Mary Katherine Blackwood

Mary Katherine Blackwood
Mary Katherine Blackwood
First appearance	We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Created by	Shirley Jackson
Portrayed by	Heather Menzies; (1966 Broadway); Alexandra Socha; (2010 Broadway); Taissa Farmiga; (film)
In-universe information
Nickname	Merricat
Gender	Female
Family	John Blackwood (father; deceased); Lucy Blackwood (mother; deceased); Constance Blackwood (sister); Thomas Blackwood (brother; deceased)
Relatives	Julian Blackwood (uncle; deceased); Dorothy Blackwood (aunt; deceased); Arthur Blackwood (uncle; deceased); Charles Blackwood (cousin)

Mary Katherine Blackwood is the main character in Shirley Jackson's 1962 novel, We Have Always Lived in the Castle. The eighteen-year-old "Merricat" lives with her remaining family members, Constance and Julian Blackwood, on an estate in Vermont. As a result of a tragedy six years prior the family remains isolated from the surrounding village. The Dictionary of Literary Characters designates a "definition" to Merricat as follows:

Reclusive, psychotic 18-year-old who lives in the family manse with her older sister, Constance Blackwood, and her uncle, Julian Blackwood, as a child, poisoned most of her family in Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle.^[1]

She practices sympathetic magic in order to keep her family out of harm's way. Extremely superstitious, she exudes mysterious behavior and further shows signs of psychopathy and obsessive–compulsive disorder as her role expands.^{[citation needed]}

^ Sollars, Michael David (2011). Dictionary of Literary Characters. New York City: Facts On File. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-8160-7379-5. OCLC 690009727.

[1] Sollars, Michael David (2011). Dictionary of Literary Characters. New York City: Facts On File. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-8160-7379-5. OCLC 690009727.

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