Fridge / We Have Always Lived in the Castle

• Feminine power triumphing over male dominance is a big theme in the book. All the items that are destroyed by the mob? All symbolize femininity in some way: Constance's Harp of Femininity, their mother's little Dresden figures, and all the beautiful china that's belonged to previous Blackwood wives. However, what does survive? Constance's domain: the kitchen and cellar. More to the point, the Blackwood women's preserves that have lasted for decades, that were one thing that truly gave Constance pleasure in her life as a Cinderella figure for her domineering parents.
  • The moon is seen as a feminine symbol in many cultures. Merricat's ideal life is living on the moon with a beautiful garden and a safe house.
• Merricat loves Richard Plantagenet. A theorized poisoner.
  • Not to mention most commonly remembered for being a popular suspect in the murder of his nephews.
• Merricat sees blue in one eye and orange in the other in Charles' room. She doesn't, really. She just set his wastebasket on fire.
• Constance approved of Merricat's murder of their family. There are clues in the text which suggest that she might have been more involved than it initially appears. She purchased the arsenic, waited suspiciously long before calling the doctor (until she was sure the victims were beyond saving), calmly washed the sugar bowl while her family was dying in the dining room and later told the police that she believed her family deserved to die.