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4. Dream House as Picaresque
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 was eight years old, whenever her gym class played baseball, she’d go far enough away in the outfield that no balls would ever reach her. Her gym teacher didn’t seem to notice as she sat out there, ripping out weeds. She would pluck a dandelion and rub it against her chin—if her skin turned yellow, it meant she was in love. Of course, the yellow always rubbed off on her skin.
This memory emphasizes Machado’s tendency to isolate herself and enjoy her own company. It also highlights her romantic nature—she’s likely to focus on romance and the semblance of a miracle, even when there’s a more rational explanation.
Themes
Looking back, Machado sees that, even as a child, she understood that people “will always be hungry, will always want.” At the same time, the dandelion reminds us that, like those flowers, we are ecosystems, and parts of us constantly die off and replace themselves. When we die, our bodies will contribute to the earth’s ecosystem, feeding other people’s life and hunger. Machado imagines that if you could harness the continuous energy of humanity, “you could do wonders with it.”
The idea of desire, especially in relationships with other people, begins to emerge as a central part of Machado’s story. The reader can start to expect the characters in this memoir to be dynamic and powerful; it’s likely that their actions will have deep impacts on each other. This moment also suggests that Machado considers the natural world to be something that reflects, or at least illuminates, human attitudes and desires.
Themes
