49 pages • 1 hour read
T. KingfisherA House With Good Bones
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023A 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
Roses
Roses are the primary motif of the novel, appearing in the first epigraph and most subsequent ones. The beginning of each part (except the last two) features a rose epigraph describing a variety of rose, the name or attributes of which relate in some way to the events in the following chapters of that section. For instance, the epigraph for “The Third Day” describes the “Ladybug” rose variety, foreshadowing the incident in which ladybugs swarm Sam’s bedroom. Similarly, the epigraph for “The Ninth Day” describes a rose variety called the “Sunday Dinner,” referring to Gran Mae’s arrival and her demand for a family Sunday dinner. This rose also relates to Gran Mae’s obsessive desire for a “nice and normal” family like those in 1950s TV sitcoms like Leave It to Beaver.
All the novel’s roses are associated with Gran Mae in some way. The rose garden in the backyard is Gran Mae’s creation and passion, maintained by her magic long after her death. Every appearance of a rose in the narrative either recalls or foretells Gran Mae, from Sam’s nightmares of being stabbed by rose thorns to the cut roses that Sam leaves in a vase for Edith. This symbolism becomes literal when Gran Mae appears in the form of a puppet made of rose petals and vines. The deep connection between Gran Mae’s magical ability and her control of the roses also manifests in Sam, who can harness that power by giving the roses her blood. This connects the roses to the theme of Family Lineage and Trauma. Sam uses this connection to destroy the underground children that Gran Mae’s roses have kept at bay for decades, ending the root cause of the family’s trauma.
Vultures
Vultures first appear as a bad omen when Sam arrives at her grandmother’s house and sees a vulture watching it. She explicitly calls it a bad omen, reflecting common superstitions about vultures as harbingers of death. However, as the story progresses, the appearance and meaning of vultures evolves. Though their presence warns of danger, the vultures are neither the source nor the cause of any danger in the novel. As Sam grows to understand the vultures through Gail and her one-winged vulture companion, Hermes, she begins to see them as a symbol of protection.
This shift in symbolism to protection and safety becomes explicit when Gail arrives at the house during Gran Mae’s takeover. During that incident, Gail’s shadow casts the shape of a vulture, and Hermes arrives with a magical, flaming wing to replace the missing one. Further, when Hermes creates a path out of the unnatural darkness and shows them the way to safety, the vulture becomes not only a warning of dangers ahead but also a way out of those dangers.
The final epigraph replaces the roses that have predominated in favor of the black vulture. The epigraph describes vultures as “highly social” with “strong family bonds” (235), tying them to the theme of Family Lineage and Trauma. With the vultures’ help, Sam and Edith banished the traumatic family bonds of their past and can reinforce their family bonds in the present. This renewal of their family suggests that the vultures in the novel, much like the vultures in the real world, broke down decay and rot, allowing for new growth.
Insects
Insects are a motif connected to the theme of Science Versus Magic. While they are only explicitly present in a handful of scenes, they appear throughout the narrative. Sam’s work as an archaeoentomologist informs her narration, filling it with stories about bugs, her work with insect identification, and an abundance of figurative language and jokes centered on insect metaphors and comparisons. Even her flirting with Phil, such as it is, includes insect references. In this way, the author unambiguously connects Sam to the insects.
The impossible lack of insects in Gran Mae’s rose garden is Sam’s first clue that something strange is happening, which she notices because of her scientific experience with insects. When, later, ladybugs swarm her bedroom and crawl up through the sink drains, Sam endeavors to find a rational explanation for their behavior, reinforcing their connection to science. Both incidents should warn Sam that the underlying cause will be magical in nature, though she stubbornly insists on a scientific explanation until the last possible moment. The swarm of ladybugs also foreshadows her own magical ability, inherited from her grandmother and from Elgar Mills before her.
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By T. Kingfisher
