Carmen Maria Machado
Machado is the central character and narrator in the memoir In the Dream House. Machado is a creative writing graduate who has an abusive marriage with her partner. Machado is a member of the LGBTQ community, and in her memoir, she gives an account of the traumatizing moments of her sexual relationship with a Dream House woman.
Before Machado documents her traumatic experiences in her relationship, she searches the internet for cases related to her situation but finds none. Machado discovers that the issues of same-sex marriages have rarely been documented in contemporary literature and media. Therefore, Machado writes this memoir to record her experiences in an abusive marriage.
The Dream House woman
The Dream House woman is Machado's obnoxious sexual partner. The Dream House woman falls in love with Machado the first day they meet. Machado, at first, admires her partner because she is well established and mature. However, the Dream House woman believes she is superior to Machado and mistreats her. The Dream House woman physically abuses Machado to the point they decide to break up.
Val
Val is the first girlfriend of the Dream House woman. When Machado starts a sexual relationship with the Dream House woman, she does not know she still sees Val. Later, the Dream House woman reveals to Machado that they are in a polygamous relationship with Val. Val is an accommodative woman who does not feel bad having Machado around the Dream House Woman. Ultimately, Val and Machado break up with the Dream House woman because of her abusive nature. Machado and Val reconnect later and marry each other.
Pastor Joel
Joel owns a church where he administers to several congregants every Sunday. Joel is a manipulative man who takes advantage of the naivety of young girls in his church. When Machado first attends Joel's church, she is 16 years old. The age gap between Pastor Joel and Machado is huge, but that does not prevent them from having a closer relationship. Machado opens up with Pastor Joel about her sexual feelings, and she confesses that she only kissed a boy once. In addition, Machado tells Pastor Joel that she feels attracted to fellow girls. However, Pastor Joel takes advantage of Machado's naivety and tries to have sex with her. After realizing that Pastor Joel has bad intentions, Machado stops seeing him, and she becomes conscious of her future sexual relationships.
Machado’s Mother
Machado's mother is a conservative woman who believes her daughter's space does not belong to her. When Machado grows up, she blames her parents for not instilling confidence and self-advocacy in her life. After Machado starts having relationships, she realizes that she lacks self-advocacy.
Machado’s father
Machado's father is intuitive and controlling. When Machado is growing up, her father tells her she should be emotionally sensitive. However, the reader notes that Machado's father is optimistic and believes everything is possible. For instance, Machado's father tells her she should never leave any question blank because she can write anything she knows instead of leaving it blank. Machado finds her father's attitude helpful when she writes her memoir.
Debra Reid
Debra is a prisoner charged with murdering her offensive partner in the 1980s. Debra is among the eight women charged with a similar crime. However, Debra's case is unique and interesting to Machado because she killed a fellow woman. Debra confesses that she will still kill her if she is out of prison and gets married to the same partner.
