The following version of this story was used to create this guide: Jackson, Shirley. “The Possibility of Evil.” https://thepossibilityofevilma.weebly.com/short-story.html.

Note that all parenthetical citations refer to the page from which the quotation is taken.

“The Possibility of Evil” begins with a portrait of Miss Adela Strangeworth walking to the grocery store on a beautiful afternoon. The narrator explains that Miss Strangeworth is 71 years old and that her grandfather built the first house on Pleasant Street, where she still lives and tends to her rose garden. The narrator notes that Miss Strangeworth never gives away her roses, even to tourists who ask for them, as she is unsettled by the idea of transplanting her flowers to “strange towns and down strange streets” (1).

Miss Strangeworth arrives at the grocery store and places her order with Mr. Lewis, the grocer. She notes to herself that he seems upset about something but does not ask why. She also notes that Mrs. Harper, who came into the store for sugar, does not look well. On her way out of the grocery store, she runs into Helen and Don Crane and their six-month-old daughter and speaks briefly to Helen about the child’s development. When she arrives home, Miss Strangeworth enters her sitting room and pulls out stationary to write letters. She writes a letter to Don Crane suggesting that his child is an “idiot” (3), and a letter to Mrs. Harper suggesting that her husband is having an affair. The narrator explains that she has been writing these anonymous letters for more than a year in order to rid her town of evil.

After writing her letters, Miss Strangeworth eats lunch, gardens, and takes a nap. She decides to go to the post office to mail her letters. When she gets there, she sees 15-year-old Linda Stewart and Dave Harris arguing about why Dave is no longer allowed to come to her house. Miss Strangeworth mails her letters, but drops the one to Don Crane without noticing. Dave Harris and Linda Stewart find it and decide to deliver it to the Cranes that evening.

The next morning, Miss Strangeworth awakes to find her mail waiting for her. Included in the pile is a small envelope like the ones she uses to mail her letters. She opens it and begins crying, seeing the words, “Look out at what used to be your roses” (5) written inside.