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The Glass Castle Part III, Chapter 5 Summary

How It All Goes Down

  • Mom and Dad return to Phoenix to check on the house they left behind and bring some of their stuff back across the country.
  • The kids wonder if Mom and Dad will ever come back.
  • With Mom and Dad gone, Erma becomes even grouchier.
  • And, even worse than being cranky, Erma molests Brian.
  • Jeannette catches Erma and yells at her.
  • Erma tries to slap Jeannette, but Lori stops her.
  • So Erma slaps Lori instead.
  • Then Lori punches Erma in the face.
  • Bam, Erma goes down.
  • Erma won't allow the kids upstairs anymore, so they have to use the storm door to get in and out of the basement.
  • When Dad returns, he is furious at what happened…furious at the kids.
  • The kids wonder if Erma did to Dad what she did to Brian. It makes them all uncomfortable to think about it.