Rachel Ingalls’ novel Mrs. Caliban intricately blends mundane suburban life with elements of the fantastical to explore themes of identity, repression, and the quest for fulfillment. Set in Southern California, the narrative follows Dorothy as she grapples with her emotionally barren existence, finding both solace and turmoil in her relationship with a sea creature named Larry. Through this surreal romance, Ingalls examines the boundaries of reality and fantasy, drawing on Shakespearean and Gothic influences to enhance the narrative’s depth.

The Tone of Despair

At the heart of Mrs. Caliban is a pervasive sense of despair that permeates Dorothy’s life. Ingalls employs a matter-of-fact tone to describe Dorothy’s daily routine—her shopping trips and household chores—masking a deeper vision of bleakness. Dorothy's traditional role in a patriarchal society contributes significantly to her misery. She feels like a laboratory rat or a mechanical figure, navigating a world populated by mannequin-like figures that reflect her own feelings of helplessness and powerlessness. As Ingalls describes, "the dummy was nothing; the dress was everything. There had been no face painted on the blank head," capturing Dorothy's sense of being overshadowed by societal expectations.

Unfulfilled Roles and Yearning

Central to Dorothy’s despair is her perceived failure in fulfilling traditional feminine roles as a wife and mother. The loss of her child, Scotty, and a subsequent miscarriage leave indelible scars, fostering an endless cycle of longing and loss. Her husband Fred’s infidelity and lack of affection exacerbate her sense of isolation, leading Dorothy to fantasize about pregnancy or even taking someone else’s child. The death of her dog, Bingo, further compounds her belief that everything she loves is destined to die, underscoring her helplessness and deepening her despair.

The Arrival of Larry

When Larry, the sea-monster, enters Dorothy’s life, he serves as both a fantastical escape and a manifestation of her repressed desires. Larry embodies the childlike innocence and need for nurturing that Dorothy craves, while also fulfilling her longing for a caring and passionate partner. Larry's presence offers her a temporary reprieve from her emotional void, yet his disappearance—coinciding with Fred’s death—blurs the line between fantasy and reality, leaving Dorothy uncertain about her feelings and Larry's true nature.

Identity and Repression

Ingalls cleverly intertwines Larry’s character with Dorothy’s own repressed emotions—anger, fear, and vitality—that she has long denied. The novel’s title, Mrs. Caliban, nods to Shakespeare’s The Tempest, evoking Dorothy’s complex relationship with her inner "monster." Just as Caliban represents the untamed aspects of humanity, Larry reflects Dorothy’s submerged emotional turmoil. This duality raises questions about identity and self-awareness, challenging readers to contemplate how societal roles suppress the true self.

The Unreliable Reality

The narrative's focus on Dorothy’s perspective invites doubt about Larry’s existence. Despite Larry being described with the same mundane precision as Dorothy’s vacuuming, clues suggest he may be an illusion. Dorothy’s distrust of the radio and her reception of private messages hint at a fractured reality. No other characters acknowledge Larry, and Dorothy’s isolation in her grief suggests he might be a figment of her imagination, a fantastical construct born from her unmet needs.

The Suburban Gothic

Despite its mundane suburban backdrop, Mrs. Caliban resonates with Gothic romance elements. Ingalls draws on literary allusions to Shakespeare’s Caliban and the creature from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to create a tapestry of depth and complexity. Larry's character evokes these iconic figures through his innocence and potential for violence. Much like Frankenstein’s monster, Larry is confined by his existence, studied and restrained by scientists, symbolizing the dehumanizing effects of modern scientific endeavor.

Symbolic Relationships

In the novel, Dorothy mirrors aspects of Caliban’s enslavement, trapped within her...