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135. Dream House as Public Relations
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 goes to the Yaddo artist colony to write her book, she performs with confidence, wearing glamorous clothing and sharing bold opinions. She feels like she senses ghosts in the rooms. Towards the end of her time there, she tells the “funny version” of the Dream House story, focusing on the “universal” trope of bad exes.
Machado knows how to present her story in a crowd-pleasing way. Even though her story is rife with violence, she can spin it in a way that appeals to a wide audience—she’s well-versed in the power of narrative and can use this knowledge to defend herself even when sharing a vulnerable part of her life.
Themes
