“The Stucco House”

“The Stucco House” by Ellen Gilchrist is a story about

seven year old boy named Teddy who lives with his mother

and step father, Eric. Because of the existing

circumstances concerning his family’s relationships,

especially between his mom and step dad, the boy seems

“scared of everything” as seen by Eric. However this fear

is not fear in the pure sense but is mixed in with other

emotions such as confusion, disappointment and uncertainty.

The child’s true fear is losing his stepfather Eric

resulting from a possible future divorce from his mother.

The author implies that Teddy is a sad and disappointed

with his mothers past failed marriages especially to his

real father, and he is now afraid of losing his stepfather

from another marital breakup. To deal with this emotion,

the boy fantasizes about having his mother “go away” while

he and his stepfather stay in his “stucco” house, a house

he loves so dearly. Eric was not only a good father for

Teddy but also “the best grown person he had ever

known.”(p. 41) He wasn’t like others, “large, very

high-strung children who never sat still or finished what

they started.”(p.40)

Throughout the story there is also seen a subtle

anxiety Teddy feels about his mother’s well being. In

reading “The Stucco House” we get the idea that his mother

is probably an alcoholic and sexually promiscuous.

Although he loves his step dad more he is genuinely worried

about his mom’s health and future. At the tender age of

seven he could not possibly have any answers or solutions

to her problems. This confusion and helplessness could

elicit fear in such a young child since he, at such a

tender age, sees no way out.

In this story there are also subtle hints that his

older brothers abuse him. The author states that he kept

stuffed animals on his bed to protect him from ghosts,

vampires and “to keep his big brothers from beating him

up.”(p. 31) We also get the feeling that his step dad also

protects him from them. But, as mentioned before, Teddy is

confused and disappointed more than being afraid although

these emotions can mingle in so many ways in the child’s

mind. He is confused about the relationship of his mother

and stepfather and also about his relationship with his

uncle and grandparents. From the perspective of a seven

year old mind, all these familial interactions cannot be

understand and could never make sense to a child such as

Teddy.

In another part of the story, Ellen Gilchrist shows

that Teddy fantasizes about escaping his situation. While

keeping watch of his ill mother, he reads one of his older

brother’s books called The Big Green Book which tells the

story of a young boy who, while living with a mean aunt and

uncle, discovers a book of magic spells. This boy learns

how to use these spells to become animals or make himself

invisible or “do anything he wanted to do.”(p.33)

Gilchrist is showing the reader that Teddy would probably

like to have this power to escape his unfortunate

circumstances. Teddy also tries to make use of the power

of prayer. The author narrates in one section of the story

of how Teddy would sometimes go to church and kneel down

and beg God “not to let his momma divorce Eric.”(p. 36)

And he would tell God that if his prayer was not answered

he would “pretend that he was his grandfather and threaten

God.”(p. 36)

Teddy’s relationship with his grandparents, especially

his grandfather, is also unhappy. Most children find

solace and refuge with grandparents but not so in Teddy’s

case. He once told Eric that “they boss [him] around all

the time.”(p. 34) And he also said that his grandfather

forced him to “make his bed, ride the stupid horses and

hitch up the pony cart and if [he] didn’t do what he said,

he hit [him] with a belt. Teddy hated being there.”(p. 34)

So, as the reader can understand, even being with his

grandparents was a miserable experience for the young lad.

The story ends when Eric and Teddy meet on an

unexpected occasion and they go away for a drive in Eric’s

car. This ending seems to symbolize Teddy’s desire to be

only with his step dad who will “rescue” him from fears and

disappointment. It is the only hope he has.

Word Count: 736