The Professor's House

The old house is a symbol of St. Peter’s struggle for identity and meaning and his longing for isolation. In the first sentences of the novel, St. Peter is introduced in conjunction with the old house:

Professor St. Peter was alone in the dismantled house where he had lived ever since his marriage, where he had worked out his career and brought up his two daughters. It was almost as ugly as it is possible for a house to be; square, three stories in height, painted the colour of ashes—the front porch just too narrow for comfort, with a slanting floor and sagging steps (1).

The house is characterized as being run down, ugly, and small. Its lack of comfort is a juxtaposition to the security St. Peter feels inside of it. St. Peter can appreciate an ugly and old house, which highlights his characterization as someone who doesn’t need wealth and fancy objects to be happy. Crucially, the old house is also his sanctuary. He continues to pay rent on the old house when his family moves into the new house just so that he can continue to use the attic room as his study.