A Haunted House

Doors symbolize the uneasy boundary between dreams and reality in the text. They frequently open and close, and it is never clear who has moved them or whether they move on their own. A “door shutting” is the first concrete image in the story, creating a haunting sound that awakens the narrator and immediately brings into question whether they are asleep or fully awake. This is followed by two references to doors being open. Since doors allows people through a boundary, these open doors highlight the ghosts and the narrator’s ability to traverse subjective and objective reality and dwell in their own experiences even while surrounded by the materiality of the house. Doors slam shut again near the end when the ghosts find the sleeping couple and reminisce on the happy times in their life, echoing the sense that these times in their lives are over. However, they stand in the “doorway” of the bedroom while watching the sleeping couple, suggesting that they stand on the threshold of dreams and reality and hold onto their hope of reliving their love.