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Detailed summary of the Dream House by Craig Higginson
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AUTHOR AND BACKGROUNDCraig Higginson is a South African who grew up in Johannesburg, but attended boarding
school in the Midlands. The house in his book is modelled on a farm house which was located
over the hill from his school. He sometimes spent weekends with the couple that lived there.
They inspired the characters in the book. Bheki, another of the characters, worked on the
farm as a driver and took him fishing on one occasion. Mr Ford was based on one of his
teachers.
Initially The Dream House was a play - Dream of the Dog - which was performed on
London's West End. Mention is made of the play in the novel when Patricia finds an old
ticket stub for the production in a red evening bag whilst she is packing to move to Durban
(page 37).
SETTING
Dwaleni Farm in the Kwa-Zulu, Natal Midlands, South Africa. Dwaleni means “built on rock”.
The story occurs the night before the inhabitants, Mr and Mrs Wiley, are set to move to
Durban, having sold the farm. The farm is quite swampy; there are five dams and several
springs.
The farm house is always described as very solid, dark, stuffy and musty-smelling.
Looksmart says of the house: “...it feels like a place that has never experienced the sun."
(page 48) On page 31, it is described as follows: “In most rooms there are cobwebs in the
corners of the ceilings, and visitors...complained of fleas and airlessness, as several of the
windows had been warped shut. Except for the occasional lick of paint, which is presently
falling back into the garden... she has kept the house exactly as her father left it. She
said...that if the house gave Richard bronchitis now and again, that was his problem. He had
always been welcome to renovate the place himself.”
, STRUCTURE OF THE NOVEL
The Dream House utilises a third person narrative perspective and is divided into five main
parts containing numerous chapters which are alternately seen from six different
perspectives:
1. PATRICIA WILEY - the elderly owner of the farm. She uses a walker to move around
and has a wheelchair which she only uses when strictly necessary as it embarrasses
her. (uMesis)
2. RICHARD WILEY - Patricia's husband who is in the advanced stages of dementia and
needs care. (Patricia occasionally calls him Roo. The farm workers call him uBaas.)
3. BEAUTY - the couple's domestic worker. (Her African name is Togo.)
4. LOOKSMART - a young man who grew up on the farm and was taken under Patricia's
wing. She recognised his potential and funded his education. He returns to the farm
after being away for many years. (Phiwayinkosi Ndlovu)
5. BHEKI - works on the farm; serves as the couple's driver.
6. JOHN FORD - the retired headmaster of a local school; Patricia's lover.
The five parts of the novel could correspond to the five acts of a play (Higginson is also a
playwright).
The five acts of a play are generally structured as follows:
1. Introduction - to the main characters.
2. Rising Action - Looksmart returns to the farm.
3. Climax - the truth behind Grace's death slowly unravels. Richard is missing
4. Falling Action - Patricia and Looksmart express their hurt. Richard returns. Looksmart
leaves
5. Conclusion - Patricia receives news of John; Beauty reveals the truth about Grace's
death; they leave the farm passing Looksmart who is returning to claim it.
OTHER CHARACTERS
GRACE - deceased sister of Beauty; buried on farm. (Her African name is Noma – just like
Looksmart's one daughter.)
ANNA FORD - John Ford's deceased wife.
BONGANI – Bheki's deaf and mute son.
PHUME - Bongani's mother, worked in the dairy; her father is a priest and a traditional healer.
RACHEL - Patricia and Richard's deceased daughter. She died at birth.
ANNABEL - Looksmart's wife.
NOMA AND NONDUMISO - Looksmart's twin daughters who have helped soften his heart.
FIONA JOHNSON - Went to school with Patricia; murdered in a farm attack.
CHLOE – The dag which attacked Grace
ETHUNZINI – The only remaining dog on the farm
MRS BELL – John Ford’s secretary
, ONE
1.1. PATRICIA
Patricia looks out on her farm which has been sold to developers, who will clear everything in order
to build an estate. She's told her husband, Richard who has dementia, that they are going to the
sea for a while. They will be moving to Durban (to the house Patricia grew up in - her "dream
house"), accompanied by Beauty - their long time domestic servant and Bheki - who will serve as
their driver and gardener. Patricia has had two of the three old farm doas shot and buried. The
third will also down as she cannot move the animal to Durban. At breakfast, Richard is confused
and asks if they are dead yet. She asks Bheki to drive her to see Mr Ford. Along the way, she
speaks of her parents and how her father allowed her to marry Richard after finding out she was
pregnant.
1.2. BEAUTY
Beauty has to care for Richard (whom she calls uBaas) by taking care of his intimate needs like
washing and dressing him, but she fears him. Beauty speaks Zulu to Richard - perhaps as a way of
asserting herself and seeking comfort whilst in the company of Richard. She finds him sitting in the
lounge without his pants on. She takes him to the room and makes him put on another pair.
1.3. PATRICIA
Patricia visits John Ford who has been her lover for over 30 years - despite them both being
married. John is a retired headmaster and widower. John has always been far more educated and
cultured than Richard (Richard reads Farmers' Weekly on the loo whilst John reads Tolstoy) - hence
her attraction. For years she went to church just because he would be there, but during communion,
he would hold the wine goblet just beyond her reach - which is symbolic of their relationship. She
has come to say goodbye after he phoned her the night before, saying he wanted to see her one
last time. Their interaction seems strained and uncomfortable. John appears emotionally distant. He
frequently belittles Richard, but does not tolerate any discussion about his late wife.
They first met when Patricia brought a very intelligent boy from the farm for an interview at the
school. John arranged a scholarship for the boy - Looksmart. Patricia and John continued to meet
to discuss the boy's progress and their affair developed from there.
Patricia says she will phone every Sunday, but he tells her to call only if she has something
interesting to tell him. He thanks her for being a good friend - Patricia appears to have been more
emotionally connected to John than he was to her. John gives Patricia a letter which she is only
allowed to open when she gets to Durban. She puts it in the cubbyhole of her car and decides not
to ever read it.
1.4. BEAUTY
Beauty is packing and has taken to , making decisions about what to throw away. She steals a cup
from the house because it used to be Patricia's favourite and now she never uses it and Beauty
feels that it still deserves to be treasured.
Beauty has lived on the farm for her entire life. She has been saving for a home of her own for
years. She has no husband, but has secretly been in love with Bheki for years. Behind her back, the
other workers call her: "Inyumba" which means "the barren one".
Bheki walks into the room where Beauty is packing and she thinks about how they have shared so
much over the years, but in spite of this, she does not know what goes on in Bheki's mind. She does
know that he is concerned about his sick child, Bongani (who is four years old, deaf and has pale
blue eyes and a whisp of white hair). Bheki tells Beauty that he took Patricia to say goodbye to
John Ford and she feels that Patricia will be glad to not see him again as she always returns from
visiting him with an empty, lost look on her face.
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