55 pages • 1 hour read
Incidents Around the House
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Duck and Goose Wallpaper
Ducks and geese are a symbol that represents the dangers lurking in childhood and the domestic sphere. Initially, Bela sees them in the wallpaper at her doctor’s office, as part of the decor intended to make the office welcoming to small children: “The wallpaper is all a bunch of ducks and geese chasing one another. It smells like medicine in here. There’s a little sink and a jar with green lollipops and I sit on the gray cushion with the white paper on it” (45). Friendly animals are common in decor directed at children, and the wallpaper is unremarkable in the pediatrician’s office.
However, as Bela becomes more frightened during her visit and as Dr. Smith asks more questions about Other Mommy, she begins to perceive the wallpaper as something sinister. In her mind, the much larger “mean” geese are tormenting the “scared” ducks: “When you look at one goose and one duck, you think the other geese are catching up to the other ducks. You think some of the ducks have already been caught. Are bleeding” (45). These symbols of childhood turn sinister, and Bela’s ideas are confirmed when Dr. Smith tells her to watch the wallpaper: “They’re more interesting than they let on. Sometimes I think I see a goose catch a duck […] out of the corner of my eye” (49). While his remark could be intended as playful, to Bela it confirms that the geese are predatory. Later, after Other Mommy kills Frank, Bela sees a goose outside the car and “look[s] it in the eye” as they pass (182). She associates the geese with Other Mommy and with the dangers lurking beneath the seemingly innocuous surface of her childhood.
Animals
Throughout the novel, animals serve as a motif that connects to the theme of The Dangers of Growing Up Too Soon. Lois explains to Bela that “[a]nimals are innocent because they aren’t motivated by things other than survival […] This is why it’s so terrible when you hear about an animal being hurt by a person” (320). She contrasts this innocence with people who “grow up and learn things and see things and experience things, and then we’re not innocent anymore” (320). After Bela learns the truth about her parentage and that both her parents have been lying to her, she rejects them and thinks, “Mommy said animals are innocent and I think she doesn’t understand that animals are the smart ones. Animals are the ones who know everything and Mommy and Daddo don’t know anything at all” (329). Bela’s rejection of her parents’ knowledge reflects her desire to stay in a state of childhood where, like the animals, she doesn’t have to know things that adults know. Bela is alienated by the knowledge her parents give her and wishes that she could go back to a time when she didn’t know it.
Another aspect of animals hinted at in the novel is their association with violence and their lack of humanity. Though Lois characterizes them as “innocent,” survival in the animal kingdom is often bloody and involves the death of another species. When Ursula first learns of Other Mommy, she emphasizes the entity’s inhuman nature by comparing it to something from the animal kingdom: “I mean […] how can I have any idea what it wants? […] What does a tiger want? What does a snake want?” (142). This comparison implies that Other Mommy and creatures like her might be willing to do violent or incomprehensible things to survive. It also implies that, if children are innocent like animals, then childhood might also be a place where violence is necessary.
Houses
Throughout the novel, houses are used to represent people’s inner lives and their emotional landscapes. Ursula contrasts her understanding of the world with Russ’s relentless optimism, saying, “There isn’t one shadowy hallway inside him. Not one corner for something to hide. No closets” (278). If he is an open floor plan with no secrets, she sees herself as someone who has “closets” and tells Bela, “[S]ometimes I wonder if you’re supposed to marry someone with a similar floor plan” (279). Other Mommy, disguised as Grandma Ruth, uses this motif in her attempt to persuade Bela to let her in. She tells Bela, “I want you to think of your heart like a house. This house, if it’s easier. There’s only so many rooms, right? But at the same time, there’s a lot of room” (351). She argues that there is room enough for Bela to let her in, if only Bela will agree.
The idea of houses representing people is especially resonant in a book that is part of the haunted house genre. Typically, the idea in these stories is that the house is haunted or tainted in some way. However, Russ tells Bela that “a time comes when you realize the whole world and all of life is your house” (340), meaning that he and his family can’t escape the corruption that he originally thought was just in the house. He tells her, “[Y]ou might think something bad is going on at home, but no. It’s going on in you” (340). He acknowledges that the real thing being haunted is the family, not just the physical space of the house.
Unlock all 55 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 8,800+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
