Shifting Households

[Rachel-K]

What are your final thoughts about the nature of each of the households we come across?

Do they all reflect their occupants? Do you recognize (for better or worse!) the "spirit" of your own families in the various places you've lived?

[Shadowwolf36]

I am a firm believer that if you love strongly and infuse your life with love and positive energy, your home will reflect that love and warmth. I think in the end, the homes reflected each as they should. Sadly, Eva's home reflected the crap she fed everyone for all those years. Meridia made her previously cold and scary house into a warm, loving home for herself and Noah.

[Carmenere_lady]

Yes, I agree. In the final chapters I walked away with the feeling that their respective homes symbolized their souls, made clear by Eva's  putridly disgusting home, sort of like Dante's circles.

---

Shadowwolf36 wrote:
I am a firm believer that if you love strongly and infuse your life with love and positive energy, your home will reflect that love and warmth. I think in the end, the homes reflected each as they should. Sadly, Eva's home reflected the crap she fed everyone for all those years. Meridia made her previously cold and scary house into a warm, loving home for herself and Noah.

---

Message Edited by Carmenere_lady on 06-22-2009 08:14 AM

Message Edited by Carmenere_lady on 06-22-2009 08:15 AM

[dhaupt]

The households definitely reflect the occupants if not then the house on Monarch Street would have still been shrouded in mists with ghosts in the mirrors and shifting staircases instead it became a true home for Meridia and Noah and Malin for a transitional period, the house on Willow still ripe with Patina's essence had kept it vacant so the Meridia could take it back for her business, the house on Orchard had finally lost it's illusion of happiness with Eva's illness and showed us what a decrepit place it really was and the house on Magnolia was a lonely place without the essences  of Meridia and Noah there.

[booksJT]

I think the households reflected each character in the novel. Unfortunately Eva's reflected all the misery and pain that she caused her family through the years. Ravenna's household was just as bad because the father and mother fought each other and  ignored their daughter. In the end Meridia made a warm and comfortable home for herself and her son Noah.

I have never thought about it. I try to keep peace and calm most of the time.

[Immortal-Spirit]

---

Shadowwolf36 wrote:
I am a firm believer that if you love strongly and infuse your life with love and positive energy, your home will reflect that love and warmth. I think in the end, the homes reflected each as they should. Sadly, Eva's home reflected the crap she fed everyone for all those years. Meridia made her previously cold and scary house into a warm, loving home for herself and Noah.

---

Yes, I agree also.  To me as far as Eva was concerned, it was poetic justice.  What goes around comes around.  

[DSaff]

I think the houses definitely reflected the family living inside. Gabriel and Ravenna lived in what seemed to be a large, open house, filled with places to hide. Each of them had their own space and retreated there any time of day or night. Meridia found things confusing at times (moving stairs) but knew where she could and couldn't go. In the end, Meridia brings Noah there to live and brings life back to the house.

Eva and Elias seemed to live in a small, closed, cramped house. My picture is probably due to the controlling nature of Eva - everything and everyone had to be close to her. The house never did open up to me.

Meridia and Daniel have two homes. The first was appropriate for a couple starting out. It was small and in need of repair. It was a place they worked together for a better life. Then they exerted their independence and moved into a larger, more affluent home. In this case, the bigger the home, the faster the decline of the family. I wonder if they got too comfortable, too complacent. Meridia definitely thinks she let down her guard and let Eva in.

I think that Malin and Jonathan lived in an affluent neighborhood, in a large house and don't think that really had anything to do with the demise of their marriage. On the other hand, I picture the house that Permony and Ahab shared as a castle with a dungeon beneath - cold, drafty, and frightening. We know what happened there.

[PiperMurphy]

---

Carmenere_lady wrote:

Yes, I agree. In the final chapters I walked away with the feeling that their respective homes symbolized their souls, made clear by Eva's  putridly disgusting home, sort of like Dante's circles.

---

Shadowwolf36 wrote:
I am a firm believer that if you love strongly and infuse your life with love and positive energy, your home will reflect that love and warmth. I think in the end, the homes reflected each as they should. Sadly, Eva's home reflected the crap she fed everyone for all those years. Meridia made her previously cold and scary house into a warm, loving home for herself and Noah.

---

Message Edited by Carmenere_lady on 06-22-2009 08:14 AM

Message Edited by Carmenere_lady on 06-22-2009 08:15 AM

---

It is interesting the way that the Orchard Street house evolved as its inhabitants changed. I had the impression in the beginning that it was a nice house even though it was cluttered with all the stuff that Eva hoarded. Meridia's arrival caused war between the roses and marigolds until the garden was overgrown. Meridia's influence never totally left the house. Then the house began to decline as Elias declined until it became the hovel that Eva herself became.

[Sassy398]

  It is a known fact that if a house is full of love it will shine and welcome to anyone who

  enters it...if it carries a negitive energy it will be known to all...Just like in Eva's house,

  once her true colors shown, then her house started to fall apart and became very

  disgusting.  Lucky, I come from a loving family so therefore my home was very cheerful.

[emmagrace]

Each house definitely reflected its occupants! The house on Monarch Street was once cold and uninviting. Since the arrival of Meridia and Noah, the house is warm and inviting.

The house on Orchard reflected Eva! Especially the war between the roses and marigolds.

When things grew cold between Daniel and Meridia the mists gathered outside of their home.

My child hood was not a happy one and the home certainly reflected the pain that each inhabitant felt. These days however, my home is a bright and happy place full of love and warmth. I believe that your home certainly does reflect the occupants!

[mamawli]

I firmly believe that it is the inhabitants that make the home and not the other way around.  Each home in the story reflected the people that lived there.  The house on monarch Street was cold because of Ravenna and Gabriel while Meridia suffered the consequences of the coldness between them.

Orchard Street was depicted as a constant fight for supremacy.  Eva always had the upper hand, but she taught Malin and Permany to squabble amongst themselves.  Eva even tried to get Daniel and Meridia to fight as well.  The roses and marigolds said it all.

The house on Willow Lane depicted secrecy as shown in the loose floorboards that were used to hide the gold bars and money from Eva.

Magnolia Ave showed a new future for the couple.  Everything was new and cheerful for a while.

All of the houses depicted the mood of the inhabitance and the people that entered them as well as the changes within their personality and their lives.

[Shapatm]

Each of the houses at the end of the story fit the people who live in them.  I love how Monarch St. went from a cold impenetrable fortress to a refuge to a home filled with love.  The final appearance of Orchard St. was also very very fitting and almost like revenge.  The house went from a wonderful warm welcoming family home to a decaying molding tomb.  The way that Permony and Ahab home changed at night was frightening - the way it went from a luxurious home in the day to a torture chamber at night. 

[MSaff]

---

rkubie wrote:

What are your final thoughts about the nature of each of the households we come across?

Do they all reflect their occupants? Do you recognize (for better or worse!) the "spirit" of your own families in the various places you've lived?

---

   Hello Again, 

  Each of the households do in fact reflect each family, and or couple.  Ravenna and Gabriel were cold, so their house/home took on the condition of cold.  We saw that in the lack of heat and ice that covered Gabriel near and to his death.  What I found interesting was the magical prowess that only Meridia appeared to be aware of.  It followed her where ever she went or resided.  The Mists, Magical Mirrors and Stairway of her parents home.  The Bees, Marigolds and Roses at the house/home of Eva and Elias, following the marriage of Daniel and Meridia.  One thing to point out here is that the Bees apparently were there before Meridia came to live there, but only she could see them.  

  When Meridia and Daniel finally got their own homes, things appeared to be OK at first, but with Eva's influence even their home darkened with the personality of the people inhabiting it.    Now at the end, we see a bright home for Meridia and hopefully Daniel  Eva no longer has any influence and is dying.  Meridia has prevailed against the evil and her future looks bright for she and Noah.  Again, I am hoping the Daniel will also be involved. 

  I can't say that I can remember or reflect on any spirits in the homes that I have lived in, but somehow I'm sure there may have been.

[Immortal-Spirit]

---

Shadowwolf36 wrote:
I am a firm believer that if you love strongly and infuse your life with love and positive energy, your home will reflect that love and warmth. I think in the end, the homes reflected each as they should. Sadly, Eva's home reflected the crap she fed everyone for all those years. Meridia made her previously cold and scary house into a warm, loving home for herself and Noah.

---

I agree. What was inside Eva appeared in her house at the end.  

My house growing up had an empty feeling to it.  My father raised me and was emotionally unavailable and our house reflected it. 

[LISA-BRYAN]

I agree with you -- homes reflect their inhabitants.  I also would like to add---

A well-kept home shows those of us on the outside a home that is together and not crumbling (however, sometimes this is just a cover -- I don't think this is the case in the book).  A shabby home that is falling apart usually is an indication of crumbling and disfunctional relationships within the home.  Homes can't lie --- they can tell us a lot about their occupants -- whether they are happy or not...

---

DSaff wrote:

I think the houses definitely reflected the family living inside. Gabriel and Ravenna lived in what seemed to be a large, open house, filled with places to hide. Each of them had their own space and retreated there any time of day or night. Meridia found things confusing at times (moving stairs) but knew where she could and couldn't go. In the end, Meridia brings Noah there to live and brings life back to the house.

Eva and Elias seemed to live in a small, closed, cramped house. My picture is probably due to the controlling nature of Eva - everything and everyone had to be close to her. The house never did open up to me.

Meridia and Daniel have two homes. The first was appropriate for a couple starting out. It was small and in need of repair. It was a place they worked together for a better life. Then they exerted their independence and moved into a larger, more affluent home. In this case, the bigger the home, the faster the decline of the family. I wonder if they got too comfortable, too complacent. Meridia definitely thinks she let down her guard and let Eva in.

I think that Malin and Jonathan lived in an affluent neighborhood, in a large house and don't think that really had anything to do with the demise of their marriage. On the other hand, I picture the house that Permony and Ahab shared as a castle with a dungeon beneath - cold, drafty, and frightening. We know what happened there.

---

 

[DSaff]

very true

---

LISA-BRYAN wrote:

I agree with you -- homes reflect their inhabitants.  I also would like to add---

A well-kept home shows those of us on the outside a home that is together and not crumbling (however, sometimes this is just a cover -- I don't think this is the case in the book).  A shabby home that is falling apart usually is an indication of crumbling and disfunctional relationships within the home.  Homes can't lie --- they can tell us a lot about their occupants -- whether they are happy or not...

---

DSaff wrote:

I think the houses definitely reflected the family living inside. Gabriel and Ravenna lived in what seemed to be a large, open house, filled with places to hide. Each of them had their own space and retreated there any time of day or night. Meridia found things confusing at times (moving stairs) but knew where she could and couldn't go. In the end, Meridia brings Noah there to live and brings life back to the house.

Eva and Elias seemed to live in a small, closed, cramped house. My picture is probably due to the controlling nature of Eva - everything and everyone had to be close to her. The house never did open up to me.

Meridia and Daniel have two homes. The first was appropriate for a couple starting out. It was small and in need of repair. It was a place they worked together for a better life. Then they exerted their independence and moved into a larger, more affluent home. In this case, the bigger the home, the faster the decline of the family. I wonder if they got too comfortable, too complacent. Meridia definitely thinks she let down her guard and let Eva in.

I think that Malin and Jonathan lived in an affluent neighborhood, in a large house and don't think that really had anything to do with the demise of their marriage. On the other hand, I picture the house that Permony and Ahab shared as a castle with a dungeon beneath - cold, drafty, and frightening. We know what happened there.

---

 

---

[hoot]

The energy of a family can be felt upon entering a home. I think if that energy is strong enough it can linger even after they are gone. Each house reflected the energy of its occupants in the book, and even as the families changed the energy in the homes stayed the same

[Jo6353]

---

rkubie wrote:

What are your final thoughts about the nature of each of the households we come across?

Do they all reflect their occupants? Do you recognize (for better or worse!) the "spirit" of your own families in the various places you've lived?

---

That's an interesting question that I need to give some thought to.  Especially since my houses have always had ghosts! Jo