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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
The woman from the Dream House keeps trying to contact Machado, and this, combined with the fact that people don’t believe Machado’s story of her abuse, makes Machado wish the woman had hit her. She wishes she had visible proof of the harm the woman inflicted on her. She knows this wish is “fucked up,” given that there are so many women out there who wish the opposite, but she’s still desperate for clarity—something she spent such a long time without.
Machado suggests that a lack of clear, tangible proof of her abusive relationship means there’s a possibility the woman could continue to inflict abuse on her. She articulates the conflicting, confusing desire to feel even more pain in order to more fully defend herself. Her lack of proof makes her feel vulnerable and helpless, even though collecting such proof would have a similar effect.
Themes
