56 pages • 1-hour read
We Live Here Now
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Themes
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, addiction, substance use, pregnancy loss, graphic violence, emotional abuse, and physical abuse.
The Dark Undercurrents of Intimate Relationships
In We Live Here Now, the author employs Gothic devices to explore the corrosive dynamics hidden within long-term intimate relationships. The malevolent environment of Larkin Lodge exposes the dark impulses (jealousy, betrayal, resentment, and violence) that lurk beneath the characters’ marriages. Through the Lodge’s power to enhance, fracture, and preserve the “worst parts” of its inhabitants, the novel dramatizes the destructive potential embedded within close partnerships.
The marital strain experienced by Emily and Freddie, as well as their London friends, highlights how long-term relationships often deteriorate due to unmet expectations and accumulating resentments. As Russell points out, this process of disillusionment is inevitable, as in the early days of a relationship, individuals “heighten the best bits of [themselves] and hide the worst bits” (45). This “illusion” of perfection cannot be maintained in the long term. Pinborough also draws attention to the perversity of human nature, as the characters admit that the aspects of their partner’s behavior that most irritate them are traits that they initially found attractive. For example, Emily increasingly perceives Freddie’s once-alluring easy manner as a sign of weakness and indolence. The secrets that Emily and Freddie keep from each other (Emily’s affair and Freddie’s gambling debts) demonstrate how the growing emotional distance between the couple leads to lies, betrayal, and deception. The repeated line, “Marriage is teamwork” (6), is loaded with irony, pointing to how Emily and Freddie deceive and conspire against each other while maintaining the outward appearance of unity.
The note of regret in Emily’s assertion, “‘I guess we live here now” (7), reflects how Larkin Lodge functions as a metaphor for the state of the Bennetts’ marriage. They buy the house because it attracts “[c]ouples in trouble” (309), and its malign atmosphere echoes the toxic dynamic of their relationship. Pinborough plays on the traditional notions of marriage and home as spaces of safety and security, as Larkin Lodge is exposed as a house that repeatedly hosts marital coercion and violence. Within its walls, love is governed by a need for control as Christopher Hopper, Fortuna Carmichael, Joe Carter, and finally the Bennetts, kill their spouses when they fail to live up to their expectations. The series of murders reveals how easily intimacy slips into discontent and domination when individuals’ desires conflict. The house’s ability to resurrect the dead, devoid of their flaws, is presented as a twisted way to “fix” relationships. Emily’s conscious decision to “edit” Freddie’s personality by killing and reviving him offers a chilling parallel of how spouses try to reshape one another.
We Live Here Now strips away comforting myths about lifelong love, presenting marriage as a battleground of competing wills. By fusing Gothic tropes with psychological realism, the novel portrays the repression, control, and selfish impulses that can lie beneath the veneer of seemingly harmonious long-term partnerships. Ultimately, Pinborough suggests that the darkest horrors may lurk in the intimate bonds that are supposed to keep us safe.
The Legacy of Trauma and the Past
Throughout We Live Here Now, the author emphasizes the endurance of trauma and the inescapability of the past. The haunting of Larkin Lodge, the fractured identities of its residents, and the repetition of violence across generations of couples illustrate how the past inevitably resurfaces, no matter how deeply it is buried. The house is depicted as a repository of trauma that constantly threatens to intrude on the present.
Emily and Freddie’s move to Larkin Lodge is driven by the impulse to escape trauma. Still coming to terms with Emily’s near-fatal accident in which she lost her pregnancy, they hope the change of location will provide a fresh start. However, the protagonists’ experiences highlight the futility of attempting to leave one’s personal history behind. The couple’s intrusive recollections of the accident and nightmares illustrate how both characters are haunted even before they arrive at Larkin Lodge. The potency of this lingering trauma is the result of unresolved guilt as well as suffering. Emily views her accident as divine retribution for the one-night stand with her boss, which casts doubt on her lost child’s paternity. Meanwhile, Freddie’s shock at nearly losing his wife is tinged with the guilty knowledge that a part of him may have wanted her to die. Although the protagonists internalize these feelings and retain their secrets, the effects reverberate within their relationship, and the house eventually brings their past misdemeanors to light.
Pinborough emphasizes how Emily’s accident irrevocably alters her sense of identity. Her pain, impaired mobility, and the “awful scars up one leg” are a constant physical reminder of the past (22). The experience also leaves her with psychological scars: grief over her pregnancy loss and heightened anxiety. Emily’s fear of contracting sepsis again stems from an intense awareness of her own mortality after her near-death experience. This heightened sensitivity to danger makes her particularly vulnerable to the uncanny atmosphere of Larkin Lodge. Her fractured sense of self prefigures the literal division of identity she later undergoes in the primary suite, suggesting how trauma creates a “before” and “after” self.
Emily’s uncovering of the dark history of Larkin Lodge underscores trauma’s repetitive nature. Christopher Hopper’s original “experiment” with murder and resurrection sets the template for the house’s subsequent residents as the Carters, the Carmichaels, and the Bennetts all reenact the same violent cycle. By showing each generation of occupants trapped in the same pattern, Pinborough illustrates how trauma reverberates across time. While the “best” version of Emily and Freddie convince themselves that they have overcome the past and made a fresh start, the “dark halves” that remain trapped in the house expose the hollowness of this belief.
In We Live Here Now, Pinborough suggests that the past is never truly past. Trauma lingers through memory, via relationships, and in the structure of Larkin Lodge, refusing to be contained. By portraying trauma as cyclical and inescapable, the novel reveals the futility of attempting to sever oneself from painful personal or collective histories.
The Duality of Human Nature
Pinborough’s novel explores how human beings are not wholly good nor wholly evil but are more complex and contain contradictions. The Gothic device of Larkin Lodge, which divides its residents into opposing halves, literalizes this duality. The author employs the concept of binary versions of her characters to interrogate the consequences of denying, repressing, or attempting to eliminate the darker impulses of human nature.
The central conceit of Larkin Lodge is its capacity to separate a person’s negative traits from their better qualities: a literal supernatural dissection of the self. Christopher Hopper’s murder of James Masterson demonstrates the promise of this process as his old friend’s violent tendencies and addiction are stripped away, leaving a charming man. The novel then ties the house’s power to marital dissatisfaction as the characters wish to edit or reshape their spouses, retaining certain qualities while suppressing others. Hopper craves a wife who shares his missionary ambitions, Joe desires a partner free of jealousy, and Freddie wants to mold Emily into a compliant and faithful wife. While the Lodge enables these fantasies, the haunting of the house by Sally’s dark half while her counterpart enjoys marital bliss suggests that inconvenient traits cannot be erased without consequence.
Pinborough underscores the complexity of human nature through the alternating first-person narratives of Emily and Freddie. The protagonists’ thought processes reveal how their feelings toward their spouses often fluctuate between love, irritation, and even hatred. This lack of consistency is also illustrated in their actions. Although Emily prides herself on her moral integrity, she is unfaithful to Freddie and blackmails Mark. Freddie similarly diverges from his characteristic gentleness as he considers killing his wife. Both are portrayed as rounded individuals whose flaws contribute to their depth of character. Emily’s decision not to reunite with her darker traits once she has been separated from them reflects her desire to be a better person for the sake of her unborn child. However, her furious other half, trapped in the primary suite, demonstrates that while the darker side of human nature can be suppressed, it cannot be destroyed. The edited version of Emily may be happier and more likable, but she is also only half of a person. In this way, the novel equates the repression of marital flaws with a harmful and unnatural fracturing of the self.
We Live Here Now raises the ethical question of whether removing a person’s worst qualities would constitute healing or a violation. The author ultimately suggests that the human condition is defined by its duality. Attempting to deny these contradictory traits, rather than acknowledge and integrate them, is depicted as not only dehumanizing but potentially dangerous.
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