The Memory Keeper's Daughter March 1965 Summary & Analysis

Summary: March 1965

Caroline and Phoebe stay in a motel in the outskirts of Pittsburgh for a month while Caroline looks for work. Her savings are running out when she answers Doro March’s want ad for a live-in companion for her father, Leo March. Dementia has curtailed Leo’s once prestigious career as chair of the physics department in the local university where Doro now teaches. Dubious that Caroline can handle both Leo and Phoebe, Doro nevertheless accepts Caroline’s plea for a two-week trial period. In the ensuing year, Caroline proves her worth, especially compared to the previous eight nurses who hadn’t been able to handle Leo’s mood swings. A year later, Caroline and Doro have a relationship based on friendship and mutual respect.

Phoebe’s delayed motor development concerns Caroline. At eleven months, she has just begun to sit up and doesn’t yet grasp objects. When she understands Phoebe’s condition, Doro raises the issue of her uncertain future, a worry that gives Caroline sleepless nights. Caroline spends her free time at the library researching Phoebe’s condition and meets Sandra, whose son Tim also has Down syndrome. The two mothers begin weekly playdates. Together they support each other’s efforts to help their children reach their potential.

Caroline writes a letter to David about Phoebe’s life, but she cannot bring herself to send it. The fear that David and Norah would come for Phoebe becomes a possibility when the trucker Al Simpson shows up on her doorstep. He had spent a year inquiring in Pittsburgh motels about a woman with a baby and then spotted her car. Caroline knows that if Al could find her, David and Norah could, too. Seeing Al again brings Caroline pleasure but also nostalgia for her old single life in Lexington, with its predictable schedule and simple pleasures. As they share a cup of tea, Al holds Phoebe in such a way that her arms are supported and her energy focused to reach out and grab the medallion hanging around his neck. The achievement of the developmental milestone reaffirms Caroline’s hope for the future.

Analysis: March 1965

Caroline’s journey from Lexington to Pittsburgh kickstarts dramatic changes in her furtive, solitary life. She doesn’t just ask for help, she partners with people. The dynamic of building a community stands in stark contrast with the Henry household, where David and Norah are pulling apart from each other. Caroline taps into the wellspring of faith in herself and in a better future that she has always had from childhood. When she pleads with Doro to give her a chance, her imagination creates optimistic scenarios just like the childhood dreams of being a great pianist or a medical missionary. This visionary gift inspires those who pass her a lifeline to become collaborators, a gift that benefits friends like Doro and Sandra.

Sandra catalyzes Caroline’s imagination to see Phoebe’s potential. She supports Caroline through her fears about Phoebe’s development. They share the fruits of their research and experience caring for their Down syndrome children. Caroline’s openness to transformation gives her life purpose and momentum that David’s closed-down introversion lacks. The impulse to share Phoebe’s well-being with David motivates Caroline to write him a letter, but the fear that David might come for Phoebe discourages her from mailing it. Caroline’s hiding from David and Norah signals her investment in the role of mother to Phoebe, effectively usurping Norah’s rightful motherhood. Caroline, at some level, has also taken on the role of wife to David.

Al Simpson’s sudden reappearance in Caroline’s life lends credence to her fear of discovery. Her powder-blue Ford Fairlane car occasioned their first meeting and now brought him back to her. Al’s trucking lifestyle and the importance of her car to Phoebe’s rescue convey a powerful theme of life as a journey and not a destination. Al comes back into their story at a pivotal moment in Caroline’s life. When he creates the conditions for Phoebe’s quantum developmental leap, he confirms Caroline’s vision for Phoebe’s life and gives her hope.

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