House of Stairs

House of Stairs is divided into two parts and concludes with an epilogue. The novel is narrated in the third person, mostly alternating between each of the protagonists’ perspectives and giving insight into their inner motivations. In a few significant instances, an omniscient narrator also relates important plot developments, such as during the transition between Part 1 and Part 2. The first part of the book focuses on introducing the protagonists and establishing the story’s narrative stakes. The opening chapters, in particular, set up the novel’s tone, themes, and major plot points, which are developed in the rest of the book.

Out of the five teenage protagonists, Peter is introduced first. He is initially characterized as the most fearful and helpless of the group and is often overlooked by the others. However, he undergoes the most significant change throughout the novel, so the first chapter provides a glimpse into his upcoming arc. Indeed, the first sentence where he is named states that “Peter never struggled” (2), hinting at his submissive nature. This behavior may reflect, as the narrative later suggests, The Social Impact of Authoritarianism. When the different characters reference their previous lives, they appear to describe a highly disciplinary, surveillance-based, and segregated society. In response to the pressure of conforming to that society, Peter daydreams about happier times in his life. This tendency is made clear at the beginning of Chapter 2 when the young boy experiences one of his trances for the first time and dreams about his friend Jasper. Although Jasper does not appear directly in the novel, he is a significant figure with regard to Peter’s emotional arc. The first of those daydreams foreshadows their growing significance as a symbol of Peter’s desire to avoid dealing with reality.

Lola is the second character to be introduced. Although she and Peter do not really get along at first, they are the two characters who end up suffering the least damage from the experiment. Their first interaction, therefore, foreshadows their eventual friendship and their emotional growth. This connection sets up the theme of The Importance of Solidarity and Compassion. Lola almost immediately antagonizes Blossom, Abigail, and Oliver in the next few chapters, hinting at their strained relationships later in the novel. However, she also apologizes for her behavior, which reveals that she is driven by a strong moral code and sense of justice.

Then, Blossom is introduced, and although she appears harmless, the narrative hints at her underlying nature: “There was an unexpected hardness in her small eyes. They were like a doll’s eyes, strangely emotionless” (22). Blossom, who is well-fed and entitled, embodies the privileges of the upper class. In this enclosed location, however, she is on an equal footing with the others, which implies that all individuals are oppressed under authoritarianism. The narrative also foreshadows Blossom’s devolvement into unrestrained greed and cruelty, as well as her rising feud with Lola.

Abigail appears right after, and she is characterized as sweet and unassuming. Once Oliver arrives, confident and cheerful, the narrative frames them as potential romantic interests. Significantly, Oliver’s arrival also marks a turn in Peter’s character, who conflates him with his friend, Jasper. The narrative remains ambiguous about the true nature of the Jasper/Oliver duality but suggests that Peter’s daydreams blur the lines between fiction and fantasy. This conveys the idea that memories are unreliable, which in turn plays into the psychological manipulation to which the teenagers are being subjected.

As for the symbolic setting of the house of stairs, its purpose is kept unclear at this point of the story. The characters’ conjectures add to the sense of confusion and foreignness that the reader may experience. This plays into the novel’s message about The Social Impact of Authoritarianism, as well as the shifting dynamics of Power and Control. In addition, the machine is introduced with an unknown purpose and unpredictable inner mechanisms, which adds to the narrative tension and intrigue.