Content Warning: The source text depicts domestic violence, pregnancy loss, rape, and death by suicide, which this section of the guide discusses. 

Houses symbolize the home and family and help develop The Illusion of Safety. For most of the text, Helen believes that her own house is safe because it represents her marriage to her architect husband, Daniel, and it used to belong to her beloved parents. Also, it’s in the “safe,” upscale neighborhood of Greenwich Park, a setting in which she never expects to be the target of a crime. The historic house’s features are described in detail to emphasize how comfortable it makes Helen feel. However, beneath the surface of Helen’s grand mansion lies a web of deceit, violence, and crime. This becomes literally true when Serena, Daniel, and Rory dispose of Rachel’s corpse beneath wet concrete in Helen’s cellar. The renovations that Daniel convinces Helen to make are allegedly meant to symbolize improvements to their home and family, but in reality, they symbolize Daniel’s destruction. The renovations never get finished because Daniel started them as a guise to get approved for a remortgage, and he plans to steal the loan money without paying the builders.