The Memory Keeper’s Daughter: Chapter 6: March 1965 Summary & Analysis

One night, Caroline paces back and forth in her bathroom with Phoebe. She is running the shower so that the room fills with steam—Phoebe has a terrible cough, and the humidity is the only thing that helps loosen the mucus in her chest. The door swings open and Doro, Caroline’s friend and employer, walks in. She can’t sleep and is worried about Phoebe, but Caroline assures Doro that the steam will help. Doro closes the door to trap the steam and sits down.

Eleven months ago, when Caroline arrived in Pittsburgh, Doro hired Caroline to be a private nurse for her elderly father Leo, who suffers from dementia. Though Caroline had no references to speak of, admitted she was running away and in hiding, and came with a baby in tow, Doro took a chance on Caroline—and the two have been friends since. Though Leo is difficult and often tests Caroline’s patience, the two of them as well have an affinity for one another.

Now, as Phoebe finally falls asleep, Doro asks Caroline what’s wrong with the child. Though she’s almost a year, she can barely sit up, Doro points out. Caroline has spent hours in the library hunched over books about Down syndrome, trying to chart Phoebe’s development and learn about the risks that might plague her later in life. Now, Caroline tells Doro about Phoebe’s disability, and Doro expresses sadness and pity. Caroline urges Doro, though, not to have pity for Phoebe—and says that the uncertainty Phoebe faces in life is no different than what anyone else faces. Caroline knows that Doro suffered a great loss many years ago when her fiancé was killed jumping from a bridge into a river on a dare. Doro has been alone since.

Caroline takes Phoebe to bed and tucks her into her crib. Looking at her daughter in the dark, she does feel a twinge of fear as she wonders what will become of her. Caroline looks over at her desk, where a half-composed letter to David Henry and several photographs of Phoebe are sitting, waiting to be sent. Caroline cannot bring herself to finish the letter and mail the photos. Feeling uneasy and exhausted, Caroline pushes her anxieties from her head, gets into bed, and falls asleep.

In the morning, Caroline takes Phoebe downstairs and feeds her breakfast, briefly greeting Leo, who is in his office reading. Caroline tries to get Phoebe to hold her own spoon, but Phoebe cannot maintain a grip on it. Caroline starts to worry. After breakfast, Caroline plays with Phoebe and then makes some food for Leo, who speaks to her gruffly. Even though Leo gives Caroline a hard time, Doro has encouraged Caroline to stick up for herself and hold her own against the difficult man. Sometimes, though, when Leo is being tough, Caroline finds herself wondering what she’s doing in Pittsburgh, and whether things will be all right for her and Phoebe. 

After Caroline brings Leo his breakfast, the doorbell rings. She excitedly answers the door—her friend Sandra and her three-year-old son Tim, who also has Down syndrome, have arrived for playtime. Sandra has brought along stacking toys in hopes of helping both children work on their motor skills. Caroline and Sandra first met at the library and bonded over their frustration about the lack of resources available to parents of children with Down syndrome—and society’s desire to place people with Down syndrome in homes and institutions rather than try to help them thrive in the world. The two women now meet regularly with the goal of helping their children, learn, grow, and succeed at their own paces.

After a couple hours of playtime, during which Phoebe succeeds in rolling over and very nearly reaches for some shiny plastic toy keys, Sandra and Tim pack up and head out to their car—Caroline helps them carry their things. Caroline is frustrated by Phoebe’s delay in grasping things, but Sandra assures her that Phoebe will get the hang of it soon. When Caroline goes back inside, Leo’s office is empty—he has snuck out the back. He often tries to wander off, and part of Caroline’s job is supposed to be making sure that he doesn’t succeed.

Caroline puts Phoebe in her stroller and goes out to look for Leo. At the end of the block, she finds him. As she sees Leo she’s filled with both anger and compassion. He runs toward Caroline, hoping to prove to her that he’s still young and fit—he’s always trying to stave off the reality of his illness and his age. Leo follows Caroline back towards the house. On the way, he tells her that she’s a “smart” woman, and quietly admits he’s grateful for her—he’s had eight nurses, and none of them have lasted more than a week.

Later that night, Caroline cleans up the kitchen after dinner and takes out the trash, walking down a small alleyway at the back of the house. As she bins the trash, she notices a man standing at the end of the alleyway—at first she’s frightened, but when he opens his mouth and calls out to her, she realizes who it is: Al. Surprised, shocked, but not unhappy to see him, Caroline asks Al how he managed to find her—he says it wasn’t easy, and became a kind of “hobby.”

Al explains that after he stopped in Lexington to say hello and found Caroline’s apartment empty, he became worried—she’d had “trouble written all over” her when the two of them first met, and Al tracked her down in Pittsburgh to make sure she was all right. Al also admits—somewhat sheepishly—that he’d thought the two of them had “hit it off.” Sensing Caroline’s shock at having been found—and fear of being discoverable—Al insists that it took him a full year to find her, and he hit many dead ends before he did. Al assures Caroline that she is safe from whatever she’s running from.

Caroline invites Al in to have a cup of tea and see Phoebe. He sits in the kitchen while Caroline fetches the baby from upstairs. When she brings Phoebe down and passes her to Al, he is elated to see how big she’s grown, and remarks on how beautiful and sweet she is. Phoebe coos, smiles, and laughs in Al’s arms—and, to Caroline’s great surprise, she reaches for the necklace he’s wearing and grabs it. Caroline feels a “quick burn of joy”—her daughter is “grab[bing] the world.”