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55. Dream House as the River Lethe
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
Machado feels like she has a secret that permeates her everyday tasks—something nobody else knows about.
The title of this chapter refers to a genre of film and literature in which certain characters keep important secrets which could, if revealed, lead to catastrophe. By using this genre to frame how it feels to be the woman’s partner, Machado emphasizes how tense, and potentially explosive, the relationship is.
Themes
