The Women of Shirley Jackson Throughout her life, Shirley Jackson refused to fit into society's limited conception of the role of women. Her works feature female protagonists who are punished for seeking a more substantial existence than that of the traditional wife or mother. In most cases, these characters are condemned as witches, ostracized by society, and even killed for their refusal to conform. From her youth, Jackson was an outsider. Always concerned about her obesity and plain appearance, she preferred to spend time alone in her room writing poetry rather than socializing with other children (Oppenheimer 16). As an adult, she struggled to fulfill her role as a mother without sacrificing her writing career. Kathleen Warnock writes: [Jackson] served as driver for her children and hostess for her husband's academic colleagues at Bennington College [where he was a professor]. . . . But she also sets aside time each day to write. “There was always the sound of machine typing,” his children wrote, “hammering until late at night.” household. However, this only made Jackson more determined. Her writing became a form of rebellion against her husband (who was allegedly unfaithful) and, ultimately, against a male-dominated society. This element of rebellion in Jackson's works led to his poor reception by contemporary critics and readers. According to mythologist Barbara G. Walker, “Any unusual ability in a woman instantly raises an accusation of witchcraft” (1078). In the flood of mail that followed the publication of “The Lottery,” Jackson was called “anti-American, perverse, and modern” (Sullivan 71). Rumors of supernatural events involving Jackson began to circulate. According to David Gates, Jackson "broke publisher Alfred Knopf's leg by sticking pins in a voodoo doll" (67). Elizabeth Frank, a student at Bennington College, remembers “a rumor that… [Jackson] turned a certain professor into a pumpkin” (6). Jackson's extensive library of witchcraft as well as the mystique stemming from his agoraphobic tendencies added to this characterization. His house became a cave, his small social circle a clan and his many cats became “familiars”. In the words of Jack Sullivan, "Jackson's real witchcraft is his fiction »." (71).