A House With Good Bones

Edith Montgomery is Sam’s mother and Gran Mae’s daughter. Sam recalls her mom as smart, vibrant, and colorful. She is defiant, uses profanity with relish, and flourishes in her career as a “media escort.” When Edith first moves into the house after Gran Mae’s death, she makes the house more welcoming and fun by painting the walls wild colors and hanging quirky art, implying she has a strong sense of autonomy. However, when Sam arrives, Edith’s odd behavior implies that Edith’s Family Lineage and Trauma in the house is affecting her. For example, Edith repaints the house neutral colors and rehangs Gran Mae’s traditional art, aligning the house with Gran Mae’s taste for the ordinary, suppressing her own desires. This also illustrates the theme of The Illusion of Normalcy because Edith’s overtures toward ordinariness are not authentic to her.

The longer Sam remains at Edith’s house, the clearer it becomes that Edith is haunted by the trauma her mother inflicted on her when she was alive. For example, Edith leaves notes for herself reminding her to pray aloud—a habit Gran Mae insisted on. Edith’s major breakthrough occurs when she stands up to Gran Mae near the end of the novel, forcing Gran Mae to leave the house and taking control of her own future. Though Gran Mae’s departure leaves Edith and Sam vulnerable, it allows them to regain control and overcome their family trauma, implying that self-determination is crucial for such efforts.

Gran Mae is Edith’s mother and Sam’s grandmother. Gran Mae inhabits the “evil witch” archetype from fairy tales. Her magic is a dark power that she uses to impose her will on nature. She and Gail are foils for each other in this regard. Though she is already dead at the opening of the novel, her presence lingers, aligning her character with the Southern Gothic ghost tradition. Gran Mae’s ghost embodies the theme of Family Lineage and Trauma. Gran Mae represents the quintessential white, Southern woman of a certain class and age: racist, classist, religious, patriarchal, and obsessed with an appearance of propriety and normalcy. Her attempts to force her relatives to conform to “traditional” Southern values led her to emotionally and verbally abusive behavior. Though Gran Mae was cruel and demanding, she gave her immense rose garden meticulous care, pouring all of her magic into the flowers. This illustrates The Illusion of Normalcy, as Gran Mae’s impressive garden is made that way through magic. It, like the rest of Gran Mae’s house, is made to look normal to hide the dark family history.

Gran Mae’s roses, and the jars of teeth she buries among them, create a protective circle around the house that keeps the underground children out and Gran Mae’s spirit tethered to the house. Gail points out that Gran Mae put all her considerable power into the garden, suggesting that Gran Mae sacrificed her potential to protect her family and create a sense of normalcy. In this way, T. Kingfisher implies that trauma, represented by the underground children, requires families to divert their loving impulse to protection, which stymies the healing process. She uses this magic to grow the roses, which are a shield against the malevolent “underground children” created by her father. She protects her family from the underground children even after death, suggesting that despite her cruel and abusive nature she does feel affection and care for her family. However, due to Gran Mae’s own childhood trauma, this care only extends as far as she can also control her family. Only after the family directly confronts Gran Mae and the trauma she represents can they overcome the underground children.