78 pages • 2 hours read
Betty Ren WrightThe Dollhouse Murders
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1983A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 10-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 10 Summary: “When She Leaves, Where Will I Run?”
Amy goes home to pick up a few things. She misses her family and feels good about seeing them. Amy notices the blooming flowers in the yard: “The lilac bush next to the back door filled the air with its scent” (68). Louann tells Amy about the new things she’s doing after school with Mrs. Peck and says she might learn to take the bus. Amy gets angry about this because she doesn’t think someone other than Louann’s family members should decide what Louann can or can’t do.
Amy accidentally mentions her secret birthday party in front of Louann. Louann wants to go. Amy snaps at Louann and says she can’t come to the party. Amy leaves in a rush, realizing she won’t have Aunt Clare’s house as a refuge forever, and wonders, “When she leaves, where will I run?” (72).
Chapter 11 Summary: “I Saw a Light in the Dollhouse”
Back at Aunt Clare’s, Amy helps her aunt prepare food for the birthday party tomorrow. Aunt Clare asks how things went at home. Amy doesn’t answer. Being around Aunt Clare and involved with the party preparations makes her feel better and helps her forget her issues with Louann.
Ellen will sleep over after the party. Amy goes into the attic to get an extra blanket. She hears more scratching coming from near the dollhouse. Amy sees an “eerie glow that was beginning to fill the dollhouse parlor” (77), and the Grandma Treloar doll is in the parlor again. Terrified, Amy runs downstairs without getting a blanket and goes to bed.
Chapter 12 Summary: “I Came to the Party”
The next morning, Amy retrieves a blanket from the attic. The dollhouse is open, and the dolls are in the places where Grandma and Grandpa Treloar were murdered. Amy closes the dollhouse and goes to school, where she gets excited about the party with Ellen and forgets the dollhouse incident.
Amy comes home from school to find Louann at Aunt Clare’s house. Amy’s mother had an emergency, and Louann will stay for the party. Amy’s mother also dropped off the birthday cake, which is beautifully decorated with frosting flowers. Amy can’t help but think the cake is “a bribe to make Amy let Louann come to her party” and that there really is no emergency (86). Amy runs upstairs, hating the situation, the cake, and “her mother, too” (87).
Chapters 10-12 Analysis
Flowers represent Amy’s emotional state a few times in these chapters. In Chapter 10, Amy takes note of the flowers at her house, how lovely they are, and the scent she loves so much. Amy begins to think of home as a safe place where she can be comfortable. The blooming flowers symbolize Amy’s ultimate acceptance of her family, Louann, and the consequences (both good and bad) of having a developmentally disabled sister. In Chapter 12, the flowers on the birthday cake are too nice compared to how Amy feels about the cake. The flowers here represent both Amy’s anger and her later acceptance of Louann at the party, which comes in Chapter 13. Amy doesn’t want to think the flowers are pretty because she’s upset, but she can’t deny how lovely the cake is.
Food appears a few times in these chapters. In Chapter 11, Amy helps Aunt Clare prepare snacks for the birthday party. She begins the process upset with herself for mentioning the party in front of Louann. The act of preparing the food helps Amy calm down, and by the end of the scene, Amy feels better about everything. The cake symbolizes a turning point in Amy’s emotional growth. Up until now, Amy viewed Louann as an inconvenience. The cake lets Amy deal with her deeper feelings of resentment. She needs to let these emotions pass to move forward, and the cake allows her to let out much-needed anger. The beauty of the cake represents how Amy will come through her anger and enjoy the party, despite Louann’s presence.
In Chapter 10, Amy faces the idea of Louann becoming more independent and growing up. Amy doesn’t realize it here, but she dislikes the idea because it triggers guilty feelings. She feels Mrs. Peck does a better job of helping Louann. Amy emotionally runs from the idea, mirroring her actual running away to Aunt Clare’s house. Louann, meanwhile, begins to blossom into a person with her own abilities.
When Amy finds Louann at Aunt Clare’s house, Amy responds by getting mad and storming away. Again, Amy runs from something that troubles her because of guilt. She feels badly about not wanting Louann at the party and regrets that she doesn’t handle Louann’s presence better. Amy’s running from her problems shows she still has work to do toward growing up. When she calms down and returns to Louann in the following chapter, Amy is still upset, but she chooses to face the problem rather than stay away. Amy begins to develop her own unique abilities here and starts to understand her disabilities (not facing challenges head-on).
