Shirley Jackson and Her Short Stories

Shirley Jackson’s stories often had a woman as the central character who was in search of a more important life other than the conventional wife and mother. These characters however were often chastised for their refusal to conform to a woman’s traditional way of life. Much like her characters, throughout Shirley Jackson’s life, she also rejected the idea of fitting into society's perception of a woman's role.
Shirley Jackson was married to writer and literary critic Stanley Edgar Hyman. Hyman was threatened by Jackson’s talent and often discourage her. Because of this discouragement her tales develop into her revolt against a male-dominated society and her domineering husband.
Jackson’s rebellion against society’s opinion of a woman’s role was evident in her writings. The public disliked her work because women were not portrayed as they should be and due to her stories dark nature. According to Barbara G. Walker, "Any unusual ability in a woman instantly raise[s] a charge of witchcraft" (1078). In the flood of mail that followed the publication of "The Lottery," Jackson was labeled "un-American, perverted, and modern" (Sullivan 71).

People feared Shirley Jackson herself was a witch and thought she practiced voodoo. Jack Sullivan wrote, "Jackson's real witchcraft is her fiction" (71). Sullivan thought the comparison between Jackson and her heroines were prominent. Jackson’s female characters loathe their boring lives. These characters rise up against men and then are punished or even put to death for their defiance.
In “The Lottery", Tessie Hutchinson is a main character. At first Tessie goes along with the tradition as is her place in society. But then she is selected and questions the fairness of the lottery. She speaks ...

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...men and in turn makes you root against the characters that oppress them.

Works Cited
Breit, Harvey. Shirley Jackson. The New York Times June 26, 1949, 15. Rpt. in Modern American Literature, Vol. II. Ed. Dorothy Nyren Curley et al. New York: Continuum, 1989.
Jackson, Shirley. The Lottery. Middlebury.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec 2013. .
Jackson, Shirley. The Haunting of Hill House. New York: Penguin, 1959.
Oehlschlaeger, Fritz. The Stoning of Mistress Hutchinson: Meaning and Context in The Lottery. Essays in Literature Vol. XV, Fall 1988. 259-265. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism, Vol. 9.
Sullivan, Jack. The Haunted Mind of Shirley Jackson. Twilight Zone August 1994, 71-74.
Walker, Barbara G. The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets. San Francisco: Harper, Collins, 1983.