Janie Cherestal

In class today, we discussed various topics concerning the ending of House of Leaves. We started with Zampano’s first letter in the appendix, where he states that “art speaks for me.” From there we discussed Walter Benjamin, the author of “The Work in an Age of Technological Reproducability.” In this essay, he described how art used to be deemed as a sacred form of expression that was not necessarily meant to serve the masses, but rather, seemed to be above them. However, with the invention of the printing press and the mass production of literature, art has lost much of its meaning and has become a commercialized product.
We then looked at the last page of the novel that contained a poem what seemed to be a mysterious tree. We learned how that poem is based on a mythical inverted tree that has its roots extended into the heavens. Three gods pass through this tree and once they have reached the earth, one has lost his eye, another his arm, and the last his hearing. These disfigurements mirror those that Navidson suffered following his rescue from the house at the end of the novel.
Another aspect of the novel that reflects a story in Greek mythology is Johnny’s unfailing and futile desire to rescue his mother from the hell of her mental illness. This is similar to the story of Orfeus and Eurydice, where Orfeus attempts to save Eurydice from Hell by making a deal with Hades that he can leave with Eurydice as long as he promises to not look back as he is leaving. Unfortunately, Orfeus cannot resist turning back, and Eurydice is pulled back into hell.
We also delved into possible explanations for the mystery behind the house. One was that perhaps it is a time warp, for the scientific research done on the house showed that the sediments in the walls dated back to before the earth was in existence. Another theory was that it was a physical manifestation of the whomever is inhabiting the labyrinth’s mental state. Finally, the house could just be Zampano, or Danielewski’s, way of criticizing academia, mental institutions, photojournalism, and over-analysis, in general. I suppose only person who will ever know for sure is Danielewski.