House of Glass

The Barclay house is one of most overt symbols in the novel; its nature is emphasized in the title, and this “house of glass” is ironically lacking in any glass whatsoever. Following their nanny’s mysterious fall to her death through one of the house’s windows, Ian and Beth have all of the glass in the house replaced with plastic or plexiglass, claiming that Beth has recently developed an intense phobia of glass. Initially, Stella attributes the lack of glass to the family’s desire to keep potential weapons out of Rose’s hands, but in reality, the Barclay house stands as a repository of Secrecy and Dysfunctional Families. Because each family member is deeply flawed in their own way, the titular “house of glass” also invokes the old proverb warning against throwing stones in a glass house. Ultimately, Stella uncovers the truth: that Harriet is the murderer and has been engaging in a thorough smear campaign to cast blame on Rose. The family did indeed remove the glass in their home to prevent Rose from turning various broken objects into weapons, but they did so without realizing that their fear was entirely engineered and unfounded. The novel’s title thus becomes a sly, tongue-in-cheek commentary on the nature of secrets and dysfunction, as despite the family’s attempts to strip their home of potential weapons, it remains a dangerous place.