This is such an odd story yet thought-provoking. This father has kept his house immaculately clean and tidy. He seems to be obsessed with “his” belongings. He even gets upset when he notices a vase is inches out of place. Yet, he is abusive to his children. Is that vase really more important to him than his children? I think he values his things more than his family. What a sad and hateful man.
He has inherited his father’s funeral business. How ironic that he doesn’t cherish life or his family. Being surrounded by sorrow, I would think that you would cherish every minute with your family truly knowing how quickly it can all be gone. That’s not the case with this man. He cherishes nothing.
What exactly is he hiding? All of this obsessive-compulsive cleaning must be hiding something. He is cleaning away something. The author doesn’t allude to the fact that he is clinically obsessive-compulsive, so I have to believe that he is not. Everything must be done in his perfect fashion. Each room has a purpose and is not to be used for any other purpose. The children are nothing more than his work-slaves. He ran the home authoritatively. His family was compelled to please him out of fear not out of respect or love.
I think he truly hates himself not his family. This is a house of horrors. Every person was put in place to fulfill the father’s selfishness. This entire life is a façade. He was concealing his true inner desires. At one point it mentions having sex with teenaged boys. Is he a product of sexual abuse himself? Is that what he is trying to hide? Some may think he’s trying to hide the fact that he is gay. I don’t believe so. I believe he was abused as a child and he is running -- trying to hide from those feelings. All of this obsessive cleaning and rearranging and controlling behavior are directly related to his own childhood being so far out of control. He is trying to clean away his past.
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