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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
Machado finds stories about demonic possession deeply interesting. After the woman from the Dream House claims she can’t remember screaming at her, Machado researches the intersection between memory loss and violence. One result says that high marijuana use can trigger schizophrenia. Machado suggests this theory to the woman, but she says she hasn’t been smoking much and doesn’t have schizophrenia. Machado begins to wonder whether she’s made up how bad the woman’s behavior has been.
Over the course of a few paragraphs, Machado’s mind changes dramatically. At first, she’s willing to compare the woman’s behavior to depictions of demonic possession—an intense, melodramatic concept—but she quickly deescalates, doubting herself when it comes to the intensity of the abuse. This emphasizes the woman’s ability to manipulate Machado into thinking her situation can’t possibly be as bad as her instincts tell her it is.
Themes
Machado doesn’t seriously consider that the woman from the Dream House has been possessed, but she longs for an explanation—like possession—that could take all the blame away from her and allow the relationship to continue. She wonders what is “lurking” inside the woman.
Machado’s search for an excuse suggests she still finds the woman’s company pleasurable, at least some of the time—a reminder that an abusive relationship can be very tricky to define or leave.
Themes
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