For two
years my best friend Robbie moved back to Canada from Israel. Although we
didn’t see each other as much as we hoped, it made me happy that she was only a
few hours away in Toronto, in the same time zone. She’s back in Israel now, but
last week she sent me an email entitled "Secret Pleasure" with a picture that made me very happy. It was of the inside
of her daughter’s dollhouse, similar to Robbie's doll house we used to play with when we
were little. Her daughter redoes the layout daily and sometimes Robbie gets to
play too. Here is the studio apartment her daughter created in her dollhouse attic.
I didn’t
have a beautiful doll house like Robbie’s when I was growing up. I had
something my Zeydi had built that was interesting and amazing, but somehow
rough and clunky and was decorated in very bright 70’s wallpaper, dark oranges
and bright pinks. My friend’s dollhouse was white and elegant and unlike my odd
collection of mis-matched furniture, she had Lundby, a Swedish dollhouse
company, furniture.
I think dollhouses for us were not about
acting out domestic dramas, as they were about interior decorating, and to a
certain extent, materialism. I would count my allowance, trying to weigh a
purchase of tiny candlesticks against a larger, more useful item, like a
bathroom sink. When I was in grade 6 or
7 I won my own Lundby dollhouse in a draw at our local toystore. It was an even
nicer dollhouse than Robbie’s, but it was too late. I was interested in the
house for maybe a month, and then I was too old to play, or even decorate.
That
dollhouse is in my parents’ storage. I got it out once for my boys, but they
were disinterested. And that’s fine. Maybe my niece will like it one day when
she’s a little older. I’m hoping she’ll
let me rearrange the furniture to my heart’s content.
I have in
the back of my mind a character for a story I want to write, about a girl with
a doll house. She’ll be too old for doll houses, maybe even twelve, but everyday
she’ll rearrange the furniture depending on how she’s feeling. It may be a way
for her to communicate with her mother, a way to show her wishes and dreams, maybe
a way to remember the way her family used to be.
If you
really love dollhouses, check out Queen Mary's dollhouse in Windsor Castle. Built
between 1921 and 1924 by British architect Edward Luytens, it’s a replica of an
aristocratic home, complete with electric lights, running water and most
importantly, a fully stocked library.
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| Queen Mary's Dollhouse Library |
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| The Dining Room of Queen Mary's Dollhouse |
