Jager + Brandt

The most important relationship in Like a House on Fire is formed and developed at Jager + Brandt, a prominent architectural firm in San Francisco that is run by two men (Lars Jager and Erik Brandt) but really managed by Jane, the woman who hires Merit to work for her. Jager + Brandt is significant not only because it is the backdrop for much of the novel's relationship-building but also because its internal structures mimic the broad patriarchal structures that McBrayer's novel seeks to critique. Lars and Erik routinely undervalue Jane and Merit's contributions to the company in spite of the fact that they have no architectural acumen of their own, and they even interfere in certain projects to satisfy their own superficial sexual desires, such as when Lars overrules Merit's expertise in order to push through a design change demanded by one of Merit's clients, Regina, with whom...