Charles Blackwood Character Analysis in We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Cousin to Merricat and Constance. Charles turns up at the house saying that he wants to help the sisters. Though Constance welcomes him, Merricat sees him as a stranger and an intruder and works tirelessly to get rid of him. He initially tries to befriend her, but quickly turns hostile, essentially threatening to steal Constance from her. He refuses to put up with Merricat’s eccentricities as Constance does, and he wants to punish her. He also becomes irritated with Uncle Julian’s physical illness and delusions, making an enemy of the sharp-tongued old man. Charles allies himself entirely with Constance and begins to turn her against Merricat. Though nothing is said explicitly, it is implied that he hopes to marry Constance and get access to the money that her father has left in the safe in his study. It certainly becomes clear that he cares about little other than money, making him into a sort of living copy of the sisters’ dead father, John Blackwood. Charles represents the Blackwood masculinity against which Merricat and Constance rebel by entirely disregarding the value of money or social status.

Charles Blackwood Quotes in We Have Always Lived in the Castle

The We Have Always Lived in the Castle quotes below are all either spoken by Charles Blackwood or refer to Charles Blackwood. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

“Merricat,” Constance said; she turned and looked at me, smiling. “It’s our cousin, our cousin Charles Blackwood. I knew him at once; he looks like Father.”

“Well, Mary,” he said. He stood up; he was taller now that he was inside, bigger and bigger as he came closer to me. “Got a kiss for your cousin Charles?”

Behind him the kitchen door was open wide; he was the first one who had ever gotten inside and Constance had let him in.... I was held tight, wound round with wire, I couldn’t breathe, and I had to run.

Related Characters: Constance Blackwood (speaker), Mary Katherine “Merricat” Blackwood (speaker), Charles Blackwood (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 57

Explanation and Analysis:

Merricat sees a stranger trying to get into the house and assumes he’s just one of the gawkers who comes to try to see Constance. However, when she returns to the kitchen she finds that Constance has let him in, and she immediately sees him as her enemy. This moment represents Constance’s first major betrayal of Merricat. On a basic level, Merricat and Constance live by rules of isolation that keep them safe, and for Constance to let a stranger in breaks all of those rules. On a more metaphorical level, Merricat has killed their family, particularly their father, to 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

“In a tree,” he said, and his voice was shaking too. “I found it nailed to a tree, for God’s sake. What kind of a house is this?”

“It’s not important,” Constance said. “Really, Charles, it’s not important.”

“Not important? Connie, this thing’s made of gold.”

“But no one wants it.”

“One of the links is smashed.... what a hell of a way to treat a valuable thing. We could have sold it,” he said to Constance.

“But why?”

Related Characters: Charles Blackwood (speaker), Constance Blackwood (speaker), Mary Katherine “Merricat” Blackwood

Page Number and Citation: 77

Explanation and Analysis:

Because she wants to get rid of Charles, Merricat goes into his room and takes her father’s gold watch chain that Charles has been looking at. She nails it to a tree as a safeguard, and Charles finds it. His discovery disturbs him, partly because it’s an unusual use for a watch chain, but mostly because he values money so highly. Throughout the book, Charles represents the patriarchal, capitalist emphasis on the importance of money. Scenes such as this one show that he has come more to seek his own financial gain than to help the sisters. The sisters, on 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

“We should have faced the world and tried to live normal lives; Uncle Julian should have been in a hospital all these years, with good care and nurses to watch him. We should have been living like other people. You should...” She stopped, and waved her hands helplessly. “You should have boy friends,” she said finally, and then began to laugh because she sounded funny even to herself.

Related Characters: Constance Blackwood (speaker), Mary Katherine “Merricat” Blackwood (speaker), Charles Blackwood, Uncle Julian Blackwood

Page Number and Citation: 82

Explanation and Analysis:

After Charles has been at the house for a while, Constance says that Merricat isn’t allowed to wander anymore, and that the sisters should have been living differently ever since the poisoning. In this passage, Constance is essentially parroting Charles’s words back to Merricat. Constance is somewhat susceptible to taking on the beliefs of those around her; before Charles arrives, she’s happy enough to live as Merricat wants them to live, but when Helen Clarke suggests that Constance should rejoin the outside world she thinks it might be a good idea, too. Now she is falling prey to Charles’s sense 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. Elig

“My niece Mary Katherine has been a long time dead, young man. She did not survive the loss of her family; I supposed you knew that.”

“What?” Charles turned furiously to Constance.

“My niece Mary Katherine died in an orphanage, of neglect, during her sister’s trial for murder. But she is of very little consequence to my book, and so we will have done with her.”

Related Characters: Uncle Julian Blackwood (speaker), Charles Blackwood (speaker), Mary Katherine “Merricat” Blackwood, Constance Blackwood

Page Number and Citation: 93

Explanation and Analysis:

A very angry Charles is preparing to punish Merricat for filling his room with dirt and rubbish, but Uncle Julian calls him names and then insists that Merricat is dead. This is the first time that the reader realizes that Julian holds this belief, though, in looking back, one can see that the two characters never interact. Ironically, Uncle Julian wants to note every little detail about every other person who was in the house the night of the poisoning—most of whom are dead, and so couldn’t have been the culprit—yet he doesn’t even think to consider Merricat. His belief 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

I brushed the saucer and the pipe off the table into the wastebasket and they fell softly on to the newspapers he had brought into the house.

I was wondering about my eyes; one of my eyes—the left—saw everything golden and yellow and orange, and the other eye saw shades of blue and grey and green; perhaps one eye was for daylight and the other was for night. If everyone in the world saw different colors from different eyes there might be a great many colors still to be invented.

Related Characters: Mary Katherine “Merricat” Blackwood (speaker), Charles Blackwood

Page Number and Citation: 99-100

Explanation and Analysis:

Merricat goes upstairs to tidy herself before joining the family at dinner, and, in Charles’s room, she finds his pipe smoldering on one of her great-grandmother’s saucers. By sweeping the pipe into the wastebasket, she sets the fire that burns the entire top floor of the house. Merricat is very angry at Charles, and has long been looking for an effective way to get back at him. However, the fire that she is setting in this passage does not seem premeditated. On the contrary, she brushes the pipe into the trash entirely without thought, or at least without any thoughts 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. T

“If you let me go this time, you’ll never see me again. I mean it, Connie.... Take a last look,” he said. “I’m going. One word could make me stay.”

I did not think he was going to go in time. I honestly did not know whether Constance was going to be able to contain herself until he got down the steps and safely into the car.... Charles looked back once more, raised his hand sadly, and got into the car. Then Constance laughed, and I laughed... and we held each other in the dark hall and laughed, with the tears running down our cheeks....

“I am so happy,” Constance said at last, gasping. “Merricat, I am so happy.”

“I told you that you would like it on the moon.”

Related Characters: Charles Blackwood (speaker), Mary Katherine “Merricat” Blackwood (speaker), Constance Blackwood (speaker)

Related Symbols: The Moon

Page Number and Citation: 144-45

Explanation and Analysis:

One day Charles drives up to the house trying to lure Constance out for a picture. From outside, he shouts to Merricat and Constance, apologizing for the damage he’s done and begging Constance to come outside. In this passage, Constance confirms her complete conversion to Merricat’s reality—to living “on the moon,” as Merricat puts it. The main immediate conflict of the book is Charles’s invasion of the house and the threat of him taking Constance away from Merricat. That conflict is only partly resolved when Charles leaves after the fire. To completely expel his influence, Constance must reject him, since 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

Charles Blackwood Character Timeline in We Have Always Lived in the Castle

The timeline below shows where the character Charles Blackwood appears in We Have Always Lived in the Castle. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...be safe until someone said her three magic words. Constance introduces Merricat to their cousin, Charles Blackwood. He wants Merricat to greet him with a kiss. Constance tries to soothe Merricat,... (full context)

Merricat and Constance are talking about breakfast and planting leaves when Constance says that Charles is still asleep, and suddenly Merricat can’t breathe. She insists that Charles was a ghost... (full context)

Constance insists that Charles is in the house, and he’s their cousin. His father wouldn’t let him help the... (full context)

Constance says they’ll neaten the house after Charles wakes up. She sweeps up the broken glass while Merricat eats breakfast. Constance brings Uncle... (full context)

Constance greets Charles in the hall. He and Uncle Julian meet, and Charles reveals that, contrary to Uncle... (full context)

Merricat can’t see Charles clearly, either because of his size or because he’s a ghost. She hides in a... (full context)

Uncle Julian commends Charles’s chivalry and, finding out that he’s thirty-two, remarks that Constance is approximately twenty-eight. He thinks... (full context)

Uncle Julian decides to return to an earlier chapter in which he discussed Charles’s family. Charles, however, wants everyone to forget about the trial. Uncle Julian feels that Charles... (full context)

Jonas sits in the doorway. Charles tells Jonas that Merricat doesn’t like him, and asks how he can make her like... (full context)

...window to check on Uncle Julian. She says they won’t clean their father’s room, since Charles is staying there, and she considers wearing their mother’s pearls, but then laughs at herself... (full context)

...the floor as she dusts the trim. Constance remarks that she should have already shown Charles this room, and she insists that Merricat will have to sit at the table with... (full context)

The sisters return to the kitchen, where Charles is smoking. When Constance goes outside to get Uncle Julian, Charles tells Jonas that Merricat... (full context)

At dinner, Charles watches Constance helping Uncle Julian eat. Merricat doesn’t eat because Constance put dressing on her... (full context)

Charles offers to fix the broken back step and go into the village for groceries, and... (full context)

Constance gives Charles the shopping list and a key to the gate. When she gives him grocery money,... (full context)

Merricat goes to her father’s room to look for a magic object to use against Charles. Since Charles is staying here, the room is filled with his things. An open drawer... (full context)

Later that day, Charles brings the watch chain to the kitchen, having found it in the tree. He’s enraged... (full context)

Merricat decides that the next step is to ask Charles politely to leave, before he leaves his mark on the house any more than he... (full context)

Merricat goes outside to ask Charles to leave. She tries to be kind to him in her thoughts, but when she... (full context)

Merricat has been doing a better job of being kind to Uncle Julian. Charles hates watching Uncle Julian eat and says he should wear a bib. Charles eats huge... (full context)

One afternoon, Merricat follows Charles to the edge of the village, where she sees him sit down with the village... (full context)

Merricat goes to look for Jonas, and Charles returns with a scarf that Merricat had used to tie the gate shut. He’s irritated... (full context)

...Constance and Uncle Julian are. Uncle Julian demands a box for his papers so that Charles can’t touch them. He calls Charles dishonest and a bastard. Constance brings him a box... (full context)

...evening, Constance plays songs that their mother played on the harp in the drawing room. Charles is restless while he listens, but doesn’t dare put his feet on the furniture. Uncle... (full context)

Merricat decides that Thursday is the day to get rid of Charles. Constance makes spice cookies, which is a shame because they’ll go to waste since it’s... (full context)

...with these scraps. She pours water on the bed and tears down the curtains so Charles will have to see the road leading away. In this room, he won’t know who... (full context)

Merricat is lying in her room when she hears Charles shouting angrily to Constance outside. He hasn’t managed to mend the step. He’s carrying the... (full context)

Constance goes inside to answer Uncle Julian’s call, and Charles follows. When Charles goes to put the silver dollars in the safe, Merricat runs outside.... (full context)

Merricat cleans out her shelter because Charles was so close to it. She returns home when she gets hungry, and Charles is... (full context)

Charles has brought a handful of sticks and dirt from his room and placed it on... (full context)

Constance looks like she’s going to cry, and Merricat calls Charles evil. He says the house is crazy, and Constance tries to pacify him by saying... (full context)

Uncle Julian tells Charles to be quiet, and Charles says he has to deal with Merricat first. Julian, however,... (full context)

Constance cleans the dirt off the table while Charles looks baffled, and Merricat thinks Charles is becoming trapped. Constance tells him to go rest,... (full context)

...Jonas stand looking at the house with love. Merricat thinks it is almost clean of Charles’s influence. He’s still angry at her when she goes in, and Merricat can tell that... (full context)

Merricat goes upstairs and creeps into Charles’s room. Constance has cleaned the dirt out and now it looks very empty, because Merricat... (full context)

...she returns to the dinner table. She requests that Constance make her a cake. When Charles threatens her with the prospect of a long talk, Merricat says the Latin name for... (full context)

Suddenly Charles smells smoke. Constance checks the kitchen and Charles the hall. He suspects that Merricat is... (full context)

...wants to shut the door to her father’s room to keep the fire confined to Charles’s things, but it’s already coming outside the room. Everything belonging to Charles must be burnt... (full context)

...rest of the firefighters drag hoses in and light up the front of the house. Charles is yelling for the men to get the safe. Constance is worried that people might... (full context)

Someone asks where the sisters and Uncle Julian are, but Charles says they’re fine. Merricat thinks Uncle Julian must have gotten out the back door, but... (full context)

...faces in the crowd in the yard. She thinks of the fire as belonging to Charles and marvels at the firemen’s ability to destroy it. She can hear the fire and... (full context)

...shatter the windows and break the Dresden figurines and the harp, laughing all the while. Charles tries to get someone to help him with the safe. The villagers begin to chant... (full context)

...announces that the fun is over, because Uncle Julian is dead. The villagers fall silent. Charles asks whether Constance killed him, and the crowd moves away from the sisters. Dr. Levy... (full context)

One afternoon, Charles arrives in a car with another man. They walk up to the steps, and Merricat... (full context)

The man hides behind the car and Charles calls out to Constance. Merricat can tell that she now sees Charles for what he... (full context)

The man says that Charles is wasting his breath, but Charles says he needs to see them because it’s his... (full context)

...inside. The sisters think that people will start calling the path Lover’s Lane, perhaps after Charles. Constance says Charles should have shot himself in the head in the driveway. They learn... (full context)

Charles Blackwood Character Analysis

Charles Blackwood Quotes in We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Chapter 4 Quotes

Chapter 6 Quotes

Chapter 7 Quotes

Chapter 8 Quotes

Chapter 10 Quotes

Charles Blackwood Character Timeline in We Have Always Lived in the Castle