39 pages • 1-hour read
Waiting for the Magic
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Chapters 8-14Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 8 Summary
One day, William notes that Elinor has stopped crying about Papa and now plays with her friend Mavis. He and Max play soccer with the dogs racing around them. Inside, William sees Mama’s formal place settings and knows that a serious talk is coming. She announces that she’s pregnant. William asks if Papa knows, and Mama says he does not. Upset, William and Elinor leave the table, and William comforts his sister in the hallway.
That night, William tells Mama that it feels unfair to keep the baby a secret. Once he shares this, Neo speaks to William for the first time, advising that hiding the baby will not help Papa become a better father. William repeats this to Mama, who agrees. William realizes that the magic is real and tells Elinor, who says that she knew he would one day hear the animals.
Chapter 9 Summary
William discusses his newfound ability with Neo and Bitty. He learns that four-year-olds and grandmothers can often hear animals. Bitty asks William to tell Gran that she wants a red coat. A week later, family and friends arrive to celebrate Elinor’s half birthday. Gran gives Elinor a purple cape and Grace a blue coat. While Grace struts around, admiring her new coat, Gran shows Bitty the red yarn for her coat. Then, the front door opens, and Papa arrives unexpectedly. Bryn growls and stands in front of Mama while Elinor runs to greet him. William shouts “No!” and his face gets hot with anger. When Papa thanks Mama for the invite, she says that he has William to thank. After the guests leave, Papa observes the four dogs, noting that he never had one. Mama tells him that the dogs belong to the family, not him. William realizes that the dogs are there to protect Mama and retreats to his room. Later, in bed, he reaches out to pet Neo, who sleeps with him.
Chapter 10 Summary
Early the next morning, William finds Papa on the couch, where he slept because Bryn would not allow him in bed. The dogs stand guard nearby. While William makes coffee for him, Elinor appears in fairy wings and asks Papa blunt questions using words from her forbidden list. Papa apologizes for leaving, acknowledging that he should have talked to them first and explaining that he went to find the courage and magic he thought he needed to write. Elinor insists that they have magic at home, and William relays what Bryn once said: Writing is work, not magic. Papa listens and agrees. Neo and Bitty, audible only to William, voice their own agreement as the three sit together in the early morning.
Chapter 11 Summary
In the following weeks, Papa sleeps on the couch while the dogs watch him. He admits to the kids that he longed for a dog named “Scooter” when he was a kid. Eventually, Papa takes over the cooking, making eccentric meals like chocolate chicken, and begins walking the dogs. The dogs conspire to trip him, but the walks slowly build trust. The family cleans the kitchen together, and Mama and Papa talk easily about their shared childhood. Mama later tells William that she’s forgiving Papa, but William admits that he’s not ready.
Chapter 12 Summary
Papa searches for a place to write. When Bitty suggests the attic, William voices her thoughts aloud, and Papa likes the idea. They all go to explore the space, which Papa thinks will be perfect. Grace, normally hesitant on the stairs, bravely joins them. In the quiet attic, Papa tells the dogs that their presence kept the family together and that they did so much more than he ever did. Then, Papa talks about eight eyes showing him who he really is. Neo comments that Papa has started a poem, and Papa hears him, finally realizing that the dogs can talk. He learns that Mama cannot hear them yet. Papa asks Bryn for permission to return to the bedroom with Mama, and Bryn grants it, but only if Papa promises not to leave again. He does. When William tells Elinor that Papa heard the dogs, he confesses that he thought Mama would be next. However, the dogs insist that her mind is preoccupied with the baby right now.
Chapter 13 Summary
Mama again sets the table formally for a family meeting to announce the baby is a boy. Everyone, including the dogs, propose names. Elinor likes “Weenie” and “Useful,” while Grace suggests “Nicholas,” a name that Papa likes. Later, Papa carries supplies to his new writing room in the attic. As the dogs gather to watch him, he lifts a pencil like a wand to quiet them. He sits at his typewriter and types a title: Waiting for the Magic.
Chapter 14 Summary
A month passes. Papa writes in the attic every day and tells William that the dogs are his muse. When Elinor complains that the dogs stay upstairs too much, Bitty invents a “Whining Fairy” to tease her, an idea that Papa incorporates into his writing. Then, Marvelous Murphy visits and asks about the baby, sparking a sudden worry in William about Mama’s safety during childbirth. Marvelous reads a poem that she wrote for the baby, whom she has nicknamed “Little Joseph,” but Elinor insists that the baby’s name is “Weenie.” For the first time, Marvelous is speechless, and Bryn relishes how peaceful the house has become.
Chapters 8-14 Analysis
These chapters highlight the symbolism of “serious talks” at the breakfast table, which represent efforts to manage heightened emotions. The formally set table is a manifestation of the family’s deliberate attempts to control moments requiring difficult communication. Mama employs this setting to announce her pregnancy, and the family gathers there again when they learn that the baby is a boy and begin discussing names. This symbol highlights the family’s struggle to impose order on the chaotic emotional currents running through their lives. The formality of the setting contrasts with the raw feelings of the characters, such as William’s anger that Papa does not know about the baby. All of this underscores the gap between the family’s need for clear communication and their limited capacity to achieve it, demonstrating how rituals are created to navigate crises. The breakfast table becomes a space where the family confronts its past and future, making these conversations pivotal turning points in their journey of healing.
William’s character development and healing are intrinsically linked to the theme of Finding Magic in Emotional Honesty and Connection. His transformation from a skeptic into a believer is a direct result of his emotional courage. He transitions from the belief that “[i]f you don’t talk about it maybe it isn’t there” to a moment of vulnerability with his mother (48). It is only when he musters the bravery to articulate a complex feeling—that keeping the baby a secret from Papa is unfair—that he begins to hear the animals’ speech. With help from Neo, William relays that hiding the baby will not help Papa become a better father. The magic, therefore, is within him and can only be unlocked when he honestly acknowledges what he feels. Neo confirms this, telling William that he could hear the dogs because he was brave. This scene highlights the lesson that lies at the heart of this fabulist story: that magic results from confronting deep emotional truths and results in new or strengthened relationships.
Papa also demonstrates emotional growth and eventually realizes what is magical and what is hard work. He returns home confessing that he left to find external “courage” and “magic” for his writing, a quest rooted in the idea of an artist needing to escape to find inspiration. This justification is immediately dismantled by the family’s new reality. Elinor points out that he “didn’t have to go away for magic” (70), while William repeats Bryn’s wisdom that writing “is not about magic. It is about hard work ” (70-71). Papa’s journey forces him to abandon the idea of magic as a lightning strike of inspiration and to recognize it as the product of presence and effort. He only gains access to the animals’ voices once he is fully present in the attic, honestly confronting his failures in a spontaneous speech to the dogs. This moment marks his true homecoming, as he finally understands that the magic he sought was embedded within the family connections he had abandoned.
The family’s transformation highlights the theme of The Redefinition of Family in the Wake of Absence. Papa returns to a new, resilient family unit that relies on the presence and support of the animals. Upon Papa’s arrival, Bryn’s growl and protective stance in front of Mama establish the dogs as guardians, while Mama declares that the dogs “[h]ave everything to do with [them]” (65), explicitly distinguishing the healed family unit from him. The animals are part of the family, and Papa must earn their acceptance, which he does by learning to cook, studying dog care, and eventually seeking Bryn’s permission to return to the marital bed. This conditional acceptance, mediated by the animals, demonstrates that the family did not wait passively for his return but actively rebuilt itself.
This rebuilding is due to the theme of The Healing Power of Animal Companionship. Before specific characters can hear the animals speak, they find joy in the presence of the dogs and Lula, an emotion that is scarce after Papa’s departure. However, the healing goes much deeper once they acknowledge their emotions and hear the animal’s voices. William learns that he is brave, which empowers him to speak more honestly in the future. Later, Papa also recognizes his mistakes and thanks the dogs for their care and protection of the family. Once this happens, “Papa look[s] at the dogs […] grinned […] turn[s] and beg[ins] to type” (95). Papa’s writing coincides with his confession, which helps to restore his relationship with his family. Ultimately, the animals help to heal individual pain and grief as well as family wounds.
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