We Have Always Lived in the Castle character guide
The villagers form a hostile, shifting crowd rather than a single individual, watching, gossiping about, and mocking the Blackwoods while treating them as outsiders. Their shared cruelty, captured in “always hated us,” makes ordinary community life a source of fear, pressure, and public humiliation.
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Would the villagers remain powerful if they stood alone, without the safety of the crowd? Their gossip, staring, laughter, and shared hostility suggest that cruelty grows when people follow one another. Yet are they driven by fear, class resentment, jealousy, or a desire to defend community rules—and what does their treatment of the Blackwoods reveal about belonging?
The full We Have Always Lived in the Castle guide brings together scenes, characters, themes, and verified quotations.
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