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131. Dream House as Talisman
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
When Machado tries to tell people about the Dream House, they often don’t pay attention. She learns that people have been talking about her, saying that the woman from the Dream House doesn’t seem that bad, and that it seems unlikely that they had an abusive relationship. When she hears these things, she feels deeply upset. At one party, a woman tells Machado she believes her. Machado walks home and sees a raccoon; its persistent waddle reminds her that she’ll have to keep fighting as long as she’s alive.
Machado feels her story slipping into people’s periphery, neglected as if it’s not urgent or important to anyone but herself. Nevertheless, it’s a story she feels compelled to tell until people believe her.
Themes
