The Hypnotist's Love Story

Ellen’s house symbolizes the life changes she is going through as she enters a new relationship and confronts The Complexities of Family Dynamics. The house belonged to her grandparents, and is especially comforting to Ellen because it provides a link with those nurturing figures of her past. They continued their support, in a financial sense, by gifting her the house, which grants her a place to live. The access to the beach and the light-filled space suggest natural beauty and serenity imbue Ellen’s life, creating balance and pleasure.

Ellen feels unsettled when Patrick and Jack move into her house, as she feels that they upset the balance of her harmonious routine. Her resentment of Patrick’s boxes and her occasional longing to be alone in a quiet home reinforce the sense that Ellen is having to adjust to a new familial and domestic dynamic, with her house becoming a shared space instead of her own independent haven. Her uncertainty over sharing her space with Patrick and Jack reflects the deeper uncertainties she feels over the future of her relationship with Patrick.  

In the final chapter, when Ellen is gazing out the window watching her husband and children play on the beach, the contentment she feels is made possible by the integration of past and present, as symbolized by the house, which has, like her, adapted to the new changes.