tics seem to have respected Shirley Jackson as an American novelist, short story writer, and nonfiction writer. Mary Kittredge writes that "in all the aspects of her life,.....Jackson fought whatever obstacles she encountered at least to a draw. Her success in the horror genre, like her successful domestic comedy, was the result of an exquisitely sensitive double vision that would have seemed an affliction to a less determined or talented writer. She saw the magic in the mundane, and the evil behind the ordinary. She saw that the line between the cruel and the comedic is sometimes vanishingly narrow"(12). As Lenemaja Friedman points out Jackson's greatest strengths are in the "expert handling of humor, mystery, ambiguity, and suspense. Her wit and imagination have created off-beat and original stories. Her characters are authentic, if often strange, people; and, as the critics point out, her prose style is excellent. She chooses a simple, unadorned direct, clear manner of speaking to her reader. Her lines flow evenly, smoothly, and have a distinct rhythm. Despite the lack of critical attention, her books continue to be popular with those people who are sensitive, imaginative, and fun-loving; and perhaps in the long run, that popularity will be what counts"(161). ...
