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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
Early on in her relationship with the woman from the Dream House, Machado makes a mistake, though she doesn’t realize it’s a mistake until later: she tells the woman that she constantly has crushes on several other people. Machado thinks this is just a quirk of her personality, and the woman says it’s charming. But as the relationship progresses, the woman frequently accuses Machado of having sex with, or wanting to have sex with, other people—not just their friends, but complete strangers and even the woman’s father. If Machado denies this, the woman pressures her to prove that she hasn’t been in contact with those people.
The fact that Machado reflects on a moment of honesty as being a “mistake” demonstrates that, within this relationship, she often has to prioritize safety over self-expression. Though the woman first says Machado’s crushes are charming, her ongoing suspiciousness and demands suggest otherwise, and they ultimately emphasize her tendency to control Machado. Her behavior also threatens to cut Machado off from her close friends, isolating her and making her more vulnerable to emotional manipulation.
Themes
One day, when Machado and the woman from the Dream House are having sex, the woman grabs Machado’s face and twists it towards her own, asking her who she’s thinking about. She tells Machado, “Look at me when I fuck you.” Machado pretends to climax.
The woman’s aggression transforms sex—which Machado previously enjoyed having with her—into a threatening situation in which Machado must pretend to enjoy herself.
Themes
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