The Properties of Water and Domesticity in Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping

Abstract

Throughout Marilynne Robinson’s novel Housekeeping, water is a central motif, informing our understanding of both individual characters and the town as a whole. This essay focuses on the character of Sylvie during the time when she was the primary caretaker for her nieces, Ruth and Lucille, and was charged with managing domestic space. Sylvie was not an instinctual homemaker and construed her “womanly duty” to fit her style of living to survive. To make these claims, the article analyzes Robinson’s metaphors comparing the house to Noah’s Ark, and comparing Sylvie to a mermaid on a ship. Both allusions concern water in some way. The analysis engages spatiality theory by Michael De Certeau and Doreen Massey. All of this is to understand Sylvie as a character, the women akin to her who have been forced into a matronly role due to societal norms, and how to transform an unwelcoming space into one of comfort.