Wes and Edna are a couple with a traumatic history caused by Wes’s alcoholism. What seemed to Edna like a permanent rekindling of their marriage is only a temporary vacation from their separation. Edna imagines that they can reclaim their lives and move on together, a belief symbolized by her decision to wear her wedding rings again. But when the vacation comes to a forced end, it is clear that it was also merely a break from Wes’s drinking. As an alcoholic, Wes resigns himself to the understanding that he will drink again because it’s a part of who he is. The story suggests that it is easy to fall into old patterns and relationships, but no one can escape themselves for long. Although they love each other, Wes cannot go back and redo his life with Edna, as alcoholism is an ingrained trait that will always threaten to devastate their family again.

The house itself, meanwhile, is a symbol for Wes’s recovery from alcoholism. Like many addicts who cycle through relapse and recovery, Wes believes his abstinence from alcohol is only temporary, much like his living situation. For Wes, to not be an alcoholic is to be a totally different person, something he provisionally achieves by living in someone else’s house. Yet the knowledge that this state of being is only temporary is coupled with an acknowledgement that his period of recovery is equally temporary. The house is thus a psychological crutch that, once removed, can no longer prevent Wes from falling back on old habits.