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.
Themes
Coming of Age Means Facing One’s Problems
Throughout the book, Amy struggles with what it means to grow up. She turns 13 years old at the story’s middle, which sets her on the path of getting older without yet understanding how to translate age into maturity. Amy doesn’t get along well with her mother, and her father is distant. Aunt Clare serves as Amy’s adult role model, but Amy soon learns that Aunt Clare has her own issues that keep her from growing as a person. Aunt Clare ran from responsibility when she was younger and does not move beyond that point in her development until she deals with past events and her guilt.
At the beginning of the book, Amy is frustrated with her life and with having to take care of Louann. Like Aunt Clare, she runs away from responsibility, wanting to live on her own terms. At first, living with Aunt Clare is new and exciting. Amy thinks all her problems are solved. When the dollhouse starts coming alive, life at Aunt Clare’s house develops its own troubles. Amy sees Aunt Clare’s distress about the past, which is triggered by the dollhouse. Amy wants to help and believes by keeping secrets about the dollhouse, she is protecting Aunt Clare. Amy finally tells Aunt Clare about the odd occurrences, even though the dollhouse is an upsetting subject. Amy runs from her guilt of triggering bad memories for Aunt Clare the same way she ran from her guilt over not being a good sister to Louann. Only when Amy stops running does she face the dollhouse head-on and grow.
By the end of the book, Amy understands that running away solves nothing and keeps her from growing up. Rather than allowing for growth, Amy’s time hiding from her family was stagnant. Amy faces her fears, both of Louann and of the dollhouse. Amy learns Louann is a person, not just Amy’s responsibility. Rather than keeping secrets to protect Aunt Clare, Amy puts the problem of the dollhouse out in the open. Doing so allows her to make the connection between books falling off the dollhouse shelves and the books in the real house’s parlor. Amy finds the truth, allowing Aunt Clare to release the past and grow. Similarly, Amy accepts Louann and is able to begin growing up.
Different Kinds of Abilities and Their Value
Amy spends much of the book frustrated about Louann’s disability. At the end of the story, Amy realizes Louann has unique abilities, despite her disability. Amy also finds her own strengths and weaknesses. She has her own disabilities; they are just better hidden than Louann’s.
Aunt Clare provides a lens through which Amy learns Louann is a full person. Many times, Aunt Clare tells Amy Louann can do things for herself and needs to spend time away from her family. At first, Amy rejects these ideas. She believes her family knows what’s best for Louann and that Louann can’t function on her own. When Louann spends time with Mrs. Peck while Amy is away, Louann comes into her abilities. She learns new skills and unlocks the potential to do more complex tasks, such as take the bus. Amy resists the idea that Louann can lead a partly independent life because Amy doesn’t know what she would do without Louann to look after, even though Amy doesn’t necessarily want to care for Louann all the time. Amy hasn’t discovered her own abilities yet, so she is insecure about Louann learning new skills.
In Chapter 14, Louann discovers the living dollhouse and is fascinated by it. By contrast, the dollhouse terrifies Amy. During the storm at the book’s end, Amy fears the dollhouse, and Louann fears the thunder. They lean on each other for support against their different fears. Amy clutches Louann when things get too scary, and Louann relies on Amy like she always has. Their different abilities allow them to work through fear to search for the truth about Grandma and Grandpa Treloar’s murders. In the final chapter, Amy looks back on the storm and realizes how much she needed Louann. Despite her disability, Louann has abilities Amy does not.
Louann has an uncluttered way of viewing the world. In Chapter 15, while the girls are at the park, Ellen remarks that she wouldn’t want to go up in the attic for fear of running into a ghost. To this, Louann says she runs when she runs and doesn’t run “into” anything. Louann takes “run into” literally. Aside from foreshadowing Louann’s ability to cope with the living dollhouse, this scene highlights Louann’s unique thought processes. She thinks differently than Amy and Ellen, but her thoughts are no less valid or true. Louann has her own abilities that are very different, and they are useful in their own way.
Guilt as a Growth Obstacle
Many characters struggle with guilt throughout the book. Amy and Aunt Clare feel guilt for different reasons, and neither character can move forward with their life until they release their guilt. Aunt Clare believes her fiancé murdered Grandma and Grandpa Treloar. She left home to live in Chicago without ever dealing with her guilt, and it has interfered with her life ever since. Aunt Clare returned home because she lost her most recent job due to the aftereffects of guilt. Every time Amy tries to discuss the dollhouse, Aunt Clare gets upset and shuts down the conversation. The dollhouse reminds Aunt Clare of her guilt. She refuses to deal with her feelings and remains stuck in the past.
Amy feels guilty about not being a better sister and caretaker for Louann. In Chapter 1, Amy loses track of Louann and then doesn’t watch Louann closely, which leads to Louann breaking the tulip. Amy’s mother scolds Amy for not being attentive enough to Louann. Pressure from her mother and her own feelings of inadequacy leave Amy guilt-ridden. Like Aunt Clare, she runs from her guilt and is unable to overcome her feelings until she deals with how she feels about Louann.
Aunt Clare experiences the most tension during the search of the parlor in Chapter 18. When Amy finds the letter exonerating Aunt Clare’s fiancé from the murders, Aunt Clare realizes she isn’t indirectly responsible for Grandma and Grandpa Treloar’s deaths. Tension lifts from her as Aunt Clare releases her guilt, making her appear younger. She returns to her youth and the moment guilt halted her forward progress.
In Chapter 19, Amy realizes that Louann is her own person and that their relationship can be one of sisters (rather than caretaker and charge). Amy appreciates Louann’s support and releases her guilt over not doing enough for Louann. Louann is perfectly capable of learning and doing. Once Amy understands this, tension lifts from her, too. Without guilt weighing her down, Amy wants to go home and be with her family. Amy can live her life the way she wants while having Louann as a sister. There may be things Louann will always need help with, but Amy understands now that she, too, needs help with some things. Amy thinks of Louann as a sister and a friend, and she can now move forward without guilt holding her back.
