The School for Good Mothers

In The School for Good Mothers, houses (and other types of homes) often symbolize one’s self. Rather than simply serving as a physical space, houses are symbolic of someone’s overall wellbeing, stature, and purpose. Bodies are described as “houses” insofar as they house the spirit; as such, pregnant bodies are considered houses for unborn children. According to Gust, the world could be explained as “the mind as a house living in the house of the body, living in the house of a house, living in the larger house of the town, in the larger house of the state, in the houses of America and society and the universe” (13). Frida uses houses to explore her grief over her divorce, resentment of Susanna, and dream of a better future with Tucker.

At the novel’s beginning, Frida compares her current house to the old one she shared with Gust, which was larger, with better furniture and better “energy.” She resents that Gust and Susanna now have this furniture in their apartment, along with other elaborate displays of Susanna’s wealth and bourgeois aesthetic. Later, Frida daydreams about having a new house with Tucker, a fantasy in which all her emotional problems are solved, demonstrated through the house’s appearance: “The light

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