The House Is on Fire

Just like fire, the theater recurs as a motif throughout the novel. Performance can be used to protect those in power. Placide, when asked by Jack if he’s really going to lie about the fire, claims that “In our business, we call it acting” (86). This motif of performance recurs over and over as Jack tries to expose the truth, with Anderson citing theatrical history and Jack’s desire to legitimately perform as reasons not to question Placide’s methods. Sally, too, experiences the problems of performance, dealing with the men of Richmond high society who prefer to perform goodness and chivalry rather than exhibit it when it is needed. She is so disillusioned by the end of the novel that she questions Mr. Scott’s story, asking if “he is like every other man she knows—incapable of telling a story in which he is not the hero” (330).

Performance is used differently for Cecily and Gilbert. The Black characters in The House Is On Fire must often perform obedience to avoid reprisals. Gilbert remarks on this early on, noting the performatively calm voice Sara must use when dealing with Elizabeth Preston. Gilbert performs as well, concealing his ability to read and write from Kemp. Cecily, too, must perform during her escape, this time confidence. She cannot allow her trauma to seep into her outward mien to protect her cover story as she escapes Richmond. This repeated motif of having to perform a certain type or action to manage marginalization and prejudice allows the novel to further explore these themes, making use of the nature of the tragedy itself to explore them.

Clothing is often used to symbolize social situations, particularly for women. The first line of the book is “Sally Campbell’s shoes are fashionable but extremely flimsy” (3). Sally goes on to tell Margaret that “It’s possible I would have been no worse off barefoot” (3). The shoes are symbolic of the role a woman like Sally is supposed to play: pretty and useless. As the night goes on and the fire breaks out, Sally does end up barefoot, her shoes lost in the crush of people. The fire makes it clear that the shoes offer no real protection. This mirrors how the fire exposes the fragility of the protection afforded to these women. The men around them, like the shoes, claim to offer protection but are useless in a real crisis.

Cecily also experiences symbolic clothing changes. Under her family’s protection while hiding in the boat shed, she wears her brother’s coat and jacket. When she is finally preparing to leave Richmond in Samuel Jefferson’s carriage, she puts on Louisa Mayo’s clothes. Louisa is dead, just like Cecily is supposed to be. Louisa was also a free, upper-class white girl. Cecily is adopting the role of a free, upper-class girl, using the clothes to help. She even puts on shoes like those Sally wore the night of the fire, with Della saying, “You know you free when you wearing a shoe that foolish” (327). For Sally, the shoes represent a limitation of opportunities; for Cecily, they represent an expansion of them.