Wait Till Helen Comes

Family conflict comes to a head in this penultimate section as characters feel that their relationships, commitment, and love are under threat. We gain greater insight into Molly’s charged feelings about death and into Helen’s desperate need for a friend. Helen also fully manifests, ramping up the novel’s horror elements and spurring Molly into action as Heather’s protector.

Heather’s divisive machinations bear fruit and drive a wedge between Dave and Mom: The adults have a significant fight. Mom is hurt that Dave accuses her of not trying hard enough with Heather, while Dave is upset that Mom sticks up for Michael and Molly. Mom in turn chides Dave for not seeing that Heather does lie about things. Both parents support their natural-born children, which impacts their personal relationships. Meanwhile, tensions between Michael, Molly, and Dave reach a boiling point. Michael, who is typically nonconfrontational, gets angry at Dave’s judgmental criticism and blind eye to Heather’s lies. Dave responds in anger, calling Michael “a little monster” (113). Michael shows his own increasing emotional separation from Dave and Heather, confiding to Molly that he “despises” them both. Michael does not want to help Molly watch over Heather: He refers to Heather as “her” or “that kid,” revealing that he sees Heather as an outsider rather than a family member.

Molly feels cut off from Mom and Dave by their criticism, distanced from Michael because of his scornful disbelief, ashamed of her own fears, and now cut off from her identity through the hateful destruction of the things she loved. Helen’s vandalism, however, has an effect that Heather did not predict. Dave supports and comforts Mom when she is distraught about her paintings to the extent that he rejects Heather’s pleas for attention. If, as Heather starts to believe, Dave loves Jean more than her, then Heather’s only choice for love and acceptance is Helen’s friendship. Heather is desperate not just for love but to be loved exclusively and best.

Molly, like Heather, sees and hears Helen, though to her the ghost is terrifying: an eyeless, glowing figure with a cold, dead voice. Helen’s vandalism also confirms her existence. While Michael continues to somewhat smugly “betray” Molly by telling adults that she thinks ghosts are real, his approach backfires with Officer Greene, who not only confirms that others are afraid of the cemetery but believes that some people may have the ability to see ghosts. Molly’s belief in Helen gains further support from Mr. Simmons, whose sister believed in her unequivocally.

The existence of Helen prompts Molly to ask Michael about his beliefs about death and the afterlife. She asks profound and age-old questions about the nature of death: whether it is like going to sleep, and whether parts of you continue to exist. Michael refuses to believe in ghosts, arguing hollowly that it is the 20th century. Michael’s vehement denial and reluctance to entertain thoughts about death reflect his own fear of the subject. By labeling Molly’s thoughts as pointless and “morbid,” Michael can take refuge in his supposedly superior rationality.

Molly is angry that Mom suggests Dave may be right in thinking that Molly is afraid of death. Yet Molly experiences an emotional crisis in the graveyard. She dramatically envisions Helen’s skeleton in a coffin, contrasts it to her own living body, and recognizes that someday she herself will be nothing but bones: Her identity and personality will cease to exist, at least in this world. The thought is devastating. Molly’s fear of death reflects her fear of losing herself. Molly’s fear of dying and the possible nothingness that follows energizes Molly to save Heather from this fate.