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130. Dream House as Nightmare on Elm Street
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 at the beginning of her relationship with Val, Machado often sees the woman from the Dream House around town. Each time, she feels a sense of panic. Val buys a vial of angelica root and puts it into a locket for her. Machado wears it and, though she’s not sure it warded anyone off, its presence against her skin reminds her that Val cares about her.
Machado is readily willing to carry around a reminder of Val’s presence, which suggests that she feels comforted, not threatened, by her new partner. This immediately creates a contrast between this relationship and the one she shared with the woman from the Dream House.
Themes
