It watches," he added suddenly. "The house. It watches every move you make.
Shirley JacksonRead
Gossip says she hanged herself from the turret on the tower, but when you have a house like Hill House with a tower and a turret, gossip would hardly allow you to hang yourself anywhere else.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Gossip can distort reality and lead to misunderstandings about someone's life and choices.
Shirley Jackson's quote reflects on the nature of gossip and how it can shape perceptions of individuals, particularly in a complex environment like Hill House. It suggests that the stories told about someone, especially when they are tragic or sensational, can overshadow the truth, leaving us questioning what is real amidst a backdrop of speculation and rumor.
Themes
GossipTruthPerceptionRumorHill House
In practice
Example use cases
This quote is perfect for a discussion on the impact of gossip in social settings.
More from Shirley Jackson
All quotes →There had not been this many words sounded in our house for a long time, and it was going to take a while to clean them out.
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Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.
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I can't help it when people are frightened," says Merricat. "I always want to frighten them more.
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I was pretending that I did not speak their language; on the moon we spoke a soft, liquid tongue, and sang in the starlight, looking down on the dead dried world.
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We moved together very slowly toward the house, trying to understand its ugliness and ruin and shame.
Shirley JacksonRead
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