The Shining Chapter 32 Summary

The Bedroom

• Wendy has brought a cot into her and Jack's bedroom. Danny has fallen asleep on it.
• Jack is reading his play. He decides he hates it. Everything in it has been done before. He can't believe he thought it was good.
• Wendy interrupts his thoughts saying something about needing to move Danny from the Overlook.
• Irritated, he says it's going to be really hard to do. Wendy panics, insisting that Danny needs to be out of here. Jack gets mad and tells her she needs to understand they are "snowed in" (32.26).
• Then he apologizes, and Wendy apologizes for blaming him for the bruises. She admits she's having trouble forgetting about the broken arm. She says she's just worried about Danny all the time and wants to get him out of here.
• He starts touching her breast, and says he might be able to use the snowshoes to take Danny away. It would take several nights, and they would have to camp. But, if the weather is bad, it could be the death of them. Plus, Wendy will have to stay behind.
• He's taking off her shirt and continuing his advances.
• Wendy vetoes Jack's plan.
• Then it comes to her – the snowmobile! Jack says he doesn't know how to drive it. Excited, she says she's sure he'll be able to do it.
• After looking at Danny and the marks on his neck, Jack reluctantly promises to get them out of her on the next good-weather day.
• When Jack looks at her he sees she's naked now. She calls him over to her.
• In bed afterwards, they talk about what could have caused Danny's bruises. Jack has two possible explanations for them. First, he thinks it could be something like "stigmata" (32.28). Somehow, he could have done it with his mind. Second, Danny could have somehow made the bruises himself. He thinks the whole thing could be an extension of the behaviors he already has, the trances he goes into when he sees Tony.
• Wendy tells him to stop because it sounds like he's saying Danny could be schizophrenic. Jack says he only means mildly schizophrenic, something Danny will be able to control as he gets older.
• Then he tells Wendy that if Danny hadn't been where he wasn't supposed to be, none of this would happen. Wendy gets mad. She says they have no idea what's going on. The only thing that matters is getting out of here.
• She makes Jack promise again that he'll get them out of here in the snowmobile.
• Then she says she loves him.
• Jack is still all wound up. Wendy hadn't talked to him about what they would do after they make it to town. They have sixty bucks and wouldn't even have the car with them. He imagines them being at the mercy of the church for handouts, and he imagines trying to explain to Al why he'd abandoned the Overlook.
• He digs his nails into his palms, drawing blood.
• A thought of killing Wendy right now enters his head.
• He sees Danny tossing in his sleep and feels bad about his thoughts. It's important that he focus on Danny, not on himself or Wendy.
• Jack feels bitter at the unfairness of the situation. If they went to Sidewinder on the snowmobile, his last chance would be over. If only they could somehow stay. He could finish his play and then maybe they would rehire him at Stovington Prep.
• He falls asleep thinking that if Wendy and Danny would just allow it, he could find "peace" here (32.123).
• Jack wakes up in 217's bathroom. He's afraid and feels dreamy. When he pulls open the shower curtain he sees George Hatfield in the tub, with a knife in his chest.
• George is accusing him of stealing his time during debates and trying to murder him. He tells Jack he isn't a cheater, and that he doesn't have a stutter.
• Then George tries to strangle him.
• Somehow, Jack manages to get the door of 217 open, but when he steps out of the room, he finds himself in the basement with the Overlook's papers.
• He's trying desperately to find something.
• Ah! He's found it! He finds a wasp's nest and a timer!
• He turns to show it to George, who's insisting he doesn't stutter.
• When Jack drops the nests, wasps fly out. He looks at the timer and sees that a string connects it to his father's cane. He picks it up and starts beating George with it.
• Now the cane turns into a mallet. And George turns into Danny. Jack smashes Danny's face with the mallet.
• When he wakes up he's standing over Danny, sweating, but with empty hands. He says, "No. No, Danny. Never" (32.160).
• Wendy is asleep and the clock says it's a little after 5 am.
• Jack stays in bed, not sleeping, until 7 when he hears Danny waking up.
• Then Jack gets up to go to the basement and see about the boiler, right on schedule.