The last lecture got me thinking a lot about family in Hill House. We heard arguments for each character belonging to several different family groups, some biological and some metaphorical. Looking at characters' last names, I noticed something that we didn't talk about, but I think is important: Theodora doesn't have a last name. Not one that the reader ever hears, at least. This automatically sets her apart from the rest of the characters. For the others, their last name represents their personal history, as well as the sphere of society they come from -- Montague the academic truth seeker, Sanderson the rich and "masters" of the house, Dudley the servants, and so on. But Theodora is restricted by no such label, explaining how she can act more free-spirited and independent than the rest. Sure, she talks with Eleanor about relatives long ago, and she lives with a friend (companion? lover? I'm not sure), but those are all very distant, and it doesn't seem that Theodora lets her connections impede her life. Eleanor, on the other hand, essentially had an entire decade of her life defined by her family when she cared for her mother, and has just recently escaped from under her sister's thumb, causing her to despise someone like Theodora who has lived so freely. Hill House only amplifies this deep-seated jealousy and resentment inside Eleanor, which manifest in her mad behavior, whereas Theodora's psyche was untouched by the house.
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