The Dutch House

by Ann Patchett

Mrs. Buchsbaum Character Analysis

Mrs. Buchsbaum lives in the house across the street from the Dutch House with her husband. Throughout the years, Maeve and Danny park in front of the Buchsbaums’, watching their childhood home from a distance. One day, just after Danny’s first year of medical school, Mrs. Buchsbaum approaches their car and strikes up conversation, noting that Andrea is a recluse who does not speak to her neighbors. She also says she feels sorry for Norma and Bright, as their mother must be “a very sad person.”
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Mrs. Buchsbaum Character Timeline in The Dutch House

The timeline below shows where the character Mrs. Buchsbaum appears in The Dutch House. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4
Memory, Inheritance, and the Past Theme Icon
Family Bonds Theme Icon
Home, Displacement, and Impermanence Theme Icon
Projection, Perception, and Reality Theme Icon
...ever see the past clearly. Maeve, without hesitation, says that she can. As they talk, Mrs. Buchsbaum , their longtime neighbor from across the street, stops by to catch up. She mentions... (full context)