Miss Adela Strangeworth Shirley Jackson tells us about a very interesting character in the short story titled “The Possibility of Evil. ” In the story Miss Strangeworth is an old lady who takes it as her duty too inform the town of evil, but one day one of her evil informing letters gets in the wrong hands and her favorite roses are cut. In this essay the character of Miss Strangeworth is described through her physical description, family, lifestyle and her hobbies.
One way the readers get to know the character of Miss Strangeworth is through her physical features and her personality. Miss Strangeworth personality is very deceiving. This is because she always seems very nice and polite to people when she talks to them but behind their back she often writes nasty things about them in her letters. Miss Strangeworth’s personality is generally very polite, organized and loving. At 71 her physical features are quite typical of an elderly woman. She has gray hair, blue eyes, and is very small and petite.
Miss Strangeworth is a proper, frail old lady on the outside but in the middle she is just a crafty backstabber. In addition to Miss Strangeworth’s personality and body type, her family adds depth to her character. “My grandfather built this town with his own two hands,” was once a quote by Miss Strangeworth. That quote was generally the perspective and view Miss Strangeworth had on her family. She believes that since her and her family before her was born and raised on Pleasant Street she is a little bit better than everybody else.
Her family in a way did sort of build the town and is always considered a very respected. Miss Strangeworth grew up in an upper middle class family that was involved in the community and was always very polite and proper. Miss Strangeworth came from a very wealthy, respected and proper family that shaped her into a more complete character. Also in addition to Miss Strangeworth’s family, her lifestyle and activities add depth to her character. Her lifestyle is very organized and careful. She likes to take it pretty easy being elderly but she still is never bored.
One example from the story of her having an organized lifestyle is that she has tea the same time every day and takes a nap the same time every day. When she is not at home she is usually talking to old friends or buying groceries and after she is done talking to them she usually writes wicked letters behind their back. Miss Strangeworth’s organized lifestyle and minimal activities define her even more as a character. In addition to Miss Adela Strangeworth’s lifestyle, her hobbies and interests add more depth to this character.
Miss Strangeworth’s oddest and by far most notable hobby is her habit of writing mean letters behind even her best and worst friends. In her mind it is helping the town but it is just making people feel worse. Another hobby is taking care of her roses. That is the thing she is most proud of, many people come from far and wide to see there beauty and they are legendary in the town. Some other interests include keeping up on local gossip and playing bridge with her buddies. Miss Strangeworth has many interesting hobbies.
In this essay Miss Strangeworth is described through personality, family, lifestyle and hobbies. Miss Strangeworth’s lifestyle is very organized and her personality is nice and proper on the outside but it is cruel deep down. Her cruelness can be explained through her nasty letters, but probably not through her genuine love of roses. Miss Strangeworth’s two-faced personality, cautious lifestyle, respected family and letter writing hobbies all complete her character as a strange old woman.
