The September House

The symbolic function of the house becomes especially apparent during this section of the novel, for just as Margaret has always resisted the idea of leaving her abusive relationship, she also repeatedly notes her determination not to leave the house. Likewise, the “rules” that she has created in order to manage and survive the haunting mirror the guidelines that she once followed in order to survive her marriage. Within this context, her reflections about the house could just as easily apply to her fraught relationship with Hal, for as she reflects, “This house was everything I ever wanted. Sure, it wasn’t perfect, but sometimes it was” (191). By reframing his abuse as something that is survivable, Margaret demonstrates her hard-won experience with Gaining Resilience through Resilience, but she has become so inured to The Cycle of Domestic Abuse that she focuses on enduring harsh circumstances rather than changing them or escaping them. Thus, her maladaptive coping mechanisms indicate the intense strain that she endures due to her decision to remain in her marriage.

This strain is so great that Margaret resorts to self-harm, although that too becomes buried within the supernatural framework of “bite marks” from one of the ghosts. By this point in the novel, Katherine has begun to realize the extent of her mother’s psychological distress, and this issue comes to a climax when she discovers all of the household knives piled in the sink. In this moment, Margaret’s own intense distress is also on display; because she cannot come to terms with her own behavior and compulsion to self-harm, she blames the knives (and a host of other rearranged furniture and oddly positioned items) on Fredricka. This detail indicates that she is turning away from a reality that is too unpleasant to acknowledge, and she retreats instead to the “safety” of the supernatural story she has concocted about a house full of mischievous ghosts.

As a parallel to this mundanely psychological explanation for the novel’s main conflicts, the supernatural elements of the story also receive more explanation at this point in the novel. In an important retrospective passage, Margaret researches the Vale family and learns about their history of violence and abuse, and it is clear that in many ways, the Vale family serves as an indirect proxy for Margaret’s own, in the sense that both families have buried secrets and unresolved trauma. Margaret and Hal have also hidden the truth of their relationship and have spent their lives refusing to admit that their marriage is characterized by violence and abuse. In this light, Margaret and Hal’s discovery of Master Vale’s basement torture chamber is a manifestation of The Impact of Repressed Trauma, and the scene also emphasizes Margaret’s original argument about the nature and purpose of horror as a genre. In this case, Vale’s presence in the basement and the danger that he poses to children both stand as supernatural embodiments of Margaret’s own fears about Hal and the danger that he posed to Katherine. Additionally, Vale’s presence in the basement also foreshadows the fact that this room is the site of Hal’s murder. Thus, the true “danger” in Margaret and Hal’s Victorian house is and has always been Hal himself. By creating an ambiguous depiction of the line between reality and the supernatural world, Orlando suggests that this liminal boundary highlights the elusive yet powerful nature of fear. Margaret’s ghosts might be “real,” or they might be figments of her imagination that arise from her need to cope with her traumatic marriage. Ultimately, however, clarifying this ambiguity is less important than examining the questions that the narrative raises about the nature of abuse, addiction, and trauma.

Katherine’s characterization is also important in this section of the novel. She and her mother have a long and honest talk about the abuse and addiction that scarred their family and impacted their relationships. Although Hal is missing, Katherine suggests that her mother could leave him when he is found. She tells Margaret, “You can do things differently this time. If we find him, you can choose not to take him back” (194). Katherine, unlike her mother, left the family and forged a life separate from her parents’ dysfunctions. This scene therefore demonstrates that the act of Gaining Resilience through Survival manifests differently for each woman. For Margaret, her struggle involves simply staying alive. For Katherine, her struggle has involved moving away from her family and  moving on with her life. However, Katherine remains deeply affected by her family trauma. Like her father, she struggles with addiction and a substance use disorder, and although her alcohol use is not as severe or debilitating as her father’s, she does use drinking as an unhealthy coping mechanism, and this pattern has impacted her past relationships. Although she remains a strong, resilient figure, she also is part of the family’s cycle of dysfunction.