The Basement

Serafina and her father secretly live in the basement of the Biltmore Estate. It is more than just where Serafina lives. It is the place she considers to be her home. This fact becomes apparent at the end of the novel when Mrs. Vanderbilt asks whether Serafina is happy living in the basement. Serafina says that she is happy. The basement is part of Serafina's identity.

Symbolically, basements hold secrets. The basement in Biltmore holds the secret that Serafina and her father call it their home. It is also the place where the Man in the Black Cloak first appears in the novel and where he absorbs Clara.

In addition, it links to social status. During the time period of the novel, the floors in big houses separate social classes. Serafina and her father are in a lower social class than the Vanderbilts and the Vanderbilts' friends...