Little Dorrit

The Clennams’ London house—which leans to one side and looks like it might collapse at any moment—symbolizes the state of the of the Clennam family. The house represents the unsteady ground on which the family stands and the secrets they keep from one another threaten to destroy the family. The first thing Arthur Clennam notices about his mother’s house after being away for 20 years is that it looks unchanged, and this is also the first thing he notices about his severe, uncompromising mother. Yet, just like Mrs. Clennam, the house isn’t as immovable as Arthur first thinks. He notes that the house seemed to have decided “to slide down sideways; it had been propped up, however, and was leaning on some half-dozen gigantic crutches: which [...] appeared in these latter days to be no very sure reliance” (46). The crumbling structure symbolizes the precarious situation of Mrs. Clennam’s finances, as well as the Clennams’ business, which is also on shaky ground. The house also has many secrets: Affery Flintwinch believes that the house is haunted by ghosts and she continues to see mysterious figures and hear strange sounds. Though her husband insists she is just imagining these things, her predictions come to be true, at least in a symbolic sense. Though there are no actual ghosts in the Clennam House, the ghosts of the past and family secrets do haunt the family; Mrs. Clennam is unable to forget the secrets she keeps about Clennam’s birth mother. Clennam relives the confinement of his childhood when he enters the house, remembering being locked in its closets when he was young, when he was forced to adhere to his mother’s strict upbringing. Like Mrs. Clennam’s secrets, the house cannot withstand the forces of truth. When Rigaud brings the family’s secrets to light, the house collapses, paralleling Mrs. Clennam’s death at the same instant.