In Natalie Hamilton's article " The A-Mazing House." .
The Labyrinth as Theme and Form in Mark Z. Danielewski's "House Of Leaves,"" (Heldref Publications) she explores the blueprints of the house through the examination of the novel's foundations and exploring the authors use of the labyrinth as not only a theme, but a form. Natalie says in her article that "Despite the unheimlich quality of the novel, it's roots can be traced back to familiar themes and important literary predecessors, most notably, Jorge Luis Borges."" She continues by saying that "Danielewski's use of the labyrinth as a theme, symbol, and form, and the mise-en-abyme structure of the text within a text within a text, as well as more direct allusions, underscore, his debt to the work of Borges. " Danielewski's novel is split into four levels. .
The first and lowest level of the novel is the story of Will Navidson and his wife, Karen Green, along with their two children, Chad and Daisy. They attempt to fix their relationship which is falling apart, Navidson is a journalistic photographer, and Karen, a former model move to the country. In his inability to give up his work, Will sets out to make a film about his family and their move into their new home. He does this by setting up video cameras throughout their home. .
The final cut of his video is far from the ideal. There is a sudden appearance of a short, dark hallway between between the master bedroom and the children's room while the family is on vacation for the weekend. The appearance of the hallway may symbolize Navidson and his wife's personal labyrinths. They may be trying to look for each other in the center while trying to solve their own issues and the issues in their relationship This is only the beginning of these occurrences. When Navidson measures his new home in attempts to explain this occurrence, he discovers that the house is larger by one-fourth of an inch on the inside than on the outside.
