The Dutch House is essentially a story about the chain of events that unfolds after Cyril manages to pull himself up from poverty. Cyril’s achievement is one that reflects the myth of the American Dream—if a person works hard, he or she can buy property, secure an education for his or her offspring, and rest assured that this offspring will make even more progress in the next generation. In the case of the Conroys, this narrative is not borne out. The outcomes for the characters in the novel show that on balance, wealth cannot assure happiness.

Cyril’s life is the ultimate exemplar of this truth. When Cyril moves his family from a tiny, on-base house to the Dutch House, he assumes he can simply slip into the trappings of a wealthy life with no repercussions and that his family will be happy with this shocking change. The contrast between their lives before the Dutch House and their lives in the Dutch House is one of the reasons that Cyril’s marriage with Elna ends. Cyril never consults his family, particularly his wife, about her wants and needs; it is this inability to pay attention to who Elna really is that destroys their marriage.