Previous
Everyday Evil
Themes and Colors
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Possibility of Evil, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Although Miss Strangeworth describes her letter-writing process as a necessity to cleanse evil from her community, it is actually a way for her to release her own repressed thoughts and feelings. In particular, Miss Strangeworth is fixated on two things: money and sex. Miss Strangeworth is regularly critical of people who she thinks are flaunting their wealth. This includes Don and Helen Crane, who like to buy their child expensive garments, and Billy Moore, who drives around in his father’s fancy car. Though she is not subtle about her distaste for such actions even in person, she becomes especially vitriolic in her letters, as she calls the Crane child an “idiot”—meaning intellectually disabled—and tells the school board that Billy Moore’s father, a chemistry teacher, should not be able to afford his new car. Similarly, Miss Strangeworth assumes every relationship between a man and a woman to be sexual in nature and therefore evil. This is demonstrated in the letter Miss Strangeworth sends to Mrs. Harper pertaining to adultery and in the letters she sends to Linda Stewart’s parents, which imply a sexual relationship between Linda and Dave Harris.
Notably, all of Miss Strangeworth’s accounts are unfounded and therefore say much more about her than they do about their addressees. On the subject of wealth, Miss Strangeworth is shown to be hypocritical; she lives in a nice house with expensive objects and takes great pride in the roses that she doesn’t allow others to touch. Meanwhile, her obsession with sex can be interpreted to be a sign of jealousy. After all, Miss Strangeworth is single and has apparently always lived alone. Miss Strangeworth’s repressed feelings might explain the rage exhibited in her letters, as well as why she feels so energized the morning after sending them.
Related Themes from Other Texts
Compare and contrast themes from other texts to this theme…
Repression ThemeTracker
The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Repression appears in each chapter of The Possibility of Evil. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
How often theme appears:
chapter length:
Chapter
The Possibility o...
Get the entire The Possibility of Evil LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Repression Quotes in The Possibility of Evil
Below you will find the important quotes in The Possibility of Evil related to the theme of Repression.
The Possibility of Evil Quotes
Carrying her little bag of groceries, Miss Strangeworth came out of the store into the bright sunlight and stopped to smile down on the Crane baby. Don and Helen Crane were really the two most infatuated young parents she had ever known, she thought indulgently, looking at the delicately embroidered baby cap and the lace-edged carriage cover.
“That little girl is going to grow up expecting luxury all her life,” she said to Helen Crane.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
After finishing her run to the grocery store, Miss Strangeworth exits to find Helen Crane and her child. This is the introduction of Helen and Don Crane to the story, along with their unnamed child. Don Crane never actually appears in person, but he is integral to the story because he likely destroys Miss Strangeworth’s roses. This passage again places emphasis on the bright sunlight that washes over the town, giving it a false sense of perfection. The Crane baby—who is dressed extravagantly—also adds to the idealistic feel of the town. However, Miss Strangeworth quickly makes it apparent that she Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. El
Miss Strangeworth never concerned herself with facts; her letters all dealt with the more negotiable stuff of suspicion. Mr. Lewis would never have imagined for a minute that his grandson might be lifting petty cash from the store register if he had not had one of Miss Strangeworth’s letters. Miss Chandler, the librarian, and Linda Stewart’s parents would have gone unsuspectingly ahead with their lives, never aware of the possible evil lurking nearby, if Miss Strangeworth had not sent letters to open their eyes.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
This quote comes in the middle of Miss Strangeworth’s letter-writing ritual, and it explains the origin of her letters’ contents. Apparently, Miss Strangeworth does not care about the truthfulness of her letters. Instead, she relies on suspicion and intuition to guide her. If there is a possibility of evil, Miss Strangeworth sees it as her job to vanquish it, even if it means many of her letters will contain false accusations. It is clear Miss Strangeworth believes that her pursuit is noble—that she is opening the eyes of those who receive her letters. The recipients themselves, it is revealed, are Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam
She had been writing her letters – sometimes two or three a day, sometimes no more than one in a month – for the past year. She never got any answers, of course, because she never signed her name. If she had been asked, she would have said that her name, Adela Strangeworth, a named honored in the town for so many years, did not belong on such trash.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
This quote provides further information about Miss Strangeworth’s letter-writing habits. Apparently, this is a ritual she has taken up rather recently. Although it is never stated explicitly, it can be surmised that this is a habit that Miss Strangeworth started because of her repressed anger and sense of isolation from her community. Notably, Miss Strangeworth does not sign her name on the letters and instead remains anonymous. Later, it is revealed that she also travels to the post office at night in hopes that there will be fewer eyes to catch her in the act. She claims to do so Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Inc
Miss Strangeworth awakened the next morning with a feeling of intense happiness and, for a minute, wondered why, and then remembered that this morning three people would open her letters. Harsh, perhaps, at first, but wickedness was never easily banished, and a clean heart was a scoured heart.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
This quotation is from the morning after Miss Strangeworth sends out her letters. At this point, she is completely unaware that her anonymity was ruined and that her roses have been destroyed. Instead, she wakes up happy and feeling refreshed, proud of herself for her previous day’s work. Miss Strangeworth’s “feeling of intense happiness” provides a compelling reason for why she continues to engage in writing these anonymous letters. Although Miss Strangeworth insists that she does so to banish wickedness, in reality she just likes to make herself feel good. In addition, this quote reveals that Miss Strangeworth finds joy Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. V
Miss Strangeworth was a Strangeworth of Pleasant Street. Her hand did not shake as she opened the envelope and unfolded the sheet of green paper inside. She began to cry silently for the wickedness of the world when she read the words: Look out at what used to be your roses.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
These are the final lines of the story, as well as the most famous. They occur after Miss Strangeworth finds a letter that looks suspiciously like the one she sent to Don Crane in her dining room. As she reads it, it becomes clear that her precious roses have been destroyed, likely by Don or Helen Crane. This passage condenses all of the story’s primary themes into just a few sentences. First, there is the reiteration of Miss Strangeworth’s place in the community: she is “a Strangeworth of Pleasant Street.” However disconnected Miss Strangeworth may be from the actual lives Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusant
