Mercy Murder?

When discussing "Old Woman Magoun" in class and we asked whether Old Woman Magoun was responsible for Lily's death.  Was Lily's eating of the berries coincidence that happened to go along  Old Woman Magoun's plan, or did Lily's grandmother have a hand in the fateful meal of berries?

Old Woman Magoun did not want Lily to go live with Nelson Barry because she knew it would not have been a good life for her. She wanted Lily to be adopted by the Masons but they refused because Nelson is Lily's father. So what option did Magoun have?

On the way home from the Mason's, Lily eats the berries and then complains of feeling sick but Magoun does nothing. Magoun did not play an active part but she did not stop Lily either. Magoun saw death by poison berries as a better option for Lily than going to live with Nelson who would have given her to Jim Willis who would have been a danger to Lily.  Personally, I do not think that death should automatically be one's second choice for a plan, but Old Women Magoun thought that death was the only other option for Lily when adoption did not work.  Although she definitely would not win grandma of the year Magoun, did what she thought was best for Lily.

However, Magoun's actions can also be seen with a more sinister twist. While walking to the Mason's Lily first asks about the berries and Old Woman Magoun says, "You can't have any now." Old Woman Magoun implies that Lily could have some later which hints that Old Woman Magoun could have already been planning to have Lily die by poison berries if the plan for adoption did not work. Old Woman Magoun becomes increasingly suspicious when she gets very angry when Lily eats sour apples and milk because that was the way Lily's mother died. There is something strange about  Lily's mother's death that also implies that Old Woman Magoun may have played a part in her death This then brings up another question about why Magoun would have done this. Old Woman Magoun saw Lily's death as a way of protecting her from Nelson Barry and this may also be the reason that Magoun killed her daughter. Old Women Magoun always clashed with Nelson Barry and this was probably the case when Lily's mother was young and she wanted to protect her daughter from him. Old Woman Magoun wanted to control them and hold onto their innocence and when she saw that that being threatened she was willing to take drastic measures.