Part I

assignement I

P 19

"Merricat," she said, smiling at me, "look how far I came today."

"It's too far," I said. "First thing I know you'll be following me into the village."

"I might at that," she said.

Even though I knew she was teasing me I was chilled, but I laughed. "You wouldn't like it much," I told her. "Here, lazy, take some of these packages. Where's my cat?"

"He went off chasing butterflies because you were late. Did you remember eggs? I forgot to tell you."

After I read this passage I kept thinking about it because I felt like I didn't completely understand what happened in this scene. Constance is really happy and is smiling because she had gone far today. Reading this made me think she was in a wheelchair. But even if she was in a wheelchair, it wouldn't be such a big deal to go far in the garden. Mary Katherines reaction seems odd because she reacts very brutal about something Constance is cheerful about. From her reaction, I deduced that there was no way she was able to visit the village. As if there was a barrier between their fence and the village. Constance seems very bossy throughout the book but in this scene the roles are exactly reversed and Mary Katherine is just the one in control. I find the fear Mary Katherine has, about her sister possibly going to the village, strange.

assignement II

Mary Katherine or Merricat is a very childish girl for her age. In the beginning of the book, she says she is 18 but I quickly forgot that because she does strange things for her age. Like the games she plays in her head when she goes to the village. She is very protective of her sister which is wholesome but it also makes you as a reader confused by the role she wants to play towards her.

What I found interesting was that she acts very submissive towards Constance. She lets Constance be a mother role to her even though she is an adult. This also makes her role in the story seem passive. In some scenes, she seems like a fly on the wall. For example, when Mrs Clarke visits and uncle Julian tells the whole story, she does not let her presence be noticed.

I would like to know how she behaved before the poisoning. I wonder what she was like at school and how she interacted with her friends, if she even had any. I think she was always very dependent on her sister. I also want to know what her relationship was like with her family, especially her parents. Because during uncle Julian's story, she doesn't really seem affected or emotional about it.