The Houseguest | Themes and Characters
As in most of his novels, Thomas Berger's central theme in The Houseguest is the moral initiation of a sympathetic character. In this case, the central character is a woman (a nearly unprecedented event for Berger): Lydia, the daughter-in-law of Doug and Audrey Graves, who has been married to their son, Bobby, for only five weeks. Lydia is from an Italian- American family who have recently become wealthy. The Graveses represent old wealth and status; Doug is an attorney in a prosperous law firm established by his grandfather. The polite, but unfeeling, social setting provides a...
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