Summary
Summary IEB - The Dream House Notes
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This pack of notes includes a summary of the Novel, Character analysis, Theme Analysis and important quotations.
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Greg Basslian 2019The Dream House
Introduction
Throughout the novel the dilapidated farmhouse on Dwaleni is a central concern for the
characters.
* Patricia is happy to leave it behind but Richard clings to his demented memories of
the house
* Bheki and Beauty are quiet about their feelings regarding the house
* Looksmart is obsessed with the house – for him it is a symbol of what he desired as a
young boy but could not have; and finally, a symbol of his triumph and revenge as an
adult man.
The house acts as the physical embodiment of the characters’ main concerns, dreams,
memories and interpretations of the past
Characters are symbols of the different classes of people in post-apartheid South Africa:
* Racist resentful old white man (Richard)
* Colonialist and paternalistic old white woman who feels the burden of educating and
uplifting black people (Helps Beauty save money, educates Looksmart) (Patricia)
* Female black worker who is aware of her powerlessness and inadequacy (Beauty)
* Male black worker who is equally aware of his powerlessness but keeps his silence
looking for a way out (Bheki)
* Black, newly affluent working-class man who is still not comfortable with his own
power (Looksmart)
Part 1 – Exposition
Introduction of the characters as well as the house
Part 2 – Rising Action
Looksmart’s arrival causes tension; the subject of past events which have led up to the rising
action are referred to.
Part 3 – Climax
Grace’s murder/death
Part 4 – Falling Action
Revisiting the past; explaining; trying to understand
Part 5 – Resolution
Death and departure; making space for Looksmart’s new beginning
,Greg Basslian 2019
Part One
• Novel begins with an introduction to the farmhouse and the mist
• The farm has been sold and will be destroyed. There is a giving up of personal history
and ownership - a desire to begin with a new slate
• Patricia does not feel connected to her reality – It seems that everything which gave
her life meaning is gone (Looksmart, John, the dogs, the ponies)
• Patricia’s relationship with Beauty is given a dehumanizing quality. She calls her like
she calls the dogs.
• Patricia feels the burden (Generosity?) of having to uplift Beauty – she will send her
for driving and English lessons.
• Patricia is deeply connected with the house. She is also prideful and embarrassed by
her weakness.
• Richard is introduced as a speaking character with dementia. (Digs up Rachel’s grave)
• The killing of the dogs is symbolic of the end of an era (Apartheid and white
supremacy)
• Bheki and Beauty have taken of the care of Patricia as she is no longer independent –
They refer to Patricia and Richard as “Mesis/Madam & Ubaas” – titles of authority
and racial superiority
• Patricia is represented as efficient and in charge – runs the farm; scolds Bheki
• Richard is represented as pathetic and ineffectual
• Patricia’s marriage with Richard was a mismatch – Her father did not like him; she is
of a higher class; only got married because she was pregnant
• Beauty is scared of Ubaas – (Race relations). Although Richard is weak Beauty is
aware that he still holds power over her.
• Patricia has had an affair with John Ford for over thirty years. Her intimacy with John
is contrasted with the lack of sexual interaction with Richard
• John’s late wife Anna is treated as a saint however, Richard is always available for
mockery
• Richard and John are contrasted – John is presented as a strong character, “He is
everything Richard was not”
, Greg Basslian 2019
• Patricia tends to ignore the past “Backward glances only crick the neck”. John points
out she has an inability to unpack boxes (The past). Her inability to deal with the past
costs her
• John hands Patricia a letter which must be opened when she arrives in Durban
• Patricia’s paternalism – She carries a burden that she must help black people.
Despite her good intentions she is racist – She helps Beauty save money and get
English and driving lessons, yet she treats her like a maid. She gives Looksmart an
education however she is ignorant of his feelings and resentment.
• Rachel was Richard and Patricia’s stillborn child
• The house has decayed (Rot, mold and wet) as well as the farm. The animals have
gone astray and are lost
• Patricia has an inability to deal with the past and shed emotional baggage
• Looksmart arrives at the farm. “He would be coming here out of hate”
• Looksmart is the development manager
• His inability to accept his personal power – He feels like an intruder in his own land.
• Looksmart is disturbed by the disorder of the farm
• Looksmart’s car and suit is a symbol of wealth and luxury which he cannot
acknowledge in himself, thus projects it outwards in material goods
• Grace is introduced – Seems this is what has been driving Looksmart to his hatred
and anger
• Looksmart has a family, two young children and a wife
Part Two
• Richard is a demented dreamer who sees evil and destruction everywhere – He is
wandering around the farm in search of Rachel
• Looksmart begins to realize his memories are bigger than reality – He has a
desire to own the past
• Looksmart sarcastically addresses Patricia as “Madam” – Play on the power
situation
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