The Memory Keeper's Daughter September 1977 Summary & Analysis

Summary: September 1977

In Pittsburgh, Caroline throws a party to celebrate several milestones: Phoebe’s confirmation, Doro’s retirement, and Caroline and Al’s five-year wedding anniversary. Doro is about to embark upon a yearlong cruise around the world with her companion Trace, and she gives Caroline the deed to the March house where she and Caroline had been living for thirteen years. Al and Caroline discuss Phoebe’s transition into adulthood, including her changing body, and Al changing careers now that they can settle down in their own home. Caroline tells Al that she is conflicted about a request from Phoebe’s father to meet her and tells him the truth about Phoebe’s biological father being Dr. David Henry, who gave Phoebe to Caroline at her birth to place in an institution. Al validates the decision she made to raise Phoebe, expresses his own sense of being a father to her, and promises to support her but won’t advise her on how to handle the request. Caroline fears that David will treat Phoebe with the same disregard he treated Caroline. Phoebe wanders off in search of a lost kitten, and Caroline must crawl into a drainpipe to rescue her. The incident coalesces Caroline’s thoughts to reject the risk of letting David meet Phoebe.

Analysis: September 1977

The party in this section of the novel marks important transitions. Confirmation is a Christian rite of passage that confers full adult fellowship on congregant children when they come of age. Chronologically, Phoebe has reached the teenage years, but developmentally, she is still childlike. However, she knows enough to feel pride in her accomplishment. Doro marks her transition into retirement with an act of liberation from her past, giving Caroline the deed to the March home. The opportunity for Caroline and Al to settle down in their own home instigates a conversation about him getting off the road. Al takes the opportunity to have a frank discussion about Phoebe’s developing body and how that signals a whole new set of concerns. The level of independence she’ll be capable of remains unknown. He suggests it’s time to plan for her future if they aren’t around to care for her. Caroline realizes it’s time to tell Al the truth about Phoebe’s parentage. Al already figured it out through his sleuthing in Lexington immediately after she left town and doesn’t hold it against her that she didn’t tell him the truth.

Al’s refusal to advise Caroline on a response to David’s request to meet Phoebe reflects his wisdom. The facts of the case point to some kind of relationship between Dr. Henry and Caroline that preceded Al’s involvement. She must come to her own terms with the past. The letter catalyzes a process of self-discovery for Caroline as she decides how to transition the past into the future. The perilous incident with Phoebe crawling into and getting stuck in a flooding drainpipe interrupts the process as Caroline realizes she is not ready for the uncertainty of David’s presence in their lives.

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