89
her with the ultimate phallic symbol: a knife. The authors make an effort
to repeatedly link the sexual abuse Leslie experienced to behaviors that
they perceive as sexually deviant, such as promiscuity and power play.
In House, Peretti and Dekker create an atmosphere that directly
reflects the transgressions of each character. The house in which the
majority of the plot occurs is described as “mirroring [their] hearts . . .
[and] drawing its power from the evil in [the characters]” (329). In
Leslie’s case, the house creates a simulation of the room in which
Leslie’s sexual abuse occurred (120). The symbolic representation of
Leslie’s sin is manifested through the room that the house generates, thus
equating the sexual abuse that Leslie experienced to her inner “evil.”
Leslie openly acknowledges the similarities between the room and her
childhood abuse, making the parallel apparent (120). Within this room,
one of the three inbreds, Pete, straps Leslie to a board, ties “her wrists
tight. Then her ankles, spread-eagle” (140). After ty [