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115. Dream House as Mrs. Dalloway
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in In the Dream House, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Queer Visibility
Christianity and Shame
Abuse, Trauma, and Healing
Storytelling, Responsibility, and Freedom
Summary
Analysis
Machado takes a trip to Chicago with her friends. She appreciates getting out of town, but still compulsively checks whether the woman from the Dream House is calling her and cries at almost anything. She goes to the Art Institute, where one exhibit makes her feel tiny, as if she’s drowning in a pool of tears again. When she gets home, she finds a message in her inbox that says, “I’ve made a mistake.”
Physical distance isn’t a strong enough barrier between Machado and the woman from the Dream House, who seems to follow her everywhere, even if only as a figment of her imagination. Machado sees her distress reflected in the art she encounters, a sign that it’s an all-encompassing emotion.
Themes
