James Croke Banned Books Ms. Jackson 5/21/2024. Throughout the memoir DreamHouse by Carmen Machado, there are many representations of experiences with abuse within relationships. Untold abuse stories occur all the time throughout many relationships, and how to overcome this abuse is often not figured out within these types of relationships. Abuse often stems from one of the partners misusing alcohol and letting alcohol overtake their brain. In DreamHouse, Machado exemplifies alcoholism resulting in unhealthy, aggressive, and inessential abuse in her relationship with her girlfriend. Machado constantly throughout the novel gives written depictions of abuse caused through alcohol that can be turned into an image of the reader's mind. During the …show more content…
To start off the night, the woman’s father “pours himself a generously sized cocktail”(56) to begin his night of terror with his wife. While in the kitchen, Machado sees the woman's father “holding a drink, and he's shouting”(56) at his wife. Machado gets to see first hand where her girlfriend's abusive attitude stems from. The woman even feels self-conscious about following her fathers footsteps, she even states when ranting about her father “I don't want to be like him”(58). This opens up some clarity for Machado on why her girlfriend acts the way she does when she is under the influence, Machado clearly sees now that this is what her girlfriend has seen and become a norm, most likely from a young age. Leading up to this night in Florida, one of Machado's favorite parts of their relationship is the physical touch that she and her girlfriend lovingly give to each other. Machado faces a sinister turn of events while in Florida, when one of her favorite aspects of her relationship is turned into a nightmare. While Machado's girlfriend is drunk and upset, she grabs Machado's arm viciously in front of her mother(who does nothing about it) and Machado even states that “You