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62. Dream House as Apartment in Philadelphia
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
Back in the timeline of the relationship, the woman from the Dream House constantly buys too much produce. At first, the fridge full of greens and bulbs is lush and sensual, but then it starts to smell like a dumpster, and then like death. When Machado mentions it, the woman repeats what she says a few times sarcastically until Machado apologizes.
The transformation of the lush vegetable bounty echoes the transformation of Machado’s relationship with the woman from the Dream House: at first idyllic and full of potential, but eventually wasteful and unpleasant. Machado’s apology demonstrates the power of psychological abuse to make its victim feel like they’re the one at fault.
Themes
