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Mrs. Bell
Rachel is Patricia Wiley and Richard Wiley’s only child, born dead at seven months. They buried her near a stand of trees on their farm. Richard, suffering from dementia, spends much of the novel trying to locate Rachel’s grave and dig up her bones—an obsessive quest that hints at his grief and guilt over Rachel herself and, possibly, over his murder of Grace while she was pregnant with his child. Toward the novel’s end, Patricia asks Beauty and Bheki to disinter Rachel’s coffin so that she can rebury Rachel where the Wileys are moving.
Rachel Quotes in The Dream House
The The Dream House quotes below are all either spoken by Rachel or refer to Rachel. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 3
Quotes
He’s never understood the workings of the house. The fact is it was never his house, but hers, handed down from her father. While he was there on good behaviour. Which is why he thinks he chose bad behaviour.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5
Quotes
Looksmart has promised him a job and he has said he will send Bongani to a special school, so that his disabilities will not hold him back. Looksmart said it was time for black people to help each other. That the time of getting help from the whites is finished. And he agrees with this. He thinks it is time he walked away from this distasteful dance he has been engaged in for so long: where he has to disturb the grave of a child just because the Madam has decided it.
Get the entire The Dream House LitChart as a printable PDF.
Rachel Quotes in The Dream House
The The Dream House quotes below are all either spoken by Rachel or refer to Rachel. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 3
Quotes
He’s never understood the workings of the house. The fact is it was never his house, but hers, handed down from her father. While he was there on good behaviour. Which is why he thinks he chose bad behaviour.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5
Quotes
Looksmart has promised him a job and he has said he will send Bongani to a special school, so that his disabilities will not hold him back. Looksmart said it was time for black people to help each other. That the time of getting help from the whites is finished. And he agrees with this. He thinks it is time he walked away from this distasteful dance he has been engaged in for so long: where he has to disturb the grave of a child just because the Madam has decided it.
