedipus to chastise ignorance, but he also wants his audience to look inward: In what ways are we acting without the appropriate awareness? How can we become more aware in order to lead a better life?

Through his depiction of the character Oedipus, Sophocles criticises ignorance and celebrates awareness, especially self-awareness. Sophocles uses the events of the play to castigate Oedipus, and anyone else who would let themselves fall victim to such a fatal flaw. When Oedipus refers to himself as ‘ignorant’ [451], he believes he is being ironic, however, Sophocles includes this line to reinforce the degree to which Oedipus is truly ignorant. The play also emphasises how Oedipus’ arrogance feeds his ignorance (and vice versa). This is seen in his recollection of his greatest triumph: ‘I came by, Oedipus the ignorant, I stopped the Sphinx … the flight of my own intelligence hit the mark’ [450–453]. Sophocles’ heavy use of dramatic irony and characterisation of Oedipus as impulsive and falsely confident in his wit, ensures a stark contrast with the truth; that every choice Oedipus makes is marked by his ignorance, by what he does not know, or refuses to see.

Although much of the plot focuses on the ignorance of Oedipus, he is not the only character to sacrifice knowledge because of naivete. The Chorus grapple with a choice: the decision to ignore Tiresias, or to choose treason against Oedipus. Jocasta, too, is not only guilty of ignorance, but also of the greater sin of choosing ignorance. When Oedipus is on the cusp of learning the truth, Jocasta urges him (and herself), ‘don’t even think—’ [1159]. When this first attempt fails, Jocasta calls for Oedipus to ‘stop— in the name of god’ [1163]. The truth has dawned on her, and she is afraid. It is Creon, once again, who acts as a model for Sophocles’ values. In his argument with Oedipus, Creon uses logic, not insults and bias, to point out that the oracle he reported from Delphi can be easily confirmed. Then, when confronted with a statement he cannot explain, he simply states: ‘I don’t know. And when I don’t, I keep quiet.’ [635]

Quotes

“I came by, Oedipus the ignorant, I stopped the Sphinx … the flight of my own intelligence hit the mark” (Oedipus lines 450-53 p.182)

“Can’t accept him [Tiresias], can’t deny him, don’t know what to say (Chorus line 551 p.187)

They “Saw [Oedipus] then … saw with our own eyes his skill, his brilliant triumph—” against the Sphinx (Chorus lines 569–570 p.187)

Don’t give it another thought, don’t even think” (Jocasta line 1159 p.222)

“Stop— in the name of god, if you love your own life, call off this search” (Jocasta line 1163-4 p.222)

“I don’t know. And when I don’t, I keep quiet” (Creon line 635 p.191)

Morality & The Good Life

Sophocles uses the character of Oedipus to explore the notion that one may have many admirable qualities, however, the subject ought not to balance the scales in favour of believing oneself capable of ‘grant[ing] prayers’ [245] meant for the gods.

Likewise, Sophocles holds Creon up as an example of a man capable of living a good life. He is flawed, but those flaws do not prevent him from living a life of pious respect and moderation. Creon recognises the good life he is already living, and when Oedipus’ downfall increases Creon’s power, the man who claimed to not ‘yearn for kingship’ [657] is consistent in that resolve; he does not ‘come to mock … Oedipus’ [1557], but quietly accepts his new role without long speeches or hasty decrees. Creon recognises the good in living a life where ‘all men sing [his] praises, all salute [him]’ [668] and questions ‘who in his right mind would rather rule and live in anxiety than sleep in peace?’ [654–655].

Sophocles uses frequent metaphors and allusions around sight and listening to show that Oedipus’ main moral sin is his lack of awareness. He murders without knowing who he murders, he marries without knowing whom he marries, and he acts with unbridled arrogance without acknowledging his place in the hierarchy of god and mortals.

Quotes

“You pray to the gods? Let me grant your prayers” (Oedipus line 245 p.171)

“Now all men sing my praises, all salute me” (Creon line 668 p.193)

“Who in his right mind would rather rule and live in anxiety than sleep in peace? (Creon lines 654–655 p.193)

Hubris (Pride)

Hubris (pride) is a favourite trait in Greek tragic heroes. It is clear that Oedipus has a wide range of personality traits both positive and negative. He exercised two of his best qualities – bravery and cunning to answer the riddle of the Sphinx. However, being impetuous he suffers from hubris, pride in himself, his skills and intelligence as a ruler, a detective, his ability to defy Apollo and fate. It was his pride that led him to believe he was above the will of the gods and destiny. It was his pride and hot temper that led him to kill Laius at the cross-roads. It was his pride that led him to bring curses down on an unknown culprit. He accused the blind seer Tiresias and his trusted brother-in-law Creon and friend of treachery. His fatal flaw of pride led him down to the path in search of a truth that he ought to have never learned.

Quotes

“Here I am myself – you all know me, the world knows my fame / I am Oedipus” (Oedipus lines 7-9 p.159)

“I’ll start again—I’ll bring it all to light myself” (Oedipus line 150 p.167)

“Pride breeds the tyrant / violent pride, gorging, crammed to bursting” (Chorus lines 964-5 p.209)

Family

The theme of family is central as the driving events are Oedipus crimes of parricide and incest. Murdering one’s father and coupling with one’s mother is the worst crimes a man can commit in the family sphere and there are morals and ethics involved. Incest with one’s mother is a crime against nature as it is likely to result in children weakened by genetics.

Sophocles criticises Laius and Jocasta regarding disposing of their son and even the shepherd charged to get rid of the baby disobeys because he “pitied the little baby” (line 1301 p.232). Polybus of Corinth adopts the baby and is described as having “loved [him] deeply” (line 1121 p.219). The crime committed by Laius and Jocasta against the natural order to kill their first-born son and then engender no further heir is a profound political crime as well as social/family crime.

For all his faults Oedipus is a family man who will make almost any sacrifice not to hurt those he calls his own. Comparisons can also be made of family love at the end of the play with Oedipus scene of lament as he weeps about the future of his daughters Antigone and Ismene which is the opposite to Jocasta handing over her newborn son to a terrible death.

Quotes

“You were a gift” (Messenger line 1117 p.218)

“Then how could he love me so? He loved me, deeply” (Oedipus line 1121 p.219).

“But still / to see one’s parents and look into their eyes / is the greatest joy I know” (Oedipus lines 1094-6 p.216)

“Her own child / how could she” (Oedipus lines 1294-5 p.231)

“But my two daughters, my poor helpless girls … Take care of them/ I beg you” (Oedipus lines 1602-6 p.247)

“How I weep for you / I cannot see you now / just thinking of all your days to come, the bitterness, the life that rough mankind will thrust upon you” (Oedipus lines 1627-29 p.248)

Banishment & Exile

Types of banishment, whether physical or emotional flow from each of the 2 prophecies for Oedipus – the one received by Laius that he would be killed by his son and the other received by Oedipus himself that he would murder his father and mate with his mother. Oedipus decrees early in the play that the murderer of Laius will be banished from Thebes.

The first banishment occurs to Oedipus when he is only 3 days old and the callousness his parents exhibit towards their own child is emotional exile from the normal love and care and a home. The next banishment occurs when Oedipus leaves Corinth believing that to stay would mean murdering Polybus and sleeping with Merope. This exile is from a warm family environment and emotional torment means Oedipus will not see his adopted parents again. His third banishment is from Thebes where it has been established, he was the one who murdered Laius. The fourth banishment is worse when he realises, he definitely has murdered his father and mated with his mother he puts out his eyes and resolves to remove himself from the sight of all people. This is self-exile but from the human race where he requests an exile to Mount Cithaeron, the scene of his exile as a baby.

Quotes

“I order you, every citizen of the state / where I hold throne and power: banish this man … Drive him out, each of you, from every home / He is the plague, the heart of our corruption / as Apollo’s oracle has just revealed to me” (Oedipus lines 269-77 p.172)

“Drive me out of the land at once, far from sight / where I can never hear a human voice” (Oedipus lines 1571-2 p.245)

“Drive me out of Thebes, in exile” (Oedipus line 1667 p.250)

Power & Authority

Throughout the play, Sophocles explores questions around authority. In particular, he examines closely the dilemmas raised by competing obligations to the law, to one’s community, as well as to the gods, and to religion. Over the course of the play, the characters’ perspectives on authority and loyalty shift. The Priest attempts to set a standard, a measure by which citizens can sequence their obligations: ‘Now we pray to you. You cannot equal the gods, your children know that … But we do rate you first of men’ [39–41]. Through his evocation of the conflict experienced by the Chorus, Sophocles suggests that one should ideally never feel conflicted by the competing obligations to heavenly leaders and earthly ones, and that it is the responsibility of the earthly leaders to ensure their citizens are never placed in such a predicament.

At several points in the play, the Leader and the Chorus find themselves in difficult situations where they not only have to choose between their faith and their loyalty to Oedipus, but they also essentially need to lead Oedipus. The Leader confirms their role in society to Creon and their shrewd political instincts not to side with anyone, they ‘never look to judge the ones in power.’ [592–593]. Furthermore, Oedipus has a responsibility to his people to ‘steer [them] through the storm’ [767], not act the petulant child who needs to be coerced into behaving with the temperance of a good king.

However, is not Oedipus’ way. ‘No matter’ he asserts, ‘I must rule.’ [703]. This line shows a value shift in Oedipus; he sees maintaining control as more important than being right. Sophocles punishes Oedipus for this view, and again holds Creon up as an example of good leadership when he responds ‘Not if you rule unjustly’ [703]. Creon here asserts his view of the responsibility of leadership.

By the end of the play, the Chorus realise their faith in Oedipus was misplaced, and they rephrase their commitment, having learnt from the events before them: ‘god, my champion, I will never let you go’ [971]. And thus, Sophocles’ message to his audience, to dedicate oneself to the gods and have trust in their authority over all else, is underscored. It is possible to argue that the play is also subtly delivering a message to those with power that they should never compromise themselves or their citizens by creating a contradiction in obligation when it comes to the need to pay service to the gods and to society.

Quotes

“Now we pray to you. You cannot equal the gods, your children know that … But we do rate you first of men” The Priest lines 39–41 p.161)

“I never look to judge the ones in power” Chorus Leader lines 592–593 p.189)

“Now again, good helmsman, steer us through the storm” (Chorus line 767 p.199)

“No matter’ he asserts, ‘I must rule.’ (Oedipus line 703 p.195)

“Not if you rule unjustly” (Creon line 703 p.195)

“God, my champion, I will never let you go” (Chorus line 971 p.209)

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.

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