could u live in a house like that?

I think Sunny has hit the nail on the head.  Alexandra grew up in much less sumptious surrounds, lost her mother at a young age, and things that were her only tangible links to her mother were burned.  At a later (but still young) age, she was thrust into a larger world in a new nation with new people who spoke a different language; a world in which she was a stranger.  I think it entirely understandable that she would strive to keep herself surrounded by comforting things such a books, photographs, etc.  I'm the same way.  When I've suffered a loss, I want to keep everything that reminds me of whom I lost, and I want them to remain in the exact same place they always were.  On the other side of the coin are those who are more comfortable discarding everything that serves as a reminder.  I should know, my partner is just such a person.  This string shows that some of us could live in Alexandra's surroundings, while others could not.  To each his - or her - own.