50 pages • 1 hour read
Kristin HannahMagic Hour: A Novel
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2006A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapter 22-EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 22 Summary
At the police station, Ellie tells Julia that Alice’s real name is Brittany. Ellie explains that George had been accused of killing his wife and daughter, but the state recently released him from prison due to a lack of evidence in his case. Ellie leads Julia into her office to meet George. Julia tells him that she will not give Alice to him because he murdered his wife. George responds that he will fight for custody.
Afterward, Ellie gives Julia the documents on George’s case. On April 13, 2002, George reported his wife, Zoë, and his one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Brittany, missing. A witness saw a man with a Batman baseball cap and a yellow raincoat in front of the house in a van. Later, the neighbors saw George leaving his house with a large bag. The Seattle Police Department investigated the disappearance and found blood in the Azelle house, indicating a struggle. As she reads over the police reports, she remembers the constant media surrounding the case, which insisted he murdered his wife and daughter even before the trial started.
Despite Ellie, Peanut, and Cal’s efforts to find evidence to prove that George would be a bad father, George’s record before the murder accusation is spotless. A few days later, Julia and Ellie go to the town hall. In the courtroom, Julia says that she believes that George would not be a fit parent to Alice. The judge says that he will appoint a social worker to assess Alice’s situation, but until then, she will remain in Julia’s custody, and George will be allowed visitation rights.
Chapter 23 Summary
Julia tells Max that she does not want Alice’s father to be a murderer, but she cannot fathom the idea of giving her up. Max finally says that he wants to commit to her in a relationship. Later, Julia asks Alice if her name is Brittany. Alice has a flashback to a time before being in the woods when someone else used to hold her close. Alice says that her name is Alice, not Brittany.
Ellie sits in the station and realizes that Julia is going to lose Alice. George appears at her door, and Ellie asks about his marriage with Zoë. He says that he felt determined to make it work because it was his third marriage. Ellie relates to this feeling. George thinks that the man that the neighbors saw sitting in the van in front of his house must have abducted Zoë and Brittany. Ellie asks if he just wants to use Brittany to prove his innocence, and George says that he knows that everyone will believe him once they know his daughter is alive. He tells Ellie that he will make sure she gets the best treatment. Ellie says that Julia is the best treatment for his daughter, but George accuses her of bias because Julia is her sister.
The next day, Ellie suggests that Alice could lead them back to where she was kept captive so they can find out if George is innocent or not. This makes Julia nervous because she thinks the trauma of seeing the area could make Alice regress. However, Ellie points out that taking Alice away from Julia may be just as traumatizing for her.
Julia tells Max about Ellie’s idea, and Max agrees that they should try it. He shows Julia a picture of a young boy and reveals that he had a son named Danny. A drunk driver hit their car, and Danny died in the accident.
Chapter 24 Summary
The next day, George visits Alice. When he sings “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” to her, she listens to him, but she runs away when he calls her “Brittany.” George tells Julia that he used to sing the song to her when she was little. Julia tells George about their plan to have Alice lead them to the site of her captivity, and George decides to go with them.
The next day, they meet in the park. Before they leave, animal control brings Alice’s wolf on a leash. Ellie, Cal, and George follow Julia and Alice as they wander through the forest. After a while, they reach a river. Alice points up the river but says that she does not want to go there. Julia says that she will stay with Alice while the others investigate. Ellie leads the group up the river until they come to a clearing in front of a cave. On one side of the clearing stands a shack. Ellie walks up to the cave and finds a stake in the ground with a nylon cord tied to it. At the end of the rope is a bloody cuff that someone chewed through. Ellie finds a pile of women’s clothing, a box of dream catchers, and a baby blanket. On the other side of the shack, they find another stake in the ground with a rope and a bloody cuff. Ellie opens a trunk in the shack. Inside, she sees old Spokane newspaper clippings, a yellow raincoat, and a Batman baseball cap.
While Julia and Alice wait, Alice sets the wolf free. Alice guides Julia a few paces away toward a mound in the ground. She points to the ground and says “Mommy.” Julia holds Alice as she cries, and Alice tells her that she loves her.
Later, Julia sits in the park with Alice. Julia apologizes to George for not believing him. That night, Ellie sees George standing outside the police station. He kisses her, but she pulls away from him.
Chapter 25 Summary
The next day, every news outlet runs the story about the police discovering Zoë’s body and proclaiming George’s innocence. The lab reveals that the abductor and murderer is Terrance Spec, a suspect in the disappearance of several Spokane sex workers. Terrance was killed in a hit-and-run accident several years earlier. Cal, Ellie, and Peanut watch the news. When Cal leaves, Peanut tells her that Cal knows she kissed George.
Ellie meets Julia at the courthouse. In the courtroom, Julia tells the judge that George likes the idea of being a father, but he does not understand the level of parenting that Alice will need. George promises Julia that he will tell Brittany about her, and he will bring her back to visit so that she never forgets her.
After the judge rules to give custody back to George, Ellie walks to Cal’s house. Ellie apologizes for not noticing his love for her, and he kisses her. On their last day together, Julia tells Alice that she will live with her father soon.
Chapter 26 Summary
Ellie tries to control the crowd in front of her house as George pulls into the driveway. George introduces her to Dr. Correll, who will work with Brittany. Inside, Julia tells Alice that she must go with her father. Alice screams and thrashes as Dr. Correll and George pull her away. Dr. Correll gives Alice a sedative, and as it takes effect, Alice cries and tells Julia that being a real girl hurts. When Alice falls asleep, they carry her out to the car.
Alice wakes up in the car and realizes that Julia and Ellie are not there. She asks George where Julia is, and he tells her that she is in Rain Valley. Alice howls, saying that she is a bad girl.
Later that day, Max is cooking Julia dinner when the doorbell rings. When Julia opens the door, Alice is standing on the porch whimpering next to George. George tells Julia that Alice thinks that she gave her away because she was bad. Julia tells Alice that she loves her, but Alice stays silent. Julia realizes that even the thought of abandonment has already made it difficult for Alice to speak.
George says that he tried to buy her dinner, but she howled and scratched constantly. He always imagined reuniting with her, but now, he knows that he cannot help her in her present state, and he is going to give custody back to Julia. Julia promises him that Alice will always know that he loves her, and he can see her whenever he wants. George nods and gets into his car.
Julia kneels in front of Alice and tells her that she will stay. Alice rushes into Julia’s arms and calls her “Mommy.”
Epilogue Summary
Nine months later, Alice and Julia stand outside together. Julia promises that she will like school, but admits that it will be an adjustment. Ellie arrives with Cal’s daughters, and they walk to the school together. Cal moved into Ellie’s house with his daughters, and Ellie tells Julia about their remodeling projects. When they get to the school, Alice waves at Julia as she goes inside.
Ellie promises Julia that Alice will be okay. She asks Julia what she will do now that Alice is in school, and Julia reveals that Max proposed to her. Ellie hugs her, and Julia says that she is thinking about opening an office where she can work with children. Ellie says that their parents would be proud of her, and Julia feels glad that she finally came home to Rain Valley.
Chapter 22-Epilogue Analysis
Julia’s desire to keep Alice safe prevents her from believing George’s innocence. Although George is a victim of The Challenges of Professional Life and Public Perception even more than Julia, she has difficulty trusting him with Alice’s life due to her maternal feelings. Despite George’s trauma, his desire to use Alice to prove his innocence causes Julia to suspect his intentions. However, after the police discover that Terrance killed Zoë and kidnapped Alice, Julia realizes that she discriminated against George in the same way that the media did before. Although it takes Julia time to realize that her actions mirror the way other people acted toward her, she continues believing that Alice living with George would be a bad idea. Her belief proves true when George reunites with Alice, and she does not remember who he is. This proves an instinctual bond between Alice and Julia, foreshadowing their ultimate reunion as mother and daughter. Although Alice reacts to George singing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” revealing their past together, she hates when George calls her “Brittany,” highlighting the fissure between her old life and her new one. Although it pains George that his daughter doesn’t remember him, Alice’s trauma is too significant for her to become the girl she was before her abduction.
In the final section, Hannah emphasizes how confronting the past is necessary for healing Trauma and Recovery when Alice reveals where Terrance held her captive. Although Julia fears that showing them where she experienced her trauma will cause her to regress, Alice shows that she is more resilient than expected. Alice heals from her past by showing Ellie and the police the area, and she shows Julia her greatest trauma by guiding her to her mother’s grave. This moment reveals Alice’s complete trust in Julia and shows that she feels ready to move on from her past toward her future with her new mother. This step in her healing journey is symbolized by her envisioning Zoë waving goodbye to her, thinking of her as “old mommy,” the counterpart to Julia as her new mother. Like Alice, Max begins healing from Danny’s death by saying his name for the first time and sharing his story with Julia.
Even though Alice makes strides toward recovery, George’s claim for custody threatens to send her into a regressive period. Although George loves Alice, he fails to understand the extent of her condition. He also knows that if he can prove his daughter is alive to the public, his life and reputation will be saved because he has been a victim of the media and public perception. While he wants to be a father to his own child, Julia’s fears about Alice’s regression prove correct when she scratches and fights when the adults try to take her away from Julia. Julia’s guilt threatens to consume her after Alice leaves as she tells Max that “in the end all [she] did was teach her to cry” (380). This quote reveals the reality that Alice’s recovery stems from her love for Julia and The Search for Identity and Belonging. Without a sense of belonging, Alice may never fully recover because her trauma is rooted in a fear of abandonment. This proves true when Alice believes Julia is giving her away because she is a bad girl. George loves Alice too much to allow her to feel this much pain, which is why he returns her to Julia. Julia and Alice’s recovery interconnect as their reunion allows them both to heal from past wounds. This is most evident in Julia’s decision to marry Max and stay in Rain Valley, a community she rejected at the beginning of the novel due to her traumatic relationship with her father. In the end, Alice’s community of support grows to include loving parents in Max and Julia and relatives in Ellie, Cal, and Cal’s daughters, promising safety and peace for a child who has experienced extreme trauma.
Related Titles
By Kristin Hannah
