What does cleaning represent?

For Suzette, cleaning symbolizes a return to perfection that she views as unachievable in her own body. By cleaning, she represses her childhood trauma and fights off feelings of inadequacy. “She cared for the house as if it were a newborn, needing constant attention to thrive. She knew what squalor looked like—a grimy bucket or chipped bowl beneath every exposed pipe, every ceiling a topographic map of peeling paint—and as long as she was with Alex she need never see it again” (30). For Hanna, however, her mother’s cleaning is an oppressive force that keeps her from creatively expressing herself. When Suzette throws out the UnderSlumberBumbleBeast, Hanna is distraught, and sees this as yet more proof that her mother resents her.