서강대학교

초록 (요약문)

This thesis aims to analyze Shirley Jackson's last novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962) through the lens of 17th-century New England history and queer studies. First, the thesis proves that the first-person protagonist Merricat has chosen to become a witch as a means of self-empowerment in her oppressive patriarchal household. Then, the thesis examines how one can relate Merricat's witch identity to the history of witch hunt occured in 17th-century New England to demonstrate that the remnants of female persecution in early American history still remain in the U.S. in the 1950s and '60s. Furthermore, the thesis casts a doubt on the feminist readings of Castle, questioning whether one should perceive Merricat solely as a woman. The thesis claims that Merricat's witchcraft performance is partly rooted on the phallic power that used to be possessed by the patriarch, and the fact that Merricat has a command on the phallic power renders her gender identity ambiguous, making her into a non-binary genderqueer figure. The thesis concludes by suggesting how Merricat succeeds at liberating her household from heteropatriarchal order through a series of her queer witchcraft performances and recreates the household into a shelter for queer subjects.