Miss Strangeworth In The Possibility Of Evil By Shirley Jackson

Evil is a present force in our society. It can’t be stopped; it spreads like cancer by the media and is embraced by the disappointed members of our society. In the story The Possibility of Evil, by Shirley Jackson, the protagonist, Miss Strangeworth, understands that evil is everywhere but does her best to stop it

As a result; in Miss Strangeworth’s mind she is the guardian and protector of the town. She feels that this responsibility has been accorded her because her grandfather was one of the town’s founding fathers. She is somewhat indulgent. As such Miss Strangeworth often catches herself thinking, “the town belongs to her.” Furthermore, Miss Strangeworth feels that it is her duty to protect the town and its people from evil of
She only deals in the “more negotiable stuff of suspicion.” Because of this, the people receiving the letters do become more aware of “evil” but not so they can avoid it, so they can confirm it. The people receiving the letters are worried and threatened by the information. The effects of the letters cause more degrade than good. The people are stressed; they are also hurt and distracted by what they have read in Miss Strangeworth’s cruel letters. Ultimately, the pain she has caused is turned back on her. She has driven the quiet, respectful, caring town’s folk to perform an uncharacteristically mean act of revenge. Destroying her precious roses. Miss Strangeworth was correct in her belief that evil “lurks in the hearts of all men” but it is her own attempts to control it or stamp it out that brings it out into the open in her town. She had seen nothing reprehensible in her own actions. Ironically it was a good deed by a young boy, he affected by one of the letters, which brought her actions out into the open. Had he not delivered the letter she dropped, the identity of the letter writer may never have been