56 pages • 1 hour read
The Smell Of Other People's Houses
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Part 3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 3: “Fall”
Part 3, Chapter 13 Summary: “Bluebells in Whiskey Bottles: Ruth”
Content Warning: This section discusses teen pregnancy, domestic abuse, sexual abuse of a child, and substance use disorder.
Ruth learned that Dumpling is in a coma through a letter from Selma. She wants to call home and ask how she is, but international calls are prohibited in the abbey. She remembers her last conversation with Dumpling, the only person who said goodbye to her. Ruth had told Dumpling that she had seen her grandmother often give letters to Dumpling’s father. This prompted Ruth to give the note for her mother to Dumpling, thinking that Dumpling’s father could deliver it.
Ruth reveals she had her 17th birthday alone on the bus, on the way to the abbey. She used her grandmother’s “emergency money” to buy a cake. She feels exhausted worrying about her baby and Dumpling.
Ruth still thinks of Hank, daydreaming. When she returns to the abbey from blueberry picking, she sees a man and a woman visiting about to visit Mother Superior. The woman is holding a bottle with bluebells. Ruth overhears their conversation and learns that the pair wants a family because they cannot have children. The man works in the mill, and they could teach the child to hunt. She realizes the visitors are her baby’s potential foster parents. Ruth understands they are kind people and strives to accept placing her baby for adoption. She feels angry and ignored because neither her grandmother nor the Sisters have discussed it honestly with her. The Sisters debate whether the couple is appropriate as foster parents.
As the man and the woman leave the abbey, Ruth stops them. The pair reminds her of her parents, and she recalls the smell of her old house. The woman hands Ruth the flowers, and Ruth asks her if she will love her baby. She responds that she would love it wholeheartedly and asks Ruth for her trust. Ruth thinks the couple should adopt her child. Finally, she cuts a piece of the red ribbon and asks the woman to give it to her baby. When they leave, Ruth tells the abbess that she must decide for her own baby.
Part 3, Chapter 14 Summary: “Blueberry Pie: Dora”
Dumpling is in a coma for weeks, and Dora blames Ruth’s note. Dumpling’s father asks Dora to take a blueberry pie over to Ruth’s grandmother. For Dora, the smell of blueberries signals the coming of fall. She recalls a day when she and Dumpling went to a secret spot to pick blueberries for the pie. Now that she must go to Ruth’s place, the smell is ruined for her. Blaming Ruth for Dumpling’s accident, Dora refuses to go. To convince her, Dumpling’s father explains that he and Ruth’s father worked together on the land rights of Alaskans against statehood. He says he could have been on the plane that killed his friends. He tells Dora that their grandmother raises Ruth and Lily alone, as their mother will not recover, and a pie is a simple gesture. Dora asks him if he knows about Ruth’s note, and he reveals he sent Dumpling to her mother, saying it is his fault.
Dora goes to Ruth’s grandmother, feeling nervous. Her anger fades when she sees the old, frail woman. The grandmother senses Dora’s anger and asks if she knows that Dumpling and Ruth’s fathers were friends. Dora erupts, blaming Ruth and her mother for Dumpling’s accident.
The old woman tells Dora that her father also abandoned her as a child. She advises Dora to “stop expecting the worst out of life” (193). Dora realizes she is not the harsh old woman everybody describes, and she cries. The grandmother comforts her, telling her she still has a chance in life. Dora confesses she wants to sleep peacefully at night and never return home. Right then, Lily and Bunny arrive shouting that Dumpling is awake.
The girls pass through Dora’s parents’ house, hearing screams. Paula says Dora’s mother is hurt, and Dora tells Bunny to run to Ruth’s grandmother and call the police.
Bumpo appears intoxicated, holding a rifle. Dora confronts him, asking about her mother, but he asks for her money. He threatens her when he hears police sirens, but Dora is not afraid, daring him to shoot her so she never has to see him again. Bumpo startles and cannot react. The police arrest him. Mr. Moses arrives as the ambulance takes Dora’s mother. Dora cannot ignore that her mother is hurt and tells her she is going to pay for her treatment. Finally, she asks Mr. Moses if she could visit Dumpling.
Part 3, Chapter 15 Summary: “Bud Heads: Hank”
Isabelle takes Hank and Jack to the dance audition. Hank still thinks of Ruth. Isabelle introduces Abigail, Alyce’s aunt, to the boys. Hank sees Alyce passing by toward the stage. The audition starts and they all watch her dance. Hank finds her “mesmerizing.”
After the audition, Jack comes to Hank with a girl who holds Phil’s paper towel. It is Selma. At this moment, the backstage door opens, and Isabelle, Alyce, and Sam come in. Jack cries out that he knew his brother is alive.
Part 3, Chapter 16 Summary: “Brothers: Alyce”
Alyce watches Jack embrace Sam, throwing him on the ground with his enthusiasm. Hank sits down at a loss, holding his head and repeating to Sam he thought he was dead.
Alyce recalls the day she and Sam returned to Fairbank and had dinner with her mother. Alyce could tell Sam was sad, thinking about his brothers. Alyce’s mother said that her sister as a reporter could help him find them. As they were washing the dishes, Sam and Alyce kissed.
Alyce and Jack are introduced. Selma tells Alyce she was perfect at the audition. Selma still holds the paper towel and tells Alyce she has been waiting for it all her life. Alyce thinks Sam’s brothers will find him changed. She also understands the mistake she made trying to “protect” her father while he always wanted her to be herself. Alyce felt “fearless” and confident during her audition.
Jack embraces Alyce and says he was sure somebody like her would protect his brother. Sam introduces her to Hank. He also hugs her, and she senses his smell. Hank tells her she is a great dancer.
Part 3 Analysis
Ruth’s decision to accept her baby’s inevitable placement for adoption is the final stage in her transformation and furthers the theme of Coming of Age in Times of Change. Realizing she cannot parent her child, Ruth claims her right to decide about the appropriate family. The married couple that has applied to the Abbess reminds Ruth of her parents, who she remembers so fondly as a happy couple who created a loving home. The woman carrying flowers in a bottle and the man who is a hunter reflect Ruth’s childhood memories. The smell motif conveys this memory as Ruth recalls her childhood home: “I am five years old again; the smell of my parents’ house wraps around me as if someone has put a blanket over my wet, wet shoulders” (183). Despite her decision about her baby’s adoption that signifies her coming of age, Ruth is saddened by the loss: “It will be strange not to feel the baby moving, kicking, swimming around inside me—as much as I didn’t want it, it’s hard to remember what I was like before” (181). Though Ruth will grieve saying goodbye to her baby, she has ensured the best possible outcome for her child, which also helps her heal from the challenges of Coping With the Trauma of Familial Disruption. The red ribbon symbolizes Ruth’s connection to her baby, as she gives a piece of it to the woman who would become its foster mother. Ruth wants to ensure that her baby will be in a safe and loving environment as she attempts to envision a hopeful future for it and herself despite their separation.
Dora tries to cope with Dumpling’s accident while blaming Ruth for her condition. Her anger and despair still control her, and she reaches a critical point when she unwillingly visits Ruth’s grandmother. As Dumpling’s father asks her to deliver the blueberry pie, Dora learns about the cross-cultural friendship between him and Ruth’s father regarding opposition to statehood. He tries to appease Dora by assuming responsibility for Dumpling’s accident since he sent her to Ruth’s mother. However, it is Ruth’s grandmother who makes Dora’s emotions shift. The woman understands Dora’s frustration and distress, and she attempts to approach her by confessing their common experience of lacking a father. The woman presents a different character than the “ferocious monster” Dora has in mind, and this changes her perspective. Ruth’s grandmother encourages Dora to choose a different path from her and to be open to life despite her familial traumas, enriching the theme of Finding Hope Through Friendship and Community.
Dora’s emotional change helps her confront her father and the news of Dumpling’s recovery fills her with hope, indicating her coming-of-age. Dora sees another scene of domestic abuse and, realizing her mother is hurt, she summons her courage to face her abuser as she now feels freed from him. The scene completes Dora’s journey in the story. When her intoxicated father threatens her again, Dora manages to face her fear of him, hence Coping With the Trauma of Familial Disruption. After his arrest, Dora understands that her mother also needs support and assumes this role, paying for her hospitalization. Dora emerges as a survivor, able to channel her anger at the person who has earned it—her father.
Hank’s reunion with Sam during Alyce’s dance audition signals his change, as he finds hope again. Throughout the story, Hank believes he has only confronted losses, and his grief prevails, apart from his meeting with Ruth. Sam being alive with Alyce’s help, signals the completion of Hank’s journey, as the boys are now safe within the community in Fairbanks.
Alyce also achieves a new sense of self during the dance audition, overcoming the limitations that troubled her. Dancing makes her feel “fearless” and confident about her choices beyond her parents’ influence: “For the first time, I danced like someone who knew what she wanted” (208). Her success in getting the dance scholarship and achieving her dream signifies her coming of age. However, her transformation also connects with Sam, and the reunion with his brothers. Alyce finds her first love in Sam, but the brothers also understand that she is a key agent in his survival. As Hank praises her dancing, his smell feels familiar to her, indicating the renewed sense of community that establishes the boys’ arrival in Fairbanks.
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