49 pages • 1-hour read
The Intruder
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Chapter 52-EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence, child abuse, physical abuse, and sexual content.
Chapter 52 Summary: “Before: Ella”
The narrative flashes back to Ella’s timeline. Ella is met by paramedics outside her burning house. When they inform her that Desiree died in the fire, Ella tries to conjure tears. She only starts crying when she remembers she’ll never see Anton again. The paramedic asks for her name, and she introduces herself by her full name, Elizabeth Casey.
Chapter 53 Summary: “Now: Elizabeth ‘Ella’ Casey”
The narrative returns to Casey’s present timeline and reveals that Ella and Casey are the same person. Casey admits that she killed her mother, Desiree. After the incident, she “started going by [her] last name” (223), Casey, instead of Ella. She understands how Eleanor feels and doesn’t want her to live with the same regret as her. At Lee’s, she races inside and begs an emotional Eleanor not to hurt Lee. She explains that she knows Lee is her father and that she understands how she feels. Eleanor ignores Casey and accuses Lee of abandoning her. When Eleanor reveals that her mother is Jolene Kettering, Lee has a revelation. He explains that Jolene had a sexual relationship with his late brother, who must be her father. Eleanor breaks down and reveals that she goes by the nickname Nell, not Eleanor.
Chapter 54 Summary
The narrative continues in Casey’s present timeline. Casey and Lee try to comfort Nell. She gives up the gun but sobs over her late father. The adults ask if her mom will be looking for her. Nell reveals that Jolene might be dead. She and her boyfriend Jax got into a violent fight. Nell intervened, and Jax stabbed Jolene; Jax blamed Nell, and she fled. She insists she didn’t want Jolene to die even though she was mean and abusive to her. Realizing what’s going on, Casey tells Nell and Lee she’s going to the police about Jolene.
Chapter 55 Summary: “Before: Ella”
The narrative flashes back to Ella’s timeline. Ella’s social worker drives her to her biological father’s house. After hearing about what happened to Desiree, he invited Ella to live with him. Ella is hesitant with him at first, but they grow close over time. Eventually, she tells him all about her past. He reassures her, even asserting that she did the right thing by killing Desiree.
Chapter 56 Summary: “Now: Casey”
The narrative returns to Casey’s present timeline. Casey takes Nell’s house key and heads to Massachusetts where her home is located. On the way, she thinks about Karisa Harrel and losing her job. When Casey discovered that Karisa’s father was abusing her, she tried reporting him to child protective services, but he was a police officer. The state wouldn’t intervene, and he kept hurting Karisa. Furious one day after school, Casey took a bat to Karisa’s dad’s car, then she lost her job.
Chapter 57 Summary
The narrative continues in Casey’s present timeline. At Nell’s house, Casey discovers that Jolene is still alive. She confronts her for abusing Nell. She burns her with cigarettes until Jolene confesses her violence against Nell, then Casey kills her.
Chapter 58 Summary
The narrative continues in Casey’s present timeline. Casey returns to Lee’s cabin where Nell is asleep. Casey and Nell plan how to tell Nell that Jolene is dead.
Chapter 59 Summary
The narrative continues in Casey’s present timeline. The power turns back on, and Casey makes herself dinner. Rudy knocks on the door, offering to fix the roof soon. Casey suggests that Lee will fix it instead; Rudy laughs, asserting that Lee is in love with Casey and has been asking about her by her full name ever since he moved into the cabin. Convinced Lee knows she killed Desiree, Casey tells Rudy to fix the roof instead.
Chapter 60 Summary
The narrative continues in Casey’s present timeline. Lee stops over after Rudy leaves. Casey tries to stay calm while Lee tells her about Nell, who he promises to raise. He then reveals that he saw reports on television about Jolene’s death, which asserted that Jolene died today and not the day before. He promises to back Casey’s alibi even though he knows she killed Jolene. Casey is relieved but still isn’t sure she can trust him.
Epilogue Summary: “Six Months Later: Casey”
Casey remains a fixture in Nell and Lee’s lives over the following months. One day, Casey notices that Lee disappears every Friday and doesn’t return home until late. She has grown attached to him but is still curious about his true identity. There is something familiar about him, but she can’t place him.
After Lee leaves for work one day, Nell shows Casey a photo of her biological dad when he was young; Casey is shocked to see Anton staring back at her from the photo. She is devastated she didn’t get to reconnect with him before his death.
The narrative switches to Lee’s point of view. Lee is revealed to be Brad, Anton’s younger brother. Lee visits Anton in prison every Friday; Anton was incarcerated almost 13 years ago for murdering their abusive father. Lee has kept his promise to tell everyone that Anton is dead. Lee changed his name from Brad after the incident with their father. About a year ago, Anton tasked Lee with keeping an eye on Casey to make sure she was okay; this is why Lee moved in next to her. Ever since, he has been giving Anton updates on her well-being. He now also gives Anton updates on Nell. Lee plans to ask Anton if it’s okay for him to be with Casey, as he has fallen in love with her but won’t act on his feelings without his brother’s blessing.
Chapter 52-Epilogue Analysis
A series of plot twists in the novel’s final chapters lead the narrative through its climax, descending action, and resolution. These unexpected events include the revelations that Ella did in fact kill Desiree in the house fire, that Ella is Casey, that Anton is Eleanor’s father, that Lee is really Brad, and that Anton is still alive but incarcerated for killing his father. Each of these narrative surprises alters the overarching stakes of the novel and reiterates the novel’s theme of Navigating the Psychological Effects of Trauma.
Casey has lived through significant emotional and physical abuse—detailed in Ella’s chapters—which allows her to identify with Eleanor/Nell. When she discovers the truth of what Nell has lived through, Casey becomes desperate to keep her from the same mistakes and fate she suffered:
I should never have killed [Desiree]. I should have told an adult and let them move me someplace safe. My point though is that I understand why Eleanor is angry. I have felt that same anger. I have lived with it for years, and I know what she is feeling. I know that she is liable to do something stupid right now, and I don’t want her to do it (223).
Casey’s trauma offers her insight into Nell’s psychological experience. Nell has a tendency toward aggression and violence, but her behavior is a symptom of her unresolved pain. Casey is thus able to assume the role of protector and archetypal guide for Nell because of what she lived through when she was Nell’s age. She keeps Nell from killing Lee (her biological uncle) and avenges Nell by killing Jolene. Via these choices, Casey starts to lead Nell toward healing and to find her own unconventional path toward reconciliation with her fraught past. The narrative subtext implies that with the love and support of a found family, the individual might process and move beyond their trauma.
The novel has an ambiguous yet hopeful ending. The epilogue depicts Casey, Nell, and Lee’s life together six months in the future, capturing how their relationships have developed over time. This closing section also reveals Anton is still alive. The narrative incorporation of Lee’s first-person point of view leaves the possibility of ultimate redemption and happiness for Casey. “I’m in love with Casey,” Lee admits, “But I can’t kiss her—not yet. I can’t make a move without my brother’s blessing. […] But I think he’ll tell me it’s okay. He wants me to be happy, and he certainly wants Ella to be happy” (269). This passage of internal monologue does not offer a neat resolution to the characters’ story, but it does gesture toward a happy ending for Lee and Casey. Ella’s chapters of the novel imply that Anton would want the best for her (Casey) as an adult, and in spite of all that she has suffered, Casey might find contentment and peace with Lee yet. Her storyline closely mirrors Nell’s—who finds renewal in her new life—thus implying that the same can happen for Casey.
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