Now, For My Relationship To, And With, Amma's Dollhouse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                               Girls, if merchandisers were smart, "Sharp Objects" would become a cottage industry.  There would be Amma T-shirts, Amma dolls, and yes, Amma dollhouses!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                 Oh, my God, the minute I saw that dollhouse, I wanted it. Kudos to whomever built it.  Along with everyone else deserving of awards for their work on "Sharp Objects," I include the designer and builder of this set piece, and Amy Adams' hair stylist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                  Relating to "Sharp Objects" itself, the question I pose is--how did Amma come by the dollhouse?  I am not sure this is even explained in the Gillian Flynn novel.  Did her wussy father, Alan Crellin, buy it for her, or build it, himself?  Did Amma construct it?  If so, then she is some kind of engineering genius.  And when she is shown examining the floor, tiled with teeth, and Camille makes the discovery Amma tiled the floor of Adora's bedroom--clearly love/hate--with her victims' teeth, it shows, at the very least, Amma has good renovation skills!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                     So, it is no wonder, with its beauty and detailed intricacy, the dollhouse fascinates me, and I wanted it.  But how does it relate, specifically, to me?

                                      When I was a small child, of the dollhouse age, I had, in our TV room, a solidly constructed desk, made out of strong cardboard, with a bench strong enough to hold a small child, and it acted as my "first office space!"  Hah! Hah!  Even that early, I saw myself as Buddy and Sally on "The Dick Van Dyke Show," working in an office, dreaming up comedy!  Hey, SNL, I am still available!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                       Instead of drawers, the right side of the desk had little openings, where I could put things--books, paper, whatever.  However, I left them blank.

                                        Now, I also possessed at the time, when they were in vogue, these miniature plastic replicas of famous Disney characters.  They were called "Disneykins," and while I never had a complete set, I know I had Captain Hook, Snow White, some of the dwarfs, and my two favorites, Alice, of "Alice In Wonderland," and Tinker Bell, from "Peter Pan."  I probably had Peter Pan, too.  I have never seen the Disney version to this day, but had the storytelling record, and was captivated by Mary Martin .  The idea of flying off to Neverland, or whirling away to Oz, was key to me at this point.  So, I would insert the Disneykins into the top opening on the right side of the desk, and use it as a stage, moving them back and forth, acting out little dramas.  And as I grew older, and gravitated from Disney to dinosaurs, thinking I might become the next Willis O'Brien, I did the same thing.

                                       What I was actually doing was exercising my control and theatrical instincts.  I was staging little mini dramas, or monster battles, where I controlled everything that happened. I did not have this control anywhere else, so it was important to me.  And this came back to me as I watch Amma interact with her dollhouse.

                                          It instilled an early interest in theater in me, which, while not making me an international star, took me to acceptable and satisfying places in my life.  Unlike Amma!!!!!!!!!!

                                           Still, I want that doll house now!  If only I had Amma's innovation skills!

But, I mean, darlings, I am a queen!  It would never occur to me to renovate a real floor myself, let alone a dollhouse one!!!!!!!!!

And I would never have thought of using teeth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!