The “Room in the Attic” is a story about a teenager named David who is excelling in his high school classes, when during the schoolyear; he befriends a young boy named John “Wolf” & gets to know Wolf’s sister. Wolf’s sister, Isabel is a mysterious girl with an illness that is not explained. Throughout the story, David plays guessing games and begins to wonder more about her. David is attracted to a girl he knows little about nor what she looks like. He longs to see her face and often fantasies about what she could look like.
As I was reading this story, I had some observations about the interactions between David and Isabel. As mentioned in the story that Isabel had a “breakdown” that led to her being homeschooled; isolated from the outside world in her dark room. Though never explained how the breakdown took place or what led to it, I believe she has agoraphobia–an anxiety disorder that causes a fear of public, crowded spaces. Agoraphobia can come on suddenly and I believe this is what she developed. Along with this, she rarely leaves her room and goes downstairs.
Another observation I had consists of the fact that I believe David would not have fantasies and feelings for Isabel if she was not a walking mystery. For example, he fantasies about her face and body at the beach. It is stated towards the end of the story that he decides to not see what she looks like– covering his eyes. He had a chance to see her face yet decided against it. I believe this was due to not wanting to ruin the image he had of her and smash the mystery she is. After this, he begins to question reality and her existence. Later, he begins to move on in life and forgets details of her.