The Unmaking of June Farrow

Jasper, North Carolina, is central to the plot in both its 2023 and 1951 iterations. Despite the multi-temporal setting, parochial elements of the town persist. The town’s perceptions of the Farrow women lend an undercurrent of ominousness and suggest a mob mentality, highlighting the potential problems of small-town life.

Early in the novel, Young connects descriptions of the town with its inhabitants. The town is menacing, with its “curious gazes that follow[s] [June] and Gran on the street and the rumors that skip[] in the air no matter how much time ha[s] passed” (6). The Farrow women are paired with physical details of the setting, illustrating how closely people watch each other in small towns and how smothering this can be.

In the novel, perceptions of so-called “madness” are frequently portrayed as gendered. The Farrow women are perceived as dangers, while Nathaniel—who is evidently a bad and dangerous individual—is perceived positively by the town. The newspaper article about his murder notes that “[o]nly a few years later, he lost his wife, a victim of long-term hysteria. After dedicating his remaining years to the town he loved and cherished, he died at the age of sixty-three” (242-43). The term “hysteria” undercuts Susanna’s experience and minimizes her murder, and Nathaniel’s cruelty is overlooked.