By a Thread

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes references to child abandonment and sexual content.

The dream house that Dominic buys for Ally at the end of the novel is symbolic of happiness and the future. The house is located down the street from Ally’s dad’s house—the same house in New Jersey where she grew up. Ever since Ally was a child, she’s admired the dream house and the seemingly idyllic life its residents lived. In the narrative present, whenever she sees “the big house all aglow on the corner behind its brick pillars and greenery” she feels “the familiar tug of longing” (329). When Ally was a child, she fantasized about living there because her mother abandoned her and her dad when she was 11 and their home life was difficult. By way of contrast, life in the big dream house was defined by kids “play[ing] outside and climb[ing] trees,” lemonade sales “on the sidewalk,” “Christmas light display[s],” “grandkids and Sunday brunches and holiday celebrations” (329). The house thus represents the fantasy of the perfect family life that Ally has always wanted.

In buying Ally the house at the novel’s end, Dominic is helping her fulfill her dreams, pursue happiness, and build a future.