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120. Dream House as the Queen and the Squid
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
Back in the Dream House timeline, Machado attends a rally for Obama. In the crowd, she sees someone wearing a T-shirt that says “Obama ’08: He’s ready to go!” and she thinks to herself, “Yes, she is.” Soon after that, Obama announces he supports marriage equality on the same day Machado breaks up with the woman from the Dream House the final time. She laughs at the timing of his statement, then takes a Xanax and spends the next few days mostly asleep.
Machado sees a campaign slogan—a statement of support for a presidential candidate—and in it, she sees her own acceptance of the abusive situation she’s in. It seems that her preoccupation with escaping her relationship is so huge that she sees it reflected in everything around her.
Themes
