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21. Dream House as Menagerie
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 gets accepted into Indiana University’s creative writing program but rejected from Iowa’s. Machado cries when she finds out. The woman will move to Indiana and Val will live with her there, but she proposes trying a polyamorous relationship between all three of them. Machado says she’s excited to try it out.
The woman from the Dream House is the one who suggests a three-way relationship, which emphasizes her power as a decision-maker. Though Machado consents, it seems like she’s following the woman’s lead and perhaps doesn’t take much time to consider the decision.
Themes
