Flowers in the Attic is a 1979 novel by Virginia Andrews. It is the first book in the Dollanganger Series, and was followed by
Petals on the WindPetals on the Wind is a novel written by V. C. Andrews in 1980. It is the second book in the Dollanganger series. The timeline takes place from the siblings' successful escape in November 1960 to the fall of 1975.-Plot:...
,
If There Be ThornsIf There Be Thornsis a novel by Virginia Andrews which was published in 1981. It is the third book in the Dollanganger series. The story takes place in the year 1982.-Plot summary:The book is narrated by two half-brothers, Jory and Bart Sheffield...
,
Seeds of YesterdaySeeds of Yesterday is a novel written by V. C. Andrews. It is the fourth book in the Dollanganger Series. The story is once again written from the point of view of the main character, Cathy, following her from the age of 52 until her death a few years later...
, and
Garden of ShadowsGarden of Shadows is a novel by V. C. Andrews and was first published in 1987. V. C. Andrews died in 1986, and her estate commissioned ghostwriter Andrew Neiderman to continue writing novels under her name developed from plot outlines originally written by Andrews...
. The novel is written in the first person from the point of view of Cathy Dollanganger. It was adapted into a
film of the same nameFlowers in the Attic is a 1987 horror film starring Louise Fletcher, Victoria Tennant, Kristy Swanson, and Jeb Stuart Adams. It is based on the 1979 novel of the same name by V. C. Andrews...
in 1987.
Plot summary
Narrator Cathy Dollanganger is twelve years old and the second of four children (following older brother Chris, who is fourteen years old, and preceding twins Cory and Carrie, who are both five years old). Cathy and her siblings live in Gladstone,
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, with their father, Christopher and their mother, Corinne. Their idyllic life ends when the father dies in a highway accident on his 36th birthday in April of 1957.
Facing financial destitution, Corrine decides to take her children to Foxworth Hall, her family home in
Charlottesville, VirginiaCharlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
. She writes to her mother, Olivia, persuading her to let her and the children stay in the giant mansion. Olivia agrees as long as the children are hidden; she does not want their grandfather, Malcolm, to know about them. Corinne tells the children that her parents are very rich, but were upset with her as they were strong Christians and disowned her when she was younger, and so she has not seen them in years. She also tells them their grandfather is dying and if Corinne can earn back his love before his death, she will be the sole heir to a vast fortune. Corinne and her children take a train to a station in the middle of nowhere and walk the remaining distance to Foxworth Hall under cover of darkness in the following August.
When the children are settled into a small room below the attic, Corinne leaves with her mother and promises to return the next day. When she returns, she has been savagely horse-whipped by Olivia, who explains to the children that their parents were half-uncle and niece; their father had been Malcolm's half-brother. If Corinne has any hope of gaining her father's approval, the existence of the children must be kept secret. They are told that they must remain in seclusion until Malcolm’s death. Initially, Corinne attends secretarial school so that she can acquire the skills necessary to support her children and get them out of there; however, no references to secretarial school are made after the first year.
At first, Corinne visits them every day and lavishes the children with expensive gifts and promises of a bright future. However, as time goes by, she slowly loses interest in her children, coming less and less often. They are physically and emotionally abused by their grandmother, who tells them that they are "the devil's spawn" and "an abomination in the eyes of the Lord." She often threatens them with horrible physical punishment if they disobey her rules. After months of imprisonment Corinne abruptly stops visiting her children, leaving Cathy and Chris to believe that something has happened to her while they have been trapped in the attic.
During Corinne's absence, the children do what they can to pass the time. Cathy practices
balletBallet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
, and Chris works toward his dreams of becoming a
doctorA physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
by studying numerous books and text books in the attic. They also try to teach the twins the appropriate school lessons they would have. As the months turn into a year, Corinne’s abandonment forces the children to rely on one another for comfort and friendship. This leads to the formation of a new family unit, with Chris and Cathy assuming the roles of mother and father to the twins.
Cathy and Chris begin to mature and enter puberty. Cathy in particular is curious and unsure about the changes in her body. This leads to an incident where she is admiring her naked self before a mirror. Chris accidentally walks in on her; after getting over the initial shock, he proceeds to stare at her and tell her how beautiful she is becoming. The grandmother comes in and catches Chris watching Cathy, and seems almost triumphant as she calls them sinners. She gives Christopher and Cathy an ultimatum: either Chris must cut off all of Cathy's hair or all four children will be starved for two weeks. When they refuse to comply, Olivia drugs Cathy in her sleep and pours hot tar onto Cathy's hair. The resulting starvation leads the older children to acts of desperation: Chris slashes his wrist so the twins can drink his blood, and skins and guts mice caught in traps for him and Cathy to eat. Before they can eat the mice or put an escape plan into action, their grandmother leaves them a picnic basket of food, along with a new addition of powdered doughnuts. At one point, a mouse gets its forepaw caught in their trap. Cory finds the mouse and wishes to keep it as a pet and name it Mickey. Over the next few weeks, he works to earn Mickey's trust.
Over time, the grandmother continues to abuse the children, and in one incident whips both Cathy and Chris. Corinne does return soon after, revealing that she has remarried to her father's attorney, Bart Winslow, and was away on her
honeymoon-History:One early reference to a honeymoon is in Deuteronomy 24:5 “When a man is newly wed, he need not go out on a military expedition, nor shall any public duty be imposed on him...
. As time continues to pass, the two elder siblings, largely due to their confinement, become sexually attracted to each other. They also start to form a plan to escape their prison. They make an impression of their mother's key to their room in soap and carve a wooden copy. To finance their escape, Chris and Cathy began to steal small amounts of money from their Mother and new stepfather's lavish suite. One night, Christopher is ill so Cathy goes alone, only to find her stepfather asleep in a chair. Confused and curious, she kisses him while he sleeps. Days later, Christopher finds out about the kiss when he overhears his stepfather describing the incident in what he thought was a dream. Chris rapes Cathy in a jealous rage. Both are horrified afterward and feel tremendous guilt and shame, but Cathy forgives Chris because she knows he didn't mean to do it. Just then, Chris professes his love to Cathy, and although Cathy reciprocates his feelings, she is unsure of how to respond because they would be becoming what their grandmother calls them.
Soon after, Cory becomes mysteriously sick. Corinne promises to take Cory to the hospital. When she returns, she tells the children that Cory has died. Now desperate to escape, Christopher plans to take whatever money and jewelry he can find in his mother's suite, only to discover that Corinne and Bart have left Foxworth Hall. In addition, he discovers that the grandfather has been dead for nine months. He hides from some servants and overhears the butler, John Amos, saying that Olivia has been leaving arsenic-covered food upstairs to kill the mice in the attic; when Chris returns, he tells Cathy he believes this means that their food has been poisoned with arsenic. After testing one of the powdered-sugar doughnuts on their pet mouse Mickey, who dies from the poisoning, Christopher, Cathy and Carrie escape from their imprisonment after three-and-a-half years of captivity. Once they have escaped and are at the train station, Christopher reveals to Cathy the final horror; he had also overhead John talking of the grandfather's will, learning that he was leaving all his money to Corinne on the condition that if it is proven she bore any children from her first marriage or has any in the future, she will be disinherited and lose every penny and all objects purchased with the inherited money. He points out that the poisoned doughnuts started coming with their food right after the grandfather died and the will was read, therefore it was their mother who made the decision to poison them. They toy momentarily with going to the police, but decide against it as they do not want to risk being separated from each other and placed into foster homes—their priority is to get away and make it on their own, always staying together and being there for Carrie. They plan to travel to
Sarasota, FloridaSarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...
. At the time of their escape in November 1960, Christopher is nearly eighteen years old, Cathy is fifteen years old, and Carrie is eight years old. Cathy vows to herself that she has only temporarily given up her thoughts of justice and revenge against her mother and grandmother, and she will see it through one day.
Characters
- Catherine Leigh "Cathy" Dollanganger: The protagonist and narrator of the novel. Cathy is the second child and oldest daughter of Christopher and Corrine. She becomes an accomplished ballerina and later a novelist. During their time in the attic, she falls in love with Chris. She is a mother figure to Carrie and Cory.
- Christopher "Chris" Dollanganger, Jr.: Eldest offspring of Christopher and Corrine, Chris is the older brother of Cathy, Cory, and Carrie. During their time in the attic, he falls in love with Cathy. He is described as being very intelligent and becomes a successful doctor.
- Cory Dollanganger: Twin brother of Carrie and younger brother of Cathy and Chris. He is described as introverted and musically talented. He becomes ill during their time in the attic and dies from arsenic poisoning by Corrine.
- Carrie Dollanganger: Twin sister to Cory and the younger sister of Cathy and Chris. She is described as an extraverted girly girl
Girly girl is a slang term for a girl or woman who chooses to dress and behave in a traditionally feminine style, such as wearing dresses, blouses and skirts, and talking about relationships and other activities which are associated with the traditional gender role of a girl.-History:The term is...
, but her twin's death changes her.
- Corrine Dollanganger (née Foxworth): Mother of Chris, Cathy, Cory, and Carrie and widowed wife of Christopher Dollanganger. Eventually becomes an antagonist in the story when she tries to kill her children for her father's inheritance. She marries her father's attorney
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
Bart Winslow later on and loses interest in her children and late husband.
- Bartholomew Winslow, Sr.: Second husband of Corrine Foxworth Dollanganger. He marries Corrine believing that she has never had any children. He is a "trophy
Trophy wife is an expression used to describe a wife, usually young and attractive, who is regarded as a status symbol for the husband, who is often older and affluent.-History:The term's etymological origins are disputed...
husband" and Cathy is shocked to discover that he is eight years younger than Corrine.
- Olivia Foxworth (nee Winfield): Wife of Malcolm Foxworth. Grandmother of the Dollanganger children. Cousin of John Amos. Olivia and Malcolm are co-antagonists in this book but a different side of Olivia is revealed in Garden of Shadows
Garden of Shadows is a novel by V. C. Andrews and was first published in 1987. V. C. Andrews died in 1986, and her estate commissioned ghostwriter Andrew Neiderman to continue writing novels under her name developed from plot outlines originally written by Andrews...
.
- Malcolm Foxworth: Father of Corrine and grandfather of the Dollanganger children. Husband of Olivia. He is described as having a heart condition
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
, which may be a paradoxSimilar to Circular reasoning, A paradox is a seemingly true statement or group of statements that lead to a contradiction or a situation which seems to defy logic or intuition...
, because he is also described as heartless. He dies during the book, though Chris and Cathy don't find out until somewhere near the end. He was also the older half-brother of the children's father.
- Christopher Dollanganger, Sr.: Corrine's first husband; father of the children. He was Malcolm's younger half-brother. He is Corrine's half-uncle but never knew that he was also her half-brother. He is described as a wonderful father who couldn't bear to be separated from his children for longer than five days. He is killed in a car accident on his birthday at the beginning of the book.
- John Amos: A butler to the Foxworth family and Olivia's cousin.
Controversy
The book's success was not without controversy. The commission of
incestIncest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
between an adolescent brother and sister in the novel has led to its being banned in certain areas at different times. Chariho High School in
Rhode IslandThe state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
removed it because it contained "offensive passages concerning incest and sexual intercourse." In 1994, it was removed from the Oconee County and
stateA U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
school libraries due to "the filthiness of the material."
The book was much disputed when the novel was said to be based on a true story. For many years there was no evidence to support this claim and the book was passed off as fiction. Nonetheless, the official V.C. Andrews website claims to have contacted one of Virginia's relatives. This unidentified relative claimed
Flowers in the Attic was based on a true story. "Virginia was a young lady when my dad made arrangements to take Virginia to the University of Virginia hospital for treatment. While she was there, she developed a crush on her young doctor. He and his siblings had been locked away in the attic for over 6 years to preserve the family wealth. Obviously she cut the time back [in her novel] to be more believable. That area of the country has a lot of very wealthy people. I do not know who they were."
Trivia
- In episode 21 season 4 of Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite...
, Serena's cousin Charlie says Flowers In The Attic was her favorite book as a child.
- In season 3 episode 5 of "Shameless
Shameless is a British television drama series set in Manchester on the fictional Chatsworth council estate. Produced by Company Pictures for Channel 4, the first seven-episode series aired weekly on Tuesday nights at 10pm from 13 January 2004...
", Debbie Gallagher refers this book
- In an episode of Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris is an African American television period sitcom inspired by the teenage experiences of comedian Chris Rock , while growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York . The show is set from 1982 to 1987; however, Rock himself was a teenager during years...
, Rochelle takes a "grown up" book away from a girl at a book fair. She then takes a copy of Flowers In The Attic ("well that sounds nice") and gives it to her.
- In an episode of Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, Peter reads Flowers in the Attic.
- In episode 4 of This Ugly Yet Beautiful World
is an anime television series created by Shouji Saeki and Hiroyuki Yamaga. It was co-produced by the Gainax and Shaft animation studios.The series aired on the Tokyo Broadcasting System from April 1, 2004 to June 16, 2004, totaling 12 episodes...
, Kimi Ninomiya, Ryou Ninomiya's sister (whose voice actress is the real-life sister of her anime brother's voice actor) chides her brother's friendly, but easily misunderstandable, comments by exclaiming, "Why do you keep saying creepy stuff like that? You're making us sound all 'Flowers in the Attic', Ryou!"
- In Season 2, Episode 1 of Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...
, Marc says "Before you get all Flowers in the Attic on me..." when Amanda starts talking about her and Daniel, whom she just found out might be her half-brother, having a sexual relationship.
- In the Hilary Duff novel Elixir, the main character learns that her male friend is in love with her, and when asked if there was a chance she could love him back, she says that he is more like a brother to her. To this her female friend replies "You know, I read Flowers in the Attic. It was kinda hot."http://books.google.com/books?id=KIxo3jxM8b0C&pg=PA224&lpg=PA224&dq=Hillary+Duff+Elixer+%22flowers+in+the+attic%22&source=bl&ots=tuAl4Vhxw1&sig=-oByza-lVpwpEUYQNe_8RNlSiSw&hl=en&ei=Tvj3Te33DpKltwfBv-W7Cg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false
External links