Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life (98 page)

education of, 74–76, 80–84, 88–89, 91, 94–100,
95
, 180, 311

as a father, 164, 165, 168, 170, 207, 251, 342, 365

FBI investigation of, 310–13, 319, 355, 360

financial concerns of, 209, 239–42, 244, 257, 269, 351, 362, 539

first meeting of SJ and, 88, 95, 339

girlfriends of, 83–85,
85

humor of, 137

illnesses of, 488

infidelity of, 101, 103–4, 108, 115, 119–20, 154–55, 171, 297–99, 342–43, 367, 407, 455, 467

intellect of, 74, 82, 97, 137, 341

Jewish background of, 2, 6, 72–76, 81, 91, 95–98, 103, 129–30, 132–33, 145, 148, 161, 180, 183, 243, 339, 439

journal of, 147–48, 153

lectures of, 264, 392, 431, 473, 482

literary influence on SJ by, 8, 57, 62, 64, 96, 111, 115, 151, 208, 226, 227

literary taste of, 81, 100, 102, 109–10, 118, 151

magazine work of, 89, 138–42, 144, 148, 150–51, 159–63

major works of, 8–9, 70, 73, 77, 86, 89, 185–87, 196–97, 218,
219
, 237–45, 340, 464–67

musical taste of, 120–21, 124, 152, 180

myth and ritual as interests of, 292–93, 296

organization and self-discipline of, 79–80, 148, 265, 273, 340, 432

outsider self-image of, 133

physical appearance of, 70–71, 95, 143, 170, 341

poetry of, 109–11

poker playing of, 9, 202, 274, 298, 317, 337

professional photographs of, 70–72,
71
, 218,
219
,
466

as professor and literary critic, 4, 8–9, 73–75, 77, 82, 150–51, 181, 185–86, 189, 234, 320, 337–42, 348, 431

relationship of SJ and, 4, 5, 7–8, 9, 50, 77, 80, 90, 95–105,
99
, 108, 112, 114–37, 141–44, 147–57, 167, 170–71, 187, 242, 256–57, 265, 277, 290, 297, 310, 342–43, 362, 367–68, 372–73, 407–9, 448–49, 470–71, 473, 476–79, 493

second marriage of, 73, 196, 340, 496

on SJ, 9, 217–18, 245, 310, 473

wedding of SJ and, 116, 128–30, 132–34, 135, 256, 496

weight problems of, 83, 341, 372–73, 488–89

youthful sexual experience of, 83, 524

“I Cannot Sing the Old Songs” (Jackson), 133

“Idiot” (Jackson), 65

I Know Who I Love
(Jackson), 144–45, 211–12

Image and the Law, The
(Nemerov), 300

“I Married a Jew,” 132

Incredible Shrinking Man, The
(film), 384

Indiana University, 482

“In Praise of Dinner Table Silence” (Jackson), 422

Institute for Sex Research, 482

Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 367

“International Incident, An” (Jackson), 553

International Union of Revolutionary Writers, 87

Intoxicated, The
(Jackson), 188

“Intoxicated, The” (Jackson), 40–41, 382

Invisible Man, The
(Ellison),
180
, 181, 276–77, 316, 338, 430

critical response to, 302–3

Hyman’s influence on,
180
, 181, 276

National Book Award won by, 303

Ippolitov-Ivanov, Mikhail, 57–58

Italian Comedy, The
(DuChartre), 51

Italy, 20, 109

“It Isn’t the Money I Mind” (Jackson), 177, 209, 228

Ives, Burl, 152

Jackson, Barry (brother),
65
, 117, 167

birth of, 24

childhood and adolescence of, 12, 21, 24,
24
, 25, 28,
28
, 31, 41, 45–48

relationship of SJ and, 31, 45, 69, 119–20

on SJ, 47–48

Jackson, Charles, 263, 269

Jackson, Geraldine Maxwell Bugbee (mother), 12, 21–26, 40, 41, 73, 194, 213, 220, 423, 494

birth of, 19, 20

correspondence of SJ and, 7, 17–18, 24, 30, 257, 275, 277, 284–85, 289, 306, 350, 375, 403, 414, 453–54, 456, 459, 472–73

relationship of SJ and, 23–25, 30–34,
32
, 35–36, 49, 53, 55, 59, 64–67, 69, 96–97, 108, 118, 120, 130–31, 133, 153, 164, 169–70, 179, 250, 263, 269–70, 279, 294, 323, 326, 348, 350–51, 453–54,
454
, 455–56

social life of, 46, 47

Jackson, James T., 263

Jackson, Joseph Henry, 224, 233, 235, 325

Jackson, Leslie (father), 12–13, 21–26, 33, 41, 55, 66, 73, 100, 182, 220, 257, 459, 494

as amateur painter, 23

business career of, 13, 22, 28, 34, 45–46, 118, 131

correspondence of SJ and, 7, 289

musicality of, 30

relationship of SJ and, 68–69, 96–97, 118–20, 126, 130–33

Jackson, Shirley Hardie,
iv
,
47
,
56
,
65
,
222
,
249
,
383
,
408
,
486

agoraphobia of, 166, 268, 329, 381, 427, 456, 469–71, 481–82, 487

alcohol and prescription drug use of, 4, 285–86, 289, 346, 361, 374–75, 377, 437, 460, 467, 470, 473, 482–83, 547

auburn hair of, 47, 50, 95

as baseball fan, 8, 167, 260, 261

birth of, 22, 25, 96, 128

boyfriends of, 66, 68–69, 92, 93–94, 134, 155

cartooning of, 23, 97–98,
106
, 127,
127
,
129
, 138, 143,
143
, 147,
147
, 148, 155,
159
, 161,
161
, 162, 170, 171, 206,
386
,
411

character and personality of, 8, 9, 34–38, 93, 264–67, 286–88, 328–30

childhood and adolescence of, 11–13,
12
, 21, 23–26,
24
, 28–69,
28
, 80, 102, 167, 170, 200, 214, 266, 371, 418

Christmas celebrations of, 167–68, 326, 371, 377, 462

cooking of, 75, 143, 178, 187, 198, 274, 371–72, 436, 488

creative process and working habits of, 1, 8, 80, 149, 172–73, 208, 330, 344, 420, 432

death of, 4, 7, 9, 18, 196, 222, 252, 318, 475, 487, 493–96

“demon in the mind” obsession of, 63–64, 361, 431

dental problems of, 262–63

diaries of, 7, 34–36, 38–40, 44–46, 49, 57, 59–60, 65–68, 98, 147–48, 152, 155–57, 434, 476–79, 491, 509

divorce considered by, 257, 299, 342, 478

driving of, 275–76, 321, 342–43, 346, 369, 418–19, 433, 436

education of, 7, 11, 28, 33, 34, 44–48, 51, 53–61, 66–69, 75, 76, 80, 90–95,
91
, 113, 133, 233, 291

emotional and health issues of, 3, 4, 45, 46, 50, 51–52, 66–68, 166, 268, 285–88, 329, 343–49, 361, 371–76, 381, 419, 423, 426–27, 430, 456, 457–58, 468–79, 481–82

family background of, 11–26

first novel of, 2, 3

“haunted” music box of, 15

illnesses of, 120–21, 141, 430, 437–39, 482, 492–93

invented language of, 58

“Irish” nickname of, 50

jealousy of, 342–43, 373

lecturing and teaching of, 19, 172, 173, 215, 221, 222–23,
246
, 263–64, 320, 393, 415–18, 436, 438, 447, 454, 482–83, 487–88, 492–93

lifelong nightmares of, 31, 211–12, 344, 351, 401, 431, 437, 469

literary agents of, 144, 152, 161, 171–72, 189, 209–10, 223–24, 226, 246, 269, 277–78, 315–16, 345, 361, 394–96,
395
, 400

literary taste of, 58, 61–63, 81, 92, 97, 168, 217–18

magic, occult, and witchcraft as interests of, 2–3, 8, 15, 31, 58, 105–8,
106
, 112, 166, 187–88, 217, 218, 258–62, 268, 355–61, 364, 402, 448

married life and motherhood of, 1–5, 8, 9, 31, 33, 44, 128–35, 141–44, 147–58, 164–72,
169
, 178–79, 182, 199–200, 202–3, 222–23, 249–52, 259, 264–67, 274–76, 283, 297, 306–9, 329, 342–43,
356
, 362–71, 377–80, 430–31, 497–98

memory loss of, 346

movie-going of, 45, 52–53, 57

musical talent of, 34, 217, 253, 276, 462

myth and ritual interests of, 2, 30, 221–22

nervous breakdowns of, 45, 67, 473

obituaries of, 6, 495, 497

occult powers claimed by, 108

pets of, 268, 270,
311
, 319, 324, 430,
431

possible suicide attempts of, 45, 62, 67

pregnancies of, 133, 147, 152, 155, 157–58, 165, 199, 236, 316, 373

professional photographs of, 218, 263, 301, 310,
311
,
314
, 453–54,
454

pseudonyms of, 125

psychoanalysis of, 470–71, 473–74, 476

as a “rather haunted woman,” 2–3, 495

roving intellect of, 91–92

self-awareness of, 37–38, 49

sleepwalking of, 346, 415

smoking of, 93, 118, 198

social circle of, 7, 8, 62, 152, 165, 178–79, 276, 320, 329–30

social isolation of, 47, 48–49, 55, 81, 92, 133, 161–62, 431

success and fame of, 4, 249, 268, 313, 418, 454

talent and ambition of, 2

tarot cards reading of, 291

teenage crushes of, 38, 39, 49, 53, 57, 59

tension between domestic and professional lives of, 3–4, 5–6, 9, 171, 172, 259, 264–67

weight concerns and dieting of, 4, 24, 32, 37, 47, 67, 153, 285–86, 328, 329, 371–76

as witch, amateur, 2–3, 8, 217, 242, 258–62

Jackson, Shirley, works of:

autobiographical content in, 43–44, 291, 293–95, 306–7, 312, 316, 318

for children and young adults, 355–61, 468–69, 474–75, 484

critical and public response to, 1–2, 4, 5, 7, 9l, 228–35,
230
;
see also individual titles

cruelty and alienation in, 177

“daemon lover” figure in, 52, 253, 255, 256, 351, 431

dialogue in, 174, 283

in domestic comedy genre, 4–5, 304–10

exaggeration in, 36

first publication of, 33

hidden evil themes in, 53, 63–64, 224–25

houses and homemaking as subjects of, 3, 5, 13–14, 17, 19, 23, 29, 266, 385, 392, 402–6, 409–16,
411
, 444, 479–80

Hyman on, 151, 245, 255, 300

invasion of privacy depicted in, 32–33

irony and humor in, 215, 247, 324, 325, 335, 352, 365–66

lesbianism in, 440–42

literary sophistication and emotional depth of, 3

magazine publication of, 1–2, 4, 31, 144, 146, 168, 171–77, 249, 265–66, 269–70, 307

nonfiction articles and memoirs among, 4, 5, 35–36, 37, 61–62, 67, 249, 265–67

novels and short stories among, 1–8, 22, 24, 27, 29–33, 40–42, 50, 59–68, 91–97, 112, 123, 126–27, 133–34, 138–39, 171–77, 181–89, 209–20, 248–70, 291–97, 303–5, 320–25, 331–37, 344–71, 384–400, 407–31, 434–50, 473–81

personal anger channeled in, 31

poems among, 33–34, 55, 57, 59, 67, 99, 110–11, 125, 139

posthumous publication of, 69, 185, 222, 261–62, 351, 475

rejections of, 148–49, 176, 209, 210, 212, 253, 278, 314–15

SJ’s earnings from, 366–67, 397, 490

style and techniques of, 173–75, 224–25, 308

in suspense and horror genre, 1–2, 4–5, 6–7, 14, 50

symbols of independence in, 276

unfinished, 128, 133–34, 144–45, 169–70, 183, 276, 419, 484, 492

unpublished, 46, 48, 61, 63, 184, 185, 287, 290

world of women and children explored in, 3, 6, 25, 214, 220, 225–26, 236, 254, 299, 303

see also individual titles

James, Henry, 3, 7, 409, 424, 452

“Janice” (Jackson), 67–68, 94–95, 100, 498

Jansson, Tove, 429

Japanese army, 117

jazz, 8, 73, 120–21, 124, 152, 160, 168, 293, 364, 392–93

Jesus, 76

Jewish National Fund, 76

Jewish Survey, The
, 138, 143, 146

John, Augustus,
339

John Reed Clubs, 86

Johns Hopkins University, 432

Johnson, A. E., 92–93, 94, 125–26

Johnson, Pyke, 252, 258

Johnson, Robert, 260