Obsession

Obsession is depicted as a dangerous preoccupation. Before moving to Massachusetts, Philip Browne is addicted to overeating and cigarettes. These bad habits end up causing Miranda’s father to have a heart attack. Afterwards, he realizes that he has been focused on the wrong things in life: “You two are the most important things in my life. … I’ve been stupid. Things are going to change around here” (4). Miraculously, Philip does change his life. He quits smoking and goes on an intense and successful diet.

Once the family arrives in Garnet, it is Miranda who discovers a dangerous new obsession. Unlike her father, who turned to smoking and overeating because the stress of his job, Miranda becomes obsessed with the dollhouse because of its magical mysteries and because she feels a duty to investigate why the dollhouse is showing her scenes from the past: “Her growing...