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1-Page Summary of In the Dream House
Overall Summary
In her memoir, In the Dream House (2019), Carmen Maria Machado uses stylistic devices to tell a story about an abusive relationship that she experienced while studying for her MFA at the University of Iowa. The book is also about how people make assumptions about queer relationships and why those assumptions are wrong. It’s told in vignettes from before, during, and after the relationship. She writes about how emotional abuse affects someone later on in life and why it’s so hard to get away from an abuser even when you want to leave them.
This book takes place in Bloomington, Indiana. The author’s relationship is based out of a small home where she and her girlfriend live for the majority of their relationship. When they first meet, things are great as they fall in love with each other. However, when Machado suggests that her new girlfriend have an open relationship so she can maintain romantic involvement with an ex-girlfriend from New York City (with whom she still has strong feelings), Machado is hesitant at first but eventually agrees to it since her girlfriend wants it too. While this arrangement works initially, the two soon realize that there are problems in their relationship and break up after about three years together.
When people’s loved ones are abusive, they may find it hard to understand why their loved one is suddenly treating them so badly. The person who is being abused might be a great partner most of the time but then suddenly become violent and emotionally abusive. It can be confusing for the victim who has no idea what he or she did wrong to make his or her partner treat him or her like that. In this passage, we see an example of how such abuse happens between two lovers in a relationship.
As Machado examines the abuse that she experienced, she discusses how it is discussed in queer culture. She looks at news stories of women who killed their abusive partners and how they are often not held accountable for the violence due to the sanctity of the relationship. She explores a history of lesbian love through novels, films, and etymology (the study of word origins).
Sandra Cisneros uses the second person to make her writing more personal and relatable. This makes readers feel as if they are being abused too, which is how it feels when you live in an emotionally abusive home.
Carmen Maria Machado is the author of a collection of short stories, Her Body and Other Parties, as well as a memoir entitled In the Dream House. She also writes essays and criticism for publications such as The New Yorker and Granta. She was a finalist for National Book Award in 2017 for her book Her Body and Other Parties, which has been reprinted several times in anthologies such as Year’s Best Weird Fiction (2017), Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy (2015), Best Horror of the Year (2016) among others.
