When people think little old ladies they often image sweet, nice and wonderful, but people are not always what they seem. Adela Strangeworth was a sweet, nice and a wonderful old lady until they found out her dark secret. Adela Strangeworth, is a character in Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Possibility of Evil”. Adela Strangeworth is not your typical grandma; by day she is sweet, nice and loving but by night she is evil, deceptive and condescending. Strangeworth is no saint. She is an evil, nasty person. When she walks around town she plays nice to everyone. She asks about their day and makes pleasant small talk. Then she might see something she does not like or does not agree with entirely and that just sets her off. Yet she goes out of her way to interfere with other people’s business “[t]hat little girl is going to grow up expecting luxury all her …show more content…
She is a deceptive person. She is nice until something makes her frantic then she just has to knock them down by sending horrible letters to the people she has encounters with. She is wonderful around everyone, then then she gets home and writes one of her letters “ever see an idiot child before? Some people just shouldn’t have children” (Jackson, 1941, p. 169) she then sends this letter to a new mother in town. Is Adela Strangeworth a liar No, but is she crummy, vile and deceptive Yes. Adela Strangeworth is not a role model. She is very condescending. She believes she can send the letters to make the town a better place because her grandfather built the first house. “They wanted to put a statue of Ethan Allen… but it should have been a statue of my grandfather” (Jackson, 1941, p. 163) she elevates herself at the expense of everyone else’s happiness. Meanwhile she has concocted this illusion that the town evolves around her “its Tuesday, Mr. Lewis. You forgot to remind me”. (Jackson, 1941, p.166) There is no debating that Adela Strangeworth is a condescending