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84. Dream House as Soap Opera
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 next morning, Machado urges the woman from the Dream House to get moving because Machado needs her to drive her to the airport. For the first time ever, the woman drives slowly. A TSA agent confiscates Machado’s water bottle, and she starts to cry, but it’s not because of the water bottle—it’s because she’s worried she’ll miss her flight, because her girlfriend took so long putting on her makeup, and because last night Machado saw underneath that made-up face and had to hide from it. Her thoughts spiral. Eventually, she reaches her seat on the plane after boarding last. She swears she’ll talk to someone and stop pretending that she’s okay, but by the time the plane lands, she’s lost her resolve.
The woman’s slow driving hints that she’d rather keep Machado under her control than help her carry out her own plans. Machado’s feelings are close to the surface and extremely heightened: her fear of the woman and her unhappiness in their relationship have infused every part of her life. She can’t escape from the Dream House, even in the sterile, impersonal environment of airport security. This chapter also emphasizes the immense difficulty of escaping an abusive relationship, especially when the details of that abuse are secret.
Themes
