Flowers in the Attic
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| Author | V.C. Andrews |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fiction |
| Publisher | Simon and Schuster |
| Released | 1979 |
| Media Type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 412 p. (hardcover edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-671-41124-1 (hardcover edition) |
Flowers in the Attic is a 1979 novel by V.C. Andrews, deeply controversial because of its themes of incest, child abuse, neglect, and other taboo subjects. In 1987 it was made into a film starring Louise Fletcher, Victoria Tennant, Kristy Swanson, and Jeb Stuart Adams, which has been criticized by fans for drastically altering the plot in order to avoid the more controversial elements of the book. It is the first book in the Dollanganger Series. This book was called the Obsessed while Andrews was writing it, but her publisher told her to spice it up a bit, and eventually, it was retitled to Flowers in the Attic.
[edit] Plot
Cathy Dollanganger narrates the story as a twelve-year-old girl. The Dollangangers live a picturesque suburban life in Gladstone, Pennsylvania, in the 1950s. Christopher and Corrine Dollanganger have four children: Chris, aged fourteen years; Cathy, twelve; and twins Cory and Carrie, five. The children are called the “Dresden Dolls” because of their outstanding beauty.
The family members' lives are thrown into turmoil when Christopher Sr. is killed on his thirty-sixth birthday in a car accident while returning from a business trip. Corrine falls into a depression, and soon the family is penniless. Corrine tells the children they will go and live with their wealthy grandparents, the Foxworths, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Her father Malcolm is on his death bed, and although she was disowned by her family for something she did when she was 18, she hopes to be written back into his will and inherit his estate.
On their journey, Corrine fills the children’s minds with fantasies of how rich they are going to become. However, their arrival at Foxworth Hall is frightening: they take a train to the remote countryside at 3:00 AM and walk miles in the dark to Foxworth Hall, a gargantuan mansion. They are let in by their cold-hearted grandmother Olivia, and locked in a bedroom in the North Wing. Corrine says goodnight to her children and promises them they will have to stay there only one night.
The children remain locked in the one bedroom with an adjoining bathroom. When Corrine returns she has been savagely whipped by Olivia, who explains to the children that their parents were half-uncle and niece. (It is later revealed in the series that Christopher Sr. and Corrine were actually half siblings, a fact they never knew but of which Olivia was aware.) As a result of incest, Olivia accuses the children of being “Devil’s spawn.” She will never love them and their mere existence must be kept secret forever, especially from their grandfather Malcolm.
The children are to be locked in the North Wing and will be brought food once a day. Olivia also has a list of twenty-two rules they must follow, many of which involve not “sinning” by “touching or thinking” about their “private parts,” and Olivia enforces that God will always be watching them and the sins they commit. Being young and innocent, the children do not understand what sins they could possibly commit.
Their single bedroom is connected to an enormous attic, filled with antiques and an adjoining room styled as a school classroom with children’s carvings dating back to the American Civil War, suggesting the Dollangangers are not the first children held prisoner at Foxworth Hall. Over the next three and a half years, the children find ways of entertaining themselves by reading a large number of books and elaborately decorating their dreary attic prison as a garden in bloom with paper flowers. They use the old Civil War clothing as costumes to perform plays such as Gone With The Wind.
At first Corrine comforts the frightened children in their imprisonment, assuring them they will only be locked away a short time until she wins back Malcolm’s love enough to tell him of his grandchildren. Until then she is enrolled at a secretarial school so she can work and provide for them. But as time passes, Corrine's interest in her children dwindles, and she becomes increasingly aware of them as a burden, visiting them less and less. She quits secretarial school and lies to them about her attempts to set them free. Corrine has no intention of ever freeing them, as she must keep their mere existence a secret if she is to inherit a fortune. She enthusiastically tells them of her fabulous vacations and socialite parties while they are suffering. She showers them with expensive gifts from Europe, ignoring their real needs of freedom and sunlight. She remarries to a rich lawyer Bart Winslow, who is ignorant of the existence of his new wife's children.
Meanwhile, the children’s treatment becomes worse and worse. They wither away from lack of sunlight, fresh air, and medical treatment. Olivia’s physical and psychological tortures also increase on the children from violent rages to beatings and whippings. At one point, she deprives the children of food for so long they seriously contemplate resorting to drinking each others' blood and eating raw the rodents they are able to capture (however, Olivia brings them food before they are forced to do these things).
In the hellish misery of their existence, the children attempt to survive and better themselves as much as possible and a new family unit is formed with Cory and Carrie as the children and Cathy and Chris as parents. They study by reading books. Chris plans to become a doctor and Cathy practices dancing, hoping to one day become a ballerina. They also educate Cory and Carrie, teaching them to read.
As Cathy and Chris grow into young adults they madly fall in love. The sexual tension steadily increases as they often see each other naked. Though there is little sexual activity, they are openly affectionate like young lovers. Their infatuation is no doubt due to the mental trauma of their isolation, and they worry they are repeating their parents’ mistake of an incestuous romance.
The children are later able to find a way to leave their bedroom/attic prison and explore the further reaches of Foxworth Hall, stealing money for their eventual escape and marveling at the opulent treasures the Foxworths own. They eventually discover that their grandfather Malcolm is long dead and that the powdered sugar doughnuts they were daily given midway through their imprisonment were coated with arsenic.
Because of the inhumane treatment the children have endured, and because he unknowingly ingested the most arsenic, Cory dies and is buried heartlessly by Olivia and Corinne inside the house. Suffering from extremely poor health, the three surviving children steal money and jewelry before finally escaping Foxworth Hall. Chris says they will travel to Sarasota, Florida, where the flowers blossom every day of the year.
Novel Ending Finally the elder children plan an escape, only to discover that their mother has remarried and moved away from the house where her children have been imprisoned.
Movie Ending When the children escape for the last time, they find out that their mother is remarrying. The children confront the mother and she falls over the balcony and is hanged by her wedding dress.
The most oft-remembered element of the novel is the sexual relationship that develops between an adolescent brother and sister, which has led to the novel's being banned in certain areas at different times.
Flowers In The Attic is the first book in the Dollanganger Series, and was followed by Petals on the Wind, If There Be Thorns, Seeds of Yesterday, and Garden of Shadows, which is actually a prequel to Flowers In The Attic and is told from the point of view of Olivia Foxworth, the grandmother of Cathy.
[edit] Differences between the book and movie versions
- In the movie, Chris and Cathy are much older than they are in the book at the beginning of their ordeal.
- The children are held captive for only one year in the movie, versus three and a half years in the book.
- There is no sexual tension or incest between Chris and Cathy in the movie, whereas it was a major theme in the latter part of the book.
- The mother receives thirty-three slashes and an extra fifteen more in the book, where in the movie, she receives only 17, the number of slashes for being married to Christopher Sr.
- In the movie, the grandmother knocks out Cathy with a blow on her head before shaving her hair off, whereas in the book, she orders Chris to cut it off, but he doesn't, so she sneaks into the room at night, drugs her, then pours hot tar on her head.
- The children receive only a few gifts in the movie; in the book, they are given many gifts, including a TV set.
- The children don't steal money before they left Foxworth Hall in the movie, where in the book, they stole money and valuables prior to their departure.
- In the book, Cory is not immediately buried in the hall by the Grandmother- it is revealed in the second book (Petals on the Wind) that the mother sealed Cory's remains away deep in a secret room of the house. The smell of death could still be detected 15 years later, and was discovered by Cathy when she returned to the house for her revenge.
- In the book the mother married Bart Winslow during their imprisonment while in the movie she was getting married at the end.
- The mother doesn't die in the book as she does in the movie.
[edit] Detailed Synopsis
[edit] Prologue:
Cathy states this is a true story with false names. She thinks of the children as “flowers in the attic.”
[edit] 1 Goodbye, Daddy:
Cathy recounts the first 12 years of her life growing up in the 1950s. She narrates the story as a 12 year old girl. “Truly, when I was very young, way back in the Fifties, I believed all of life would be like one long and a perfect summer day. After all, it did start out that way… If we lacked some necessity, I couldn’t name it…”
They lived a picturesque suburban life in Gladstone PA. Christopher and Corrine Dollanganger have four children, Chris 14, Cathy 12, and 5 year old twins Cory and Carrie. Their parents and neighbors nick named the children “The Dresden Dolls” because of their outstanding beauty. Like their parents they each had “flaxen” blond hair and “cerulean” blue eyes.
On his 36th birthday while returning home from a business trip, Christopher is killed in a car accident.
After his death Corrine goes into a depression and they are left penniless. She reveals to her children that their real family name was Foxworth before Christopher changed it to Dollanganger. The Foxworths are a very wealthy socialite family in Virginia. Now they will go to live in Foxworth Hall.
When the children question why their father would change their family name coming from such a prestigious family. Corrine answers that when she was 18 she did something which caused her to be disowned. But she has been writing letters to the Foxworths and she is regaining their love. Her father Malcolm is on his death bed and she hopes to be written back into his will.
[edit] 2 The Road To Riches:
The family packs only a few suitcases and leaves town on a train without saying goodbye to anyone. Cathy expresses sadness in leaving her house. It is 3:00 am when they arrive in Charlottesville VA at the train depot. The man on the train expresses concern with leaving them “in the middle of nowhere.” Corrine insists that someone will be there to pick them up. But no one is. Corrine’s bags are left behind. They walk through the countryside in total darkness until they see mansions and the largest is Foxworth Hall. Corrine instructs Cathy and Chris to wake up the twins to walk. She mumbles to herself, “Lord knows, they’d better walk outside while they can.”
During the walk Cathy admires Chris for being so smart and a straight A student with a photographic memory. She feels she has no talents.
They are let in the back door by their grandmother Olivia. Towering more than six feet tall she is a cold and frightening woman. Still dark they cannot see Foxworth Hall only to tell it is very large. They are taken directly to the North Wing. Their one bedroom suite is decorated with two beds, a highboy, dresser, and various other furniture. The room is 16 feet by 16 feet. On the walls are three reproductions of Goya paintings of people being tormented in hell. The tall windows are covered with thick drapes and let in little light. There is an adjoining bathroom.
The twins are still asleep and put in one bed. As Cathy and Chris lie on one another, Olivia is disgusted. Corrine defends them saying they are “innocent.” Olivia shoots back, “Just like you and your half uncle were innocent?” Corrine says that if Olivia fears they are sinful then they should be given separate rooms. Olivia denies this and tells them they must keep quiet and keep their existence hidden. They are told this is only for one night until Corrine regains the love of the Foxworths.
Corrine is tearful saying goodbye to the children as if she will never see them again. Yet as she cries she lies to them saying everything will be OK because she will win back Malcolm’s graces. That night Cathy prays to God.
[edit] 3 The Grandmother’s House:
The room is described in greater detail. The room is still dark because of the closed drapes. Olivia brings them a variety of food which will have to last them all day. She tells them that a passage in the closet will lead them to the attic where they may play, and leaves them a list of 22 rules to follow. The children make a game of their frightening isolation and say that Chris is their new father and Cathy is his wife.
Chris reads the harsh rules cheerfully not to scare the twins. The rules make it seem as though they will have to provide for themselves for a long time. The rules even note they must not even “think” about their “private parts” or even look at the opposite sex. Bitterly it mentions that they must never expect to win any love from Olivia because the children are “Devil’s spawn.” The children pray thankfully for their meal.
[edit] 4 The Attic:
The children explore the attic which is of massive size. Chris notes that the huge armories, chests, and furniture could not have been brought in through the closet passage. He reasons there must have at some time been another much larger entrance or the roof must have been removed to bring them in by crane. Although it has four dormers on each side they let in little light. They marvel at all the objects but mostly at the Civil War antiques. Chris likes the uniforms and they all admire a Civil War photo of a happy 18 year old girl who looks like Corrine. (It is later revealed in the series that she is Malcolm’s mother Corrine.) Cathy remembers what a great painter and penciler Chris is.
On the opposite side of the attic is another room styled as a school classroom. They find carvings of children dating back to the Civil War. Chris if fascinated by all the classroom’s books. He does his very best to provide games and storybooks for the restless twins to remain optimistic.
Cathy bathes the twins and then herself. She doesn’t mind if Chris talks to her while she bathes and washes her back, and they even hug. Although it is against Olivia’s rules to bathe together she cannot see how family bathing together can possibly be “sinful.” The entire chapter takes place in one day, their first day.
[edit] 5 The Wrath Of God:
Corrine returns that same evening. Although it is not apparent what is wrong with her she is physically ill. Frustrated with their isolation the twins begin a long scream which lasts several minutes during which time Olivia and the twins physically fight, kicking her. Olivia slaps them and throws them against the ground while Chris and Cathy sit on the bed frozen with fear.
Olivia then begins berating Corrine on how she betrayed her family by marrying her uncle Christopher and demands she show the children her whip marks. Reluctantly she opens her blouse showings the whip marks for each year of her life plus those she lived in sin with Christopher. “Hers was an unholy marriage, a sacrilege! A marriage that was an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. And, as if that wasn’t enough, they had to have children—four of them! Children spawned from the Devil! Evil from the moment of conception!”
Tearfully Corrine threatens to leave with her children. Olivia laughs that if she wants to leave she can. As Corrine thinks it over, Cathy mentally begs her to leave but sees that Olivia has bested Corrine. She must stay if she hopes to inherit Malcolm’s fortune.
Cathy thinks that God is now lost to her because he is an “imperfect judge.” Cathy wonders why Corrine took them to Foxworth Hall knowing full well what would happen. She knows Chris loves his mother without compromise. “He’d already told me when he grew up, he’d marry a woman who was like our mother.”
[edit] 6 Mamma’s Story:
The children gather around Corrine as she lays out her version of the family saga. Malcolm’s elderly father Garland married beautiful 19 year old Alicia and conceived Christopher. After Garland’s death she moved to Richmond where she remarried and was re-widowed and died of breast cancer. Alicia’s dying wish was Christopher’s return to Foxworth Hall. He was 17 and Corrine 14. It was love at first sight as they met in the foyer. Christopher graduated valedictorian from Yale but had to give up his degree because his name was Foxworth. She claims her parents had no love what-so-ever for her. She and Christopher eloped and were disowned. They changed their name to Dollanganger and moved to Gladstone leaving their hateful family behind them.
(This is Corrine’s radically altered version of events. Later books in the series reveal much of information is incorrect.)
Corrine tells of the Foxworth’s strict religion. Although it is never revealed in the series what religion they are it is implied in this scene that Malcolm and Olivia were LDS referring to Malcolm paying “10%” of his income to the “tithing.” In a later chapter she mentions that the Foxworths do not drink. All Mormon practices. Yet she refers to a “minister” where as Mormon clergy are “bishops.”
Corrine flip flops on the validity of her marriage. Yes incest is a violation of the laws of God, society, and nature, but she and Christopher had a Christian wedding where they vowed to love each other as man and wife and they did build a happy life. “I would suffer a hundred times over what whip weals I bear to live again those fifteen years of happiness I had with your father, and with you.” She states that God had four chances to condemn her marriage and punish them with deformed children, but instead he blessed them with four “perfect” children.
She encourages them to remain strong and never think of themselves as evil or unnatural. But she lies to them saying that she did not know Olivia was still evil and that she will not wait for Malcolm to die. They will only need to wait until she finishes secretary training in Charlottesville and gets a job, then she will free them.
The children are not troubled by the fact they are the result of incest. After Corrine leaves the children go to bed and Cathy prays.
[edit] 7 Minutes Like Hours:
Over the next three weeks the children find ways to entertain themselves, they play games and read books. The time passes very slowly for Cathy. They are not mistreated.
Olivia stops having them recite the Bible after the children sarcastically recite passages about good conquering evil.
Corrine visits the children less and less and then clearly becomes deranged when she arrives in a sailor suite telling them how much fun she had sailing while they were locked up. Cathy confronts her on this and Corrine cries and says that in a letter from Olivia, Malcolm added that he was glad she had no children, and so they can never tell him and must wait for him to die.
(Later in the series it is revealed Malcolm wrote nothing. Olivia and Corrine all along planned to keep the children’s existence a secret forever.)
[edit] 8 To Make A Garden Grow:
Optimistic, Chris says if they just use their imaginations they can come up with all sorts of exciting ways to pass the time. He and Cathy dress in Civil War outfits and attempt to perform Gone With The Wind.
The children go to great lengths to decorate the attic as a garden. They paint flowers and Corrine and even Olivia bring them real flowers in pots. The entire attic looks like one big garden.
During this time Corrine is very kind to them she helps them decorate the attic and brings them many practical gifts such as clothes and records and ballet outfits for Cathy, all the while inventing elaborate lies about attending secretary school and learning to type. She also mentions going out with an old friend who has two brothers, one of whom is attending Harvard Law School, presumably Bart Winslow.
At one point Olivia grabs Cathy and asks what sinful things they are doing in the attic. Cathy wonders what sin they could be committing in the attic, and says they are only decorating the attic as a garden, Chris is a talented artist. Olivia asks if Chris paints her nude. Cathy is surprised why she would ask this.
Chris insists they must not waste a minute and better themselves for the day they will be free. He encourages Cathy to practice ballet six hours a day and he installs a barre for her. She notices Chris looking at her differently as she dances. And they begin dancing together.
As the seasons change to winter they redecorate the attic to look like a winter wonderland complete with snow and animals. Chris even paints the windows to make it seem like they overlook a village.
Cathy and Chris lie on a mattress and talk about what they envision their spouse to be. Chris describes his wife as being perfect in everyway. Cathy admires him.
All four children sun bath on the mattresses completely nude to soak in as much sunlight as possible (or so they say). Cory and Carrie even comment on their sexual differences and Chris gives a frank medical explanation. When they tell their mother of this she says it’s OK but looks worriedly at Cathy and Chris.
In winter they have no stove or heater and so they must wear winter clothes at all time. They play hide and seek in the attic. When Cory becomes locked in a trunk he stops breathing. Cathy prays to God not to let Cory die. Chris gives him CPR and Cory asks for his momma. Cathy says that she is his momma. “I love you very much, Cory, and that’s what makes a real mother.” As she nurses Cory back to health, “Ten years I aged in ten minutes.” Then Chris hugs them all at once the way their father would.
[edit] 9 Holidays:
On Thanksgiving Cathy sets up an elaborate dinner table display. Corrine steals food from the dinner table for them though it’s cold. Cathy is surprised when Chris helps clear the table and kisses her on both cheeks. She notes that if this is how men act after eating well she will become a gourmet. Taking care of Cory and Carrie makes Cathy realize, “Being a parent wasn’t as easy as I used to presume, nor was it such a delight.”
Cory and Carrie become very sick with the flu and it’s up to Chris and Cathy to nurse them back to health. Cathy prays to God for them to recover.
Cathy notices during this time that Olivia will not look at Chris now 15 because he looks like his father.
Cathy battles herself mentally over the virtue of her mother. Does Corrine love them? Is she trying to help them? Or has she forgotten them? She wears expensive clothes.
As Christmas comes Cathy and Chris tell the twins about Santa Claus and assure them he is real and will visit them. Corrine indeed comes through on Christmas filling their stockings overnight and giving them many gifts. She also gives them Olivia’s elaborate handcrafted dollhouse. She mentions she was whipped for breaking it. Corrine also gives them a TV.
The children make a collage for Olivia and try silently to give it to her as a Christmas gift. She sees it and turns her back on them. Cathy bursts into tears and is very upset.
Upon Cathy and Chris’s insistence, Corrine agrees to allow them to watch the Christmas ball. Corrine comments the Foxworths do no drink but allow alcohol to be served at their parties.
[edit] 10 The Christmas Party:
Corrine takes the children to a cadenza upstairs where they can hide and view the party. Cathy notes how Corrine is showing a surprisingly large amount of cleavage so that even Chris takes in a look. Cathy prays to God that she will be as well endowed when she grows up.
Cathy and Chris marvel at the opulence below, the number of guests and their fashions, the music, the 20ft Christmas tree, the chandelier of burning candles, the antique furniture, the tall ballroom mirrors, the buffet of food and drink. They see Corrine dancing with Bart Winslow who even gropes her breast on the dance floor.
They see Malcolm for the first time as he is wheeled in. Malcolm stares directly at them in the chest making them question of he knows of their existence. (Later in the series it is revealed he does.) He reminds them of Christopher. They comment that their father was so hansom Corrine couldn’t help but fall in love with him. People don’t get to choose whom they fall in love with. Cathy thinks, “Cupid’s arrows were ill aimed.”
A drunken couple wonders upstairs to the cadenza and gossips on how the Foxworths have taken back Corrine even after she married her uncle. They admire Corrine and Bart as the belles of the ball.
When they return to the North Wing, Chris notes that with the door unlocked this is their only chance to explore Foxworth Hall and someday they made need to escape. He dresses in a tuxedo to disguise himself as a partygoer. Cathy is too afraid of getting caught and changes into her new nightgown. She sees Chris stare at her in a distinctively romantic way and he kisses her on the cheek.
As Cathy falls asleep she caresses a garnet heart stone her father gave her at the age of seven. Having outgrown it she keeps it on a gold chain. “Merry Christmas, Daddy.”
[edit] 11 Christopher’s Exploration and Its Repercussions:
Cathy is shaken awake violently by Corrine demanding to know where Chris went. Chris returns and she slaps him hard across both cheeks and threatens to whip the skin off of them if they ever do this again. Corrine turns from Hyde to Jekyll and kisses Chris hugging him to her breasts. Cathy imagines even he must be aroused by this.
This violence is one of Cathy’s first realizations of Corrine’s evil. “…Momma seemed exactly like our grandmother!”
Cathy lies in bed with Carrie and Chris lies down with them. The two embrace and Chris caresses Cathy’s hair with her head on his chest as he tells her of his exploration. Their eyes lock and he says he felt her exploring with him as if they were holding hands.
He tells her of seeing Corrine show Bart her elaborate swan bedroom but she does not allow him to sleep with her or spend the night. After they leave Chris marvels at the infamous swan room mentioned throughout the series. It is an exquisitely detailed hand crafted room with bed shaped like a giant swan. The headboard is its head with a jeweled eye and the comforter appears as its feathers. He also finds Malcolm’s hunting trophy room consisting of exotic animal heads from all over the world and a giant oil painting of himself. It is later revealed in the series that there is a secret peep hole which looks through to the swan room.
Cathy asks if he thinks Foxworth hall is prettier than their 8 room rambler in Gladstone. They agree they prefer Gladstone. She gives Chris a kiss on the cheek before he returns to his own bed. He doesn’t complain that kisses are for babies as usual.
[edit] 12 The Long Winter, and Spring, and Summer:
Cathy does not know about puberty. She has dreams of being made love to but does not understand what is happening. She notes the wet spots on Chris’s side of the bed. He calmly says it’s “nocturnal emissions.” Cathy is worried his condition might be contagious. Chris has Corrine give her a much needed “woman to woman” talk where she explains menstruation and gives her a “special box” presumably containing feminine hygiene products. Cathy is revolted by puberty and asks Corrine what Chris must endure. “…other things he will have to learn to accomplish, and control…”
They all enjoy the TV but on Chris’s insistence the twins are taught to read.
Cathy and Chris caress somewhat while on an attic mattress.
The chapter ends with Cathy marking the one year anniversary of their imprisonment.
[edit] Part Two
[edit] 13 Growing up, Growing Wiser:
“Another year passed, much as the first did.”
Cathy and Chris find access to the roof so they can be outside.
Cathy wants to look at her new body naked in a mirror. Since the mirror in the bathroom is too small she waits until she is alone and undresses by the bedroom vanity and performs ballet positions. Chris accidentally walks in on her and they freeze as he slowly takes in the full view. “He stood as one frozen. A queer look glazed his blue eyes, as if he’d never seen me before without my clothes on—and he had, many a time. Perhaps when the twins were there, sunbathing with us, he kept his thoughts brotherly and pure, and didn’t really stare.” She tries to put her dress back on but Chris says, “Don’t… you look so beautiful. It’s like I never saw you before.”
Olivia walks in on them pleased she has finally caught him. She demands to know how many times he’s “used” her body. Cathy does not know what she means, but by Chris’s blush she knows he does.
Olivia leaves and returns with scissors to cut off Cathy’s hair. Horrified Chris threatens Olivia with a chair. Olivia responds she will not feed them until he cuts off all of Cathy’s hair. Cathy has a nightmare based on ‘Hansel and Gretel’. When she and Chris enter the gingerbread house Olivia has the twins covered in frosting and ready to bake. She then morphs into Corrine.
That night Olivia sneaks into the bedroom and drugs her to put tar on her hair. In the morning the children are frantic. Chris uses his chemical set to dissolve the tar and save most of Cathy’s hair. Chris sleeps in a chair against the door armed with the scissors to protect them from further night attacks. Cathy joins him and the sleep embracing each other in the chair.
The children think they’ve beaten Olivia until they are not fed for two full weeks. Chris takes to feeding the others his own blood. Suffering from extreme illness Chris wants to escape via a bed sheet rope. But first he skins and guts four mice for them to eat and gain some strength. They are spared this by finally being given food, including sugar donuts. They were never given sweets before.
Olivia smashes every mirror. Cathy is concerned to see Chris pessimistic and depressed for the first time ever, he stops keeping their mother’s picture by his bed. She states that their roles of parents were no longer imaginary. She and Chris are “committed.”
One night after they’ve regained their strength Cathy and Chris sneak out to the roof and down the bed sheets to go swimming in the nearby lake.
[edit] 14 A Taste of Heaven:
Cathy and Chris go swimming in the lake in their pajamas. They enjoy the summer night and wonder aloud where Corrine has gone. Cathy comments they are the same ages their parents were when they met and asks if he knows what to do on a date, and if he believes in love at first sight. He answers yes to both. Cathy stares at his crotch.
When they return Cathy has a hard time climbing back up. Chris agrees they should not try this again.
[edit] 15 One Rainy Afternoon:
One rainy afternoon Cathy suggests they escape for good. Chris says they must stay for the money because it will cost a lot to attend medical school. Olivia enters and Chris rages at her that they’ve done nothing to deserve this imprisonment, and to call him “Christopher” not “Boy.”
Olivia screams that she hates that name because it was their father. She recounts how they took Christopher in and gave him everything and he repaid them by eloping with Corrine. She was all they had left. The couple returned two weeks later and asked for their blessing. This is when Malcolm had his heart attack.
Olivia drags Chris into the bathroom and strips and whips him brutally. Chris refuses to scream but the other children scream at the top of their lungs. Cathy says she is screaming for Chris because his body is part of hers.
Next Cathy is striped and whipped. Cathy threatens Olivia that one day she will return for revenge. She is beaten until the switch breaks, then she is beaten unconscious with hair brush. The beating is surprisingly savage.
When Cathy awakes Chris is attending to her concussion. He is still naked and they kiss. She can see he is aroused and she stops him from doing anything more. He says there is more to “making love” than just kissing. She responds “weakly” that kissing is all they’ll ever do. That night in bed she cannot think about the beating, only the kiss. But she longs for another “prince charming.”
[edit] 16 To Find a Friend:
Cory’s screams awaken everyone. A mouse has been trapped alive. Chris bandages it as a pet for Cory whom names it Mickey. As Chris gets a cage from the attic Olivia enters. Chris ignores her. She comments that a pet rodent suits them well.
[edit] 17 At Last, Momma:
Approximately 4 months have passed since the beatings in chapter 15, making their total imprisonment 2 years and 4 months.
Cathy and Chris have not talked about their embrace after the beatings. They hesitate to even look at each other for long.
She catches Chris measuring his manhood. He comments that he is not as endowed as their father. Cathy asks him to stop because it might make Cory feel small.
Cathy and Chris despair at how the twins have only grown 2 inches in height. They attempt to drag them to the roof for sunlight and fresh air but the frightened twins put up such a fight they realize they cannot.
Corrine returns assuring them she has an explanation for why she hasn’t seen them in so long. She has expensive gifts, books and clothing. A new set of encyclopedias is being ordered for Chris. Cathy realizes that the encyclopedias must have cost $2,000. Why wasn’t she using that towards savings for the family to escape? The twins do not run to Corrine, instead they embrace Cathy’s legs.
Cathy and Chris confront her on how she has abandoned and imprisoned them and allowed them to be tortured. They point to the twins’ extremely poor health. Corrine reacts sobbing that if it wasn’t for her they’d be starving in the street. Malcolm will die any day now and they’ll be rich. She won’t return until they love and respect her.
After she leaves the children examine their gifts and argue bitterly about what to do with Mamma. Chris still has faith in her. Cathy hates her and she runs to the roof and spreads herself out in a precarious position hoping to fall and die thinking suicide will bring salvation. She crawls back to a safe spot and lies there all day in the cold. She reexamines all the horror that’s happened to her and the depression of her situation. At night Chris comes and comforts her. He tells her about all the good they have, the love amongst the four of them. They embrace. Cathy realizes at that moment like a “flood” she is madly in love with Chris. “…and what a perfect way to strike back at Momma and the grandparents. God wouldn’t see. He closed his eyes to everything the day Jesus was put on the cross. But Daddy was up there, looking down, and I cringed in shame.” She asks Chris to reconsider escape. He replies he’ll think about it, but naively adds they could be free any day now if Malcolm dies.
[edit] 18 Our Mother’s Surprise:
Corrine visits them ten days later gity with excitement to tell them that she has remarried to Bart Winslow. The gifts she brought them were from her honeymoon to Europe. She flip flops on whether she loves Bart or Christopher more. Chris and Cathy had agreed not to confront her anymore since it could only cause trouble. Instead they are passive. The twins ignore her altogether.
In the attic while reading Cathy and Chris flirt with each other while arguing at the same time. She tells him he is very handsome. They kiss a few times. Cathy recalls catching him saving and sniffing some of her lost hair he keeps in a box hidden under his pillow.
She gives him a hair cut. Next Chris chases her with the scissors with such ferocity she is truly afraid. During the chase she falls on the scissors cutting herself. Not wanting to upset the twins she remains in the attic while Chris rushes back. As he is treating her wound he stares at her longingly. “And greater than any pain, or ache, or hurt I ever felt before, or since, was the pain caused me by the suffering I saw in the shifting kaleidoscopic, rainbowed colors of his tortured eyes.” They begin kissing and he kisses her exposed breasts. It is raining heavily but the clouds open up and sunlight shines through Chris’s hair. Cathy reminds him of a romance novel they read and if he remembered what the lovers did next. Chris buttons up her sweater and they walk back downstairs holding hands.
“…those moments lying on the floor when he touched me so tenderly with magical tingling fingers and lips were the sweetest moments since we’d come to live in this abominable house.”
That night Chris pledges to Cathy that they will escape no matter what. He seals his promise with a passionate kiss.
Chris puts his escape plan into action. While Corrine is telling Cathy about her exciting upcoming vacations, Chris steals her key and makes an impression in a bar of soap then carves a wooden key. He begins sneaking out at night and stealing money from Corrine’s swan room. He wants to save up $500.
Cathy notes how Olivia no longer beats them for being in their underwear. They are fed regularly and with sugar donuts.
She insists on going with Chris one night. He shows her the hunting room and she spends a long time in the vacant swan room trying on Corrine’s clothing and jewelry and marveling at the other opulence thinking all this wealth should have gone to building a new life. In the nightstand she finds a book whose cover depicts sewing. But inside it’s filled with hardcore pornography of orgies and sexual positions. Unable to control herself she is fascinated by each page. Chris asks her what she’s doing and he too is fascinated. They spend a long time together examining each page.
As they return to the room Cathy for the first time realizes this is what her characters in books did and it’s what Olivia meant by “sin.” She wonders how loving people could do such things. Looking at Carrie she thinks it cannot be all bad if it produces children. As Cathy and Chris say “goodnight” they say it in “voices not their own.”
[edit] 19 My Stepfather:
With Chris ill, Cathy alone visits the swan room to steal. She wears only a see through blue nightly with panties. In the swan room she is stunned to find Bart sleeping in a chair. She thinks he’s incredibly handsome. For the first time she realizes he’s ten years younger than Corrine. She envies her for having so much wealth, freedom, and a handsome husband. She thinks of them doing what she saw in the book. She kisses him full on the lips and rushes out of the room.
When she returns to the North Wing she lies on top of Chris in bed and they embrace and cuddle. She tells him there were no valuables to steal and does not tell him about Bart. When she returns to Carrie’s bed he angrily comments she is a poor liar.
The escape plan is taking longer than expected--months have passed.
Chris continues to visit Corrine’s room to look at her pornography book. He tells Cathy it arouses feelings in him. One night Corrine and Bart return to the swan room to retrieve his wallet. They talk about how the maids must be stealing from them. Bart recalls a dream of a girl kissing him and running out of the room.
Back in the attic Chris is furious with Cathy since now Corrine knows of their escapes. He grabs her by both arms and then begins to force himself on her. She resists at first but they end up in sexual intercourse; only briefly, it is not loving or romantic. Immediately afterwards they are both sobbing uncontrollably with shame. They go out to the roof and cry holding each other while watching the September mist rise up over the house. They listen to the wind blow through the trees and an owl hoots, perhaps the same owl they heard when first walking from the train depot. Chris deeply apologizes for “raping” her and swears he will castrate himself before he allows it to happen again. He’d thought of raping her many times before but was always able to control himself. Cathy assures him he did not “rape” her. She is worried she might be pregnant. She looks at the moon thinking it’s the eye of God and the stars were speaking to each other, this was their destiny.
Chris pledges that he loves her and she is the only one for him. Even though they don’t have $500 Chris says they must escape soon before the winter.
The next morning Chris is still crying with shame. Cathy consoles him by assuring that he did not rape her. They both agree it must never happen again and should best forget it.
[edit] 20 Color All Days Blue, But Save One For Black:
Cathy thinks of what Chris had told her the night before on the roof, “I’m never going to love anyone but you, Cathy, I know it. I’ve got that kind of feeling that it'll be just us, always.”
She responded, “If there were others for you and me, never, never would we feel this way for each other.”
“But I want to feel this way about you, and it’s too late for me to love or trust anyone else.”
As they begin to pack for their escape Cory becomes incredibly sick. Chris diagnoses that it must be food poisoning. Both he and Cathy cry uncontrollably as Cory writhes in pain, fearing this is divine retribution for their incest.
When Olivia arrives with the morning picnic basket they beg her to get Cory to a hospital. She ignores them but returns with Corrine. They seem uncertain what to do. Cathy and Corrine slap each other's faces. Cathy lets out all of her rage about how this is all Corrine’s fault and she vows revenge no matter how long it takes and Bart will know of their existence.
That night Olivia and Corrine take Cory away in a blanket.
The children cry and anxiously await their return. They all sleep in the same bed with Carrie between Cathy and Chris. Cathy prays to God not to punish Cory for what she and Chris did. “God, please don’t punish Cory as a way to strike back at Chris and me and make us hurt, for already we hurt...and it wasn’t any pleasure, God, not really, not any.”
Corrine and Olivia return the next morning and tell them Cory was taken to the hospital but died of pneumonia and was buried under a false name. (Later in the series this is revealed to be a lie and that he was never taken to a hospital. Fans dispute exactly what happened to Cory’s body. Most conclude he was buried in the mansion or on its grounds.)
Cathy is angry with herself for not escaping earlier. She cries looking at Cory’s banjo that he loved to play. That night she dreams of Cory walking on a long road to heaven. He is met by his father who starts walking with him.
[edit] 21 Escape:
The children prepare their final escape. They plan to leave in the middle of the night to meet the morning train and get a head start before Olivia sees them gone. Chris leaves at 10:00pm to go on one last stealing spree.
Chris does not return until the sun is already up. Cathy kisses and caresses him knowing something must be terribly wrong. Chris tells the long story of what happened. He found Corrine’s room empty. She’d obviously moved out. He desperately searched for anything of value but found only a metal box containing a photo of Christopher and her wedding bands. Foxworth Hall was so vast he nearly got lost. He snuck into Olivia’s room and saw her reading the Bible in bed without her wig on.
Next he went to Malcolm’s room. He describes the opulence of his two story office library connecting to his bedroom. This is where Corrine must have obtained books for them. He sees the bedroom has been vacant for some time. Chris hides quickly behind a couch when John and a young maid Livvy enter the library. As they make love on the couch they talk about how Malcolm died and left all his billions to Corrine not Olivia. The maid notes the noisy mice in the attic. John assures her they will soon be dead because Olivia is giving them poisoned food. They made love twice moaning and screaming loudly. Cathy can tell Chris is holding back a secret.
Chris assures Cathy that they’re going to do well in life. Everything will be OK. He says no matter what happens he will always have the fond memories of them dancing in the attic in love under the paper flowers.
[edit] 22 Endings Beginnings:
Chris confirms that the sugar donuts are laced with arsenic by feeding them to Mickey, who dies. Cathy is sad because they are killing a friend, but the mouse is old and crippled, and the children have no other way to be certain the donuts are poisoned. Arsenic was the perfect poison because it cannot be traced in small doses. This is why the maids had not cleaned the room for three years. They were told there were mice and arsenic was being left for them.
They postpone their departure until the next morning. Cathy fears on this last day something will go wrong. Olivia enters and makes a scornful remark and leaves.
Cathy takes one last look at the attic and writes a departing message on the school room blackboard. They walkout of Foxworth Hall in the early morning and successfully meet the train to Charlottesville. As the train pulls away they see Olivia look out of the North Wing window. Cathy wonders what her reaction would be.
In town they feel odd being so sick and dressed so strangely, but no one stares. Chris reveals that Malcolm’s will stated that if it was ever proven Corrine had children she would lose not just her money but everything she ever bought. He suspects it was Corrine who had plotted their deaths. Cathy notes just how many questions are still left unanswered.
Chris hands Cathy the bag containing Mickey, letting her choose whether or not to take it to the police, because her intuition was right all along to escape earlier. She thinks about what might happen, Corrine and Olivia might go to jail. They’d lose all their money. There may even be a great deal of publicity about the incident. They may be separated in foster homes. She remembers how happy they once were in their garden at Gladstone and drops the bag in trash.
As they board a bus to Sarasota FL, Chris tells Carrie they are going where the flowers bloom every day of the year.
[edit] Epilogue:
Cathy states these were the “foundation years” of their lives. They proved they were survivors. But their lives would always be “tempestuous”. “But how we managed to survive—that’s another story.”
