So, what's the deal with The Cabin? by Ricardus Alpert

Ever since "The Incident" has aired, that's one of the big questions that have been on our minds. In it's first two minutes, it seemed to turn over everything we thought we knew, and reveal that we didn't know anything. Originally, I assumed that Jacob had never resided in The Cabin, and that it was a prison he had set up for MIB, but I no longer believe that to be the case. This is my attempt to sort out this mystery. I have two reasons for thinking Jacob did use The Cabin at some point. The first is the fact The chair in his chamber is strinkingly similar to the one in The Cabin, and the second is the piece of tapestry. How would The Nemesis have any accesses to it?

I believe that Jacob originally did use The Cabin, but he didn't live in it. It his "Conference Room", where he might have met Richard or any of the leaders. The circle of ash was a form of protection, designed to keep The Man in Black out of the Cabin.

But then the circle of ash broke. I believe this happened long before Oceanic 815 crashed on the island, and it lead Jacob to abandon The Cabin. In order to be more specific on the time line, I believe that Jacob stopped using The Cabin around the late 80's. Which, by no coincidence, is the period during which Charles Widmore was the leader of The Others. I believe that Widmore found The Cabin, and met The Man in Black inside. MIB either pretended to be Jacob, or told Widmore the truth, but he had been following his orders ever since. Notice how nice Widmore appeared to act towards young Ben? I believe that he served as a mentor to him, during his early years among The Others. Either out of jealousy, or on The Man in Black's orders, I think Widmore took Ben to the Cabin. It's possible that he had put on a show in front of Ben, just like Ben did to Locke, and told Ben that Jacob hates technology. The Man in Black is very efficient. He needed Ben to believe th! e Cabin was still Jacob's residence in order for him to bring Locke there in 2004. But I'm pretty sure he either left the Cabin, or made no attempt to communicate with Ben. Why? Because he needed Ben to resent Jacob. And so, Ben had believed The Cabin was abandoned until he took Locke to it in "The Man Behind The Curtain."

And The Man in Black showed his face again. This was one of the most crucial steps in his plan. He needed Ben to feel completely rejected by Jacob, and he needed Locke to feel special, which is why he communicates with Locke, and makes sure Ben can't hear him. Locke sure did help him, eventually.

After he took Chrisitan's form and told Locke to move the island, I believe MIB left the Cabin. Notice how The Cabin looks when we next see it in 2007. Like a fight had taken place inside. I believe that Claire eventually broke free of Chrisitan/ MIB's control, and escaped The Cabin. The Man in Black, on the other hand, no longer needed it, because his plan was already complete.