The short story The Mourning Door is a devouring tale scattered with ideas perpetuating an intense type of confusion because of the portrayal of such random thoughts. However, examining this story it is evident that there is an underlying theme of life being reconstructed. Not only is an imaginary human life reformed in the hopes of it becoming a reality, but at the same time, the old house in which this all takes place is also in the process of being rebuilt. The couple that occupies this old house has moved in to begin a new life, one with a child hopefully; resorting to medical practices has become one of their last options. The woman is overcome with the obsession to bear a child. She becomes so infatuated with the idea that she begins to imagine things. Finding random body parts and in the end, sewing them all together helps her to face this obsession. The house becomes significantly involved in the couple's ability to conceive a child because they have been trying to repair the house as well as repair their ability to produce a baby. Two different lives are being created in this story, the life of an imaginary child and also the life of a house. The twists and turns of this story demonstrate an immense amount of connection between these two ideas to make the theme of reconstructing life evident.
"The first thing she finds is a hand." (Graver 95). The main character of the story finds a childlike hand under the mattress cover of her bed; the first of many parts soon to be found. On that very same day, the workers that have been examining her house for repairs find beams in the attic that are in need of being fixed. The cycle of reconstruction has begun. While the woman is uncovering new body parts to add to her collection, the workers are roaming around the old house making arbitrary repairs, allowing the house to take on its own, new life and possibly rid itself of ones that occupied its past.