Chapter 6 Summary: Plot Recap, Key Themes, and Study Notes
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
Chapter 6 opens with Helen leading the narrator upstairs and out onto a balcony, where the two sit on a stiff, dirty wicker love seat. Helen lights a cigarette, and the narrator asks if she believes in ghosts and demons. Helen says she does not, but she believed in her sister's belief—comparing it to faith in a bearded man in the sky. The conversation turns to the narrator's mother, Alex. Helen insists that Alex had a hard life, with childhood experiences the narrator and her sisters never knew about, including an abusive, alcoholic father. The narrator counters that her father (the narrator's dad) had already explained their mother's behavior, but Helen shakes her head, implying the narrator doesn't truly understand.
Helen shifts to a more positive note, saying Alex found happiness and acceptance with Roy and the people downstairs. She expresses regret that the narrator and her sisters couldn't appreciate their mother's fierce love, explaining that Alex tried to prepare her daughters for the world because she knew she couldn't protect them. The narrator pushes back, saying their mother left them. Helen replies that it's not that simple, and the narrator feels the familiar twisting of narratives that her sisters warned her about.
The narrator asserts her agency by putting her shoes back on, signaling she can leave at any time. Helen acknowledges that Leda is firm in her thinking and Daphne wants to keep the peace, but the narrator was always more open and perceptive. Helen mentions that Leda is willing to see her but won't discuss their mother—a condition. The narrator recognizes herself in Helen's face and feels a rush of familial connection, which triggers a sudden, overwhelming grief. She sobs, and Helen watches without comforting her, which the narrator appreciates as a sign of shared understanding. A memory surfaces of her mother comforting her after a fall in a parking lot, saying the hurt would fade by the time they got home.
After the narrator composes herself, Helen brings up the mother's estate. She says she doesn't trust Leda with it. The narrator assumes there's little money, but Helen reveals that Alex had almost nothing—she spent years climbing out of debt left by the narrator's father. The only asset is the house on Edgewood Drive, which the narrator believed had been sold. Helen explains that Alex never sold it; she believed the house was possessed and felt a moral responsibility to rid it of evil before passing it on. Alex and Roy spent time there over the years trying to exorcise it, with some success. Helen says Alex couldn't bring herself to sell it because it was the last place she had her daughters together.
The narrator's mind races as she realizes the implication: her mother was in the house when she died. Helen confirms that Alex died there of a heart attack. The narrator is stunned, especially because Leda never told her. Helen explains that Alex would visit the house when she missed her daughters and to ensure the demonic activity remained dormant. Helen disapproved, but her warnings were futile. Now the house belongs to the narrator, Leda, and Daphne. The narrator imagines returning to the house—the cracked driveway, the split-level with narrow windows, the black front door that allegedly opened on its own, and the dead animals left as offerings by stray cats, which her mother took as proof of a sinister presence. The chapter ends with the narrator joking about getting holy water from Roy, and Helen offering her arm as they head back inside.
Key Events
- Helen and the narrator have a private balcony conversation about belief, family, and grief.
- Helen reveals that Alex had a difficult childhood and that the narrator doesn't fully understand her mother's suffering.
- The narrator cries, recalling a childhood memory of her mother comforting her.
- Helen discloses that she doesn't trust Leda with the mother's estate.
- The narrator learns the house on Edgewood Drive was never sold and is still owned by the family.
- Helen reveals that Alex believed the house was possessed and tried to exorcise it.
- The narrator discovers that her mother died of a heart attack in that house.
- The house now belongs to the narrator and her sisters.
Character Development
The Narrator – This chapter deepens her internal conflict. She oscillates between resentment toward her mother and a sudden, visceral grief. Her recognition of herself in Helen's face gives her a sense of belonging, but it also sharpens the pain of losing her mother. She tries to assert control by putting on her shoes and later taking a drag from Helen's cigarette, but her emotional breakdown reveals how unresolved her feelings remain. Her memory of her mother's comfort contrasts with her sisters' and father's narratives, leaving her torn about how to remember Alex.
Helen – She emerges as a complex figure: pragmatic, blunt, and protective of her sister's memory. She doesn't believe in the supernatural but respected Alex's beliefs. She carries guilt about not being able to save her sister and is critical of Leda's handling of the estate. Her refusal to comfort the narrator during her tears suggests a shared, unspoken understanding—and perhaps a similar way of processing grief.
Alex (posthumously) – Through Helen's account, Alex is revealed as a woman burdened by trauma, debt, and a belief in the house's evil. Her decision to keep the house—despite the pain it caused—shows her attachment to the last place she had her daughters. Her death there adds a tragic layer: she died in the very place she tried to cleanse.
Leda (mentioned) – Though not present, Leda's actions are scrutinized. Helen doesn't trust her with the estate, and the narrator learns Leda withheld the fact that their mother died in the house. This reinforces Leda's role as a gatekeeper of information and a source of narrative control.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Belief in Another's Belief – Helen's statement that she believed in her sister's belief, without sharing it, highlights a theme of respecting others' worldviews even when you don't adopt them. This contrasts with the narrator's family, who seem to police each other's interpretations of the past.
Generational Trauma – Helen's hints about Alex's abusive childhood and the debt left by the narrator's father point to cycles of pain that echo across generations. The narrator's own scar and her father's advice to look forward rather than back suggest she is still grappling with inherited wounds.
Narrative Control and Truth-Twisting – The narrator explicitly thinks about her sisters' warnings about twisting narratives. Helen's insistence that the narrator doesn't understand her mother's life, and Leda's omission of the mother's death location, both illustrate how family members shape stories to suit their own needs.
The Haunted House as Inheritance – The house on Edgewood Drive is both a literal and symbolic inheritance. It represents the family's trauma, the mother's unresolved mission, and the sisters' shared, unwanted legacy. The narrator's vivid memory of the house—its doors, its offerings—shows how the past remains physically present.
Grief and Sudden Loss – The narrator's unexpected sob and her memory of her mother's comfort underscore the rawness of grief. Helen's stoic reaction and the narrator's attempt to compose herself reflect the difficulty of mourning someone who was both loving and hurtful.
Maternal Love and Sacrifice – Helen insists that Alex loved her daughters fiercely and tried to prepare them for the world. The mother's decision to keep the house, despite its pain, is framed as an act of love—holding onto the last place where her family was whole.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter is pivotal because it recontextualizes the mother's death and the family's history. The revelation that the house was never sold and that Alex died there changes the narrator's understanding of her mother's final years. It also sets up a major plot thread: the sisters now own a haunted house that may still harbor a demonic presence. The chapter deepens the narrator's emotional conflict, as she must reconcile her resentment with the grief and love that surface during her conversation with Helen. It also introduces the possibility of returning to Edgewood Drive, which will likely drive future events. The theme of narrative control becomes more pronounced, as the narrator realizes how much has been kept from her—by Leda, by her father, and even by her own assumptions.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Helen say she believed in her sister's belief, even though she doesn't believe in the supernatural?
Helen explains that she respected Alex's worldview without sharing it, comparing it to faith in a higher power. This shows that Helen valued her sister's experience and didn't judge her for it, which contrasts with the narrator's family's tendency to dismiss or reinterpret the mother's actions.
2. What does the narrator learn about her mother's death that changes her understanding of the past?
The narrator learns that her mother died of a heart attack in the house on Edgewood Drive—the house she thought had been sold. This revelation forces her to confront the fact that her mother kept the house, visited it when she missed her daughters, and died there alone. It also reveals that Leda withheld this information, deepening the theme of narrative control.
3. How does the narrator's memory of her mother comforting her after a fall contrast with the narratives from her sisters and father?
The memory shows a tender, caring mother who soothes her child's pain. This contrasts with Leda and Daphne's insistence that their mother didn't love them, and with their father's advice to focus on the future. The narrator is left torn between these conflicting versions of her mother, which fuels her emotional turmoil throughout the chapter.