51 pages • 1 hour read
Ann M. Martin, Laura GodwinThe Doll People
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2000A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 12-15Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 12 Summary: “The Dolls Go Visiting”
Tiffany and Annabelle discuss their next steps. They will have to locate the house’s attic since neither knows where it is. Annabelle worries that her parents will not want her to go into the attic. She dismisses Tiffany’s suggestion that they simply not tell Mama and Papa, saying that this would be wrong. As they part for the evening, Annabelle expresses hope that her family can visit the Funcrafts the next night. She spends the next morning campaigning for this visit, and finally, it is agreed that the Dolls will go to the Funcraft house.
That night, the family sneaks from Kate’s room into Nora’s. They are horrified to see The Captain as soon as they enter Nora’s room—and even more horrified to see that Tiffany and Dad Funcraft are dancing around in front of the cat, teasing him as he tries to swat at them. Annabelle sees the pink-and-white plastic Funcraft house on the floor near Nora’s bed. The room is a messy jumble of Nora’s belongings. Tiffany calls out to the Doll family that they should just come straight into the house and ignore The Captain: “He won’t bother you,” she claims. “He just likes to play. He never catches us” (154). However, The Captain chases Uncle Doll and grabs him in his teeth. Papa doll bravely rushes into Nora’s room and gets the cat’s attention by waving his arms and shouting. The Captain drops Uncle Doll and grabs Papa instead. He runs away down the dark hallway with Papa dangling from his mouth.
Chapter 13 Summary: “Where’s Papa?”
Annabelle is furious. Nora’s room bears obvious traces of the commotion with The Captain, which is a serious violation of Doll Code. Worse, Papa has been taken by The Captain. She feels like this is Tiffany’s fault. Tiffany tries to apologize, but it takes a while for Annabelle to calm down and accept the apology. Annabelle suggests that they just focus on fixing the problems. She directs the families to clean up the traces they have left in Nora’s room and then return to their respective houses. She and Tiffany, as SELMP, will locate and rescue Papa. Uncle Doll is very moved that, even after their fight, Papa put himself in danger to save Uncle Doll. Mama points out that they are family and that families do not stop loving each other just because they argue. Annabelle sends Bobby, Uncle Doll, and Mama home before she and Tiffany set out to search the downstairs of the Palmer house. They do not find Papa, however, and have to return home when it gets close to time for the Palmers to wake up.
They search on the following night, Saturday, and again on Sunday night. Annabelle gets discouraged, but Tiffany points out that Sarah would simply come up with a new and better plan if she were in the same situation. Annabelle thinks it over and decides that they need to follow The Captain to see where he stashes the things he plays with. They are nervous about the idea of deliberately following the cat, but they agree that this is what they need to do. “United for SELMP,” they tell each other solemnly (170). For the next four nights, they follow The Captain. On the fourth night, they catch him behaving oddly, scratching at one corner of an armoire in the living room. They hear Papa’s voice telling the cat to “[s]hoo” (174). When The Captain gets frustrated and leaves the room, the girls approach the armoire. Papa is wedged behind it, three feet in the air. Tiffany tells Annabelle to stay with her father and runs off to find the equipment they need for a rescue.
Chapter 14 Summary: “The Funcrafts to the Rescue”
While they wait for Tiffany, Annabelle apologizes to her father for urging the family to leave the dollhouse; she feels responsible for his abduction by The Captain. Tiffany returns with her parents and brother. They are carrying Kate’s jump rope. The Funcrafts secure the rope around Tiffany’s waist and then lower her behind the armoire: Her plastic body means she does not have to worry about breaking and can move quickly on her rescue mission. She tugs at Papa until he is unstuck. The rope is only long enough to lower them about a foot from the floor, however, so Tiffany unties herself and says they will have to jump. Papa is afraid, but Annabelle urges him to be brave. Tiffany jumps first. When Papa finally jumps, they hear a crack, and he cries out that his china leg is broken. Annabelle and the rest of the Funcrafts run to him and pull him out from under the piece of furniture. The Captain approaches, and the dolls scatter, except for Papa, who cannot move with a broken leg. The Captain takes Papa in his mouth again and walks away. The dolls give chase, but they have to stop and hide when Grandma Katherine enters the room.
Grandma Katherine takes Papa away from The Captain. Annie Palmer comes in and they decide that if The Captain cannot leave Kate’s dolls alone, he will have to be shut up at night. Grandma Katherine says that she will fix Papa’s leg and that Kate will never know it was even broken. Annabelle and Tiffany congratulate one another on SELMP’s successful teamwork in rescuing Papa. Before Tiffany returns to her own house for the night, the two agree that they must now return their attention to the mystery of the final journal entry and the search for Auntie Sarah. The next morning, Grandma Katherine returns Papa to the dollhouse sofa. As soon as she is gone, the whole family gathers around him. The glue on his leg is still drying, but he is otherwise fine. Uncle Doll apologizes for their disagreement, and Papa returns the apology. Uncle Doll announces that he has moved back into the dollhouse permanently.
Chapter 15 Summary: “Into the Attic”
The next night, after spending some time with the family, Annabelle reads more of Sarah’s journal. She is shocked to see that another new entry has been added to the end. This one makes clear where the attic is in the Palmer house. Annabelle is sure that whoever wants her to look in the attic added this entry to help her. She rushes to tell Tiffany, finding her in the hallway. Tiffany is already on her way to see Annabelle to say that they should get started with their next exploratory journey. Annabelle shares what she has learned. They head for the attic but find that the door leading to it is shut. Annabelle reaches underneath the door and gives it a tug: It is not fully latched, and little by little, the girls manage to pull it open enough to get inside. It is very dark, and the two are a little frightened, but they struggle up the wooden stairs until they begin to see some moonlight and realize that they have finally reached the attic. They begin searching and calling out until it gets too late and they have to return home.
There is rain for the next few nights, and they cannot search because the attic will be too dark. Then, the moon is waning, and it is still too dim. Finally, a clear night comes when the moon is nearly full, and the two venture back up into the attic. They search for hours but find nothing. When they hear a clock chime four o’clock, they know that they need to go back downstairs. They return the next two nights. While they are searching on the third night, Annabelle’s foot gets tangled in a rag trapped under the corner of a heavy trunk. As she frees herself, she realizes that the rag is actually a part of Sarah’s dress. She shouts for Tiffany. There, behind the trunk, they find Sarah. She is covered in dust and not moving, and they think that she is in Permanent Doll State. Saddened, they prepare to leave the attic. Just then, Sarah speaks.
Chapters 12-15 Analysis
While earlier sections of the story have largely been focused on Annabelle as an individual and on her friendship with Tiffany, Chapters 12-15 contextualize her within her family. They stress how important family is and demonstrate the power of familial love. This helps to round out Annabelle’s character. For much of the narrative, the side of her character that differs from the rest of the Dolls has been on display—she chafes against their restrictions, disagrees with the way they have handled Sarah’s disappearance, and longs for someone other than her family members to confide in. Uncle Doll’s departure from their family home in the previous section of the story changes things: Now, the family that Annabelle has somewhat taken for granted is actually under threat. In Chapters 12-15, Tiffany’s cavalier attitude toward The Captain and Papa’s subsequent abduction teach Annabelle an important lesson about the strengths and weaknesses of both her family and her new friend. Significantly, it is only after learning this lesson that Annabelle is finally successful in her quest to find Sarah.
When Tiffany repeatedly assures the Doll family that The Captain is perfectly safe, she unintentionally lures them into danger. Tiffany has no ill intentions—she is simply overconfident. Her fearlessness and belief in herself cause her to underestimate the danger that the cat presents. When The Captain captures Uncle Doll and then Papa, Annabelle suddenly realizes that some of the very qualities she has admired in Tiffany can actually be problematic. The cautious and conventional approach that characterizes the Doll family no longer seems ridiculous and extreme. Annabelle is so angry at Tiffany in this moment that, despite her kind nature and her deep need for a friend and confidante, she struggles to accept Tiffany’s apology. This demonstrates Annabelle’s loyalty to and love for her family.
Annabelle’s practicality and determination are what eventually allow her to get past her anger. She needs Tiffany, as the other half of SELMP, to work with her to clean up Nora’s room, get both families back into their dollhouses, and launch the search for Papa. She shows real growth as she takes command of the situation and directs even the adults about what they are to do next. It is clear how far she has progressed toward the goal of Following One’s Own Moral Compass. Annabelle’s realization about Tiffany and the escalating threat to Annabelle’s family creates opportunities for Annabelle to mature in this section. Although a typical coming of age does not involve a doll who is both over 100 years old and also perpetually eight years old, this is, in essence, what is happening to Annabelle. Her newfound maturity is conveyed in her response to Bobby and Bailey protesting that they should be allowed to help Tiffany and Annabelle search for Papa. Instead of her mother or Nanny speaking up against the idea, as they would typically have done in the past, it is Annabelle who tells the boys no, sternly using an expression she has “heard Papa say any number of times” (161). This marks her transition from pure childhood into something bordering adulthood as she assumes a role of authority within the family.
Annabelle’s feeling of responsibility for her family marks both her newfound maturity and her deep love for them. Chapters 12-15 are full of details that emphasize these feelings. When Annabelle leaves the family to go search for Papa, she pauses to really look at them and fix them in her mind. She puts aside her own fear of The Captain in order to follow him night after night, hoping to find where he has stashed her father. When she finally finds him, she apologizes several times for putting him in danger and not respecting his cautious nature. This also supports the theme of Respecting People’s Differences. It is clear in this part of the novel that Annabelle is finding her own balance between the side of her character that is bold and adventurous, like Sarah and Tiffany, and the side of her character that is measured and cautious, like her parents and Uncle Doll. She still sees The Benefits of Adventure and Discovery, but she also sees merit in some of the conventional values that her family represents. This growth hints that, eventually, Annabelle will find a way to live happily with her family without unduly compromising what makes her special, which will resolve a key part of her central conflict.
The reconciliation between Uncle Doll, Mama, and Papa is presented as another epiphany about the power of familial love. Uncle Doll is astonished that Papa would place himself in danger in order to save Uncle Doll from The Captain. In response, Mama makes it clear that, regardless of disagreements, family bonds are unbreakable. After Papa is rescued, the two men apologize to one another, and the family is finally all together again—with the exception of Auntie Sarah. This sets the stage for Annabelle’s eventual discovery of Sarah in the Palmers’ attic and a resolution of the remaining part of Annabelle’s central conflict. Chapters 12-15 culminate with SELMP’s exploration of the attic and discovery of Sarah. At first, the sequence seems like it is about to result in a disappointing anticlimax: Sarah seems to be in Permanent Doll State. This is quickly revealed to be a misunderstanding, however, and the real climax of the plot comes with the dramatic cliffhanger of Sarah’s first words.
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