Revenge, Trauma, and Petals on the Wind
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- Опубліковано 27 сер 2024
- Me @ All the Men in this book: LEAVE CATHY ALONE!
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Skip to 18:46
I'm ecstatic to hear you're going to be doing reviews/summaries of the rest of the Dollanganger series!! I know just the gist of what Thorns is about but no real details and i know nothing about the rest of the books thereafter! I love and appreciate that you give so many details in these summaries. It's literally impossible to find a detailed review of any of these books besides flowers, of course. It doesn't hurt the you're quite entertaining to listen to as well, obviously. I'm loving what you're doing and I so eagerly await your Thorns review and the rest of the installments that succeed it! But also take your time and don't rush yourself of course...but also I wouldn't be mad if it came out like maybe idk...later today maybe tomorrow.. but please don't feel rushed...but like if you were already rushing before you read this, then that's cool too...just don't rush because of meeee or anything! 😝
Joking of course. Well sort of...😆 what can I say? I'm a fan.
I don't care for Al Jazeera. |:
Me holding all my pins
🤏 🤌
👁️👄👁️
🤛 🤜
🤏 🫳
Biblically accurate angel holding pins😂
LOLLLL
Don't forget these
🦶🦶
Happily holding them 😅
I laughed harder than I should've
“Put a pin in that” I AM RUNNING OUT OF PINS 😭😭😭
THE WAY I SHOUTED THIS WORD FOR WORD!!!!!!! 😂😂
She should put a pin in this comment ✨️
Same girl same 😂
Walmart has pins you can buy if you need more
take some of mine, I'm a hoarder
I hated how every man Cathy came in contact with constantly blamed her for the way they felt towards her. Especially the doctor that took them in.
C’mon now. It’s kind of a big ask to hope that predators will own it and…stop being disgusting perverts! 😂🤣😟😫😭
The woes of being a girl😞
Paul did not do that. Julian did. Julian attempted to date r*pe her, then took advantage of her in a drunken state. Bart r*ped her. Chris accused Cathy of manipulating him. Paul did not.
it really makes me wonder if paul would have taken them in at all if he didn’t find cathy attractive.
@@sillygoose420 I hope not, but I wouldn't doubt it.
The saddest moment to me was when they find Cory’s body hidden in a different part of the attic the kids didn’t know about. To me that proves that’s Corrine was lying, she hid her son’s body away like a dirty secret before and after he died.
When did that happen, and why can't I remember it?
@@widowrumstrypze9705 I don’t think they actually found it but Cathy asks Corrine where she put his body and she said she threw him in a river or something and Cathy said she could smell something dead in the attic and that she always thought there was an alternative way into the attic that was covered up. So Corrine just hid his body up there where they couldn’t find him.
@@andreaedwards558 Now THAT I seem to recall, thamks. I just discovered there's a whole bunch MORE books, and one veers off into, "Cory was dumped at a hospital, got amnesia, gets AFOPTED, blahblahblah" but I just CANNOT EVEN deal with that nonsense.
Her ghostwriter has no imagination, just keeps regurgitating the same tired crap!
My favorite thing she ever did was "My Sweet Audrina". A stand-alone novel, with no sequels, etc. to screw it up.
Maybe I'm too picky, lol.
I have a vague memory of Cathy and maybe Chris too, finding his little remains in a trunk up in the attic somewhere.
I read that one. What a dumb ass book with the worst adults with the most ridiculous ideas. I wish the family would hire a new ghost writer. He's in his 80s. He's in his 80s writer teenager girl like you would think an 80s "funny uncle" would. @widowrumstrypze9705
Rereading this book as an adult was agony. SO much went over my head when I was younger. Henny and Carrie were the only characters who weren't incredibly toxic. Paul was not the good man I remembered him as. He took advantage of and basically groomed a traumatized, very mixed up young girl. And tried to act like SHE was preying on him. "How dare you parade around in a skimpy nightgown that I myself bought you because that's not odd or creepy at ALL!" 🤦 Whewww, VC Andrews. I love these books but they are a LOT!
Yess! I read this series in middle schoolschool but I pick it up to reread every couple of years and every time I’m noticing/understanding more weird shit! It gets worse every time 😂😭
I came to the series in college in the mid 00's, so it was all very extra to me even as a young adult. Paul is so doubly scrummy because what he did to Cathy is a pattern for him. This is a man that married his high school girlfriend as soon as he could for fear that she would find someone else and SA-ed Julia multiple times because she doesn't want to sleep with him because of trauma she had from CSA, the bastard even says how she would sob afterwards. But he and Cathy (because Paul trains her to think this way) frames it all as Julia's fault for "not being a real wife" by withholding sex and men just have urges they can't control... which as I think about it seems to be a bit of theme in these books. Chris can't control himself because of them being locked up together, Paul can't control himself his wife sexually deprived him, and Julian control himself because he was held to impossible standards by his parents ... oh and because all men desire underage girls. 🤮
Like he bought everything she wore. And trained her into what he wanted but she was the temptress? Ok Paul 🙄
Yeah! It happened to mee too in my first re-read as an adult. They are amazing books but they do need to add tw to the new editions
The way this went over our heads when we read it as young teens (or in my case, as preteen at eleven years old) is why I love how the Lifetime movies, like Flowers in the Attic: Origin cast an actor for Garland that looked the age that he truly was in Garden of Shadows. He clearly looked old enough to be Alicia's dad. I feel like with how he was described looking in the book, it was easy for young teens to ignore that he basically groomed her.
Thank you for continuing this! I really appreciate that you didn’t write off this series as “ewww the incest books” and are able to view it as a story of trauma told from the perspective of an unreliable narrator whose views of the people and world around her are shaped by that trauma.
If I had a nickel for every time a story with incest in it was dismissed because “well it has incest so it MUST be just cheap shock!” I would have… SO many goddamn nickels
I definitely appreciate this interpretation.
Absolutely! The incest and abuse is what makes them horror stories. Those are the scariest parts! Even as a teen I knew Paul wasn’t all that great. Even though he kind of seemed like it on the surface. But he perpetuated the whole “I did good things so you kinda owe me” BS 😡
When incest is one of the most common forms of child ab4se people love to ignore it.
I went through a phase of listening to so many podcasts on this book, and it's annoying af how many people clearly devoured it, were able to talk excitedly about it for over an hour, clearly enjoyed the hell out of it, and STILL feel the need to be all "But it's horrible and I wish I'd never read it and I don't get how anyone finds this entertaining". Like omg, just own the fact that while VCA has her flaws, the woman knew how to tell a good story and had a knack for writing complex, messed up women.
Paul broke my heart. That's when I realized this series was definitely a horror series.
Yeah I was so disappointed in him.
Yes it’s a horror series.
He's completely hideous but the sad fact is that at the time most would accept his defense. VC Andrew's work has inspired society to reconsider that view.
The trigger warnings for POTW are longer than a CVS receipt 😅 this author goes hard. Thanks for the vid ❤
I joke that if you are triggered by literally anything just don't read it. 😅Like for your own safety lol
@themelonsoup it's a good story though. Just very real and intense 😳
It's not for everyone. No trigger warning needed. Just don't read it if you're gonna cry
I remember crying when Carrie died and bein so angry with Corrine. I consumed so many VC Andrews books between age 12 and 14, I eventually became annoyed by the same tropes with the female protagonists and their groomer/rapist storylines.
The first (and so far only) book of hers I read was My Sweet Audrina. It strikes me that she writes "happy" endings that are really just kind of hollow, wrapped-up-in-a-bow ways of rounding out stories about such intense trauma that there isn't really a way to end them in a novelesque way that isn't deeply tragic. I found My Sweet Audrina to be hauntingly well written but absolutely detested the ending, thinking it was supposed to be a genuine "happy" ending and feeling that it absolutely wasn't, but in retrospect I don't think it was really intended to be. I think it was supposed to be more layered than that.
It does sometimes make me wonder with authors like Andrews whether she herself has some stuff she uses her writing to process or if she just has a non-con kink, or if it's some kind of overlap (I have heard that a lot of people who are into consensual-non-consent stuff are SA survivors and it's a weird kind of processing thing)
@@katharineeavan9705 maybe reading it at a young age, a 'happy' ending where conflict is mostly resolved is the status quo so going into these books is unsatisfying. While they do sound horribly unsatisfying, they do feel pretty realistic. Not every good guy gets their day, not every bad guy gets put away and people endure a lot of pain that's never resolved. It's a tragedy. Literally, the books are tragedies.
The ghostwriter who took over after VC Andrews died in order to keep up the appearances that she (VC Andrews) had all this material left to publish (when in fact she only wrote the 4 Dollanganger Series book and not the prequel, the first two Casteel series books Heaven and Dark Angel, and the stand-alone My Sweet Audrina with the only unpublished works being 100 pages for either the 3rd Casteel book or Dawn of The Cutler series) in order to keep the cash cow going only disclosed that the author died in a pre-word in Dawn, which is why you see the same tired tropes with progressively worsening writing put out there. This is painfully present in the desperate attempts to ret-con Malcom's family, Christopher's diaries, a follow-up to My Sweet Audrina, and the mini-series aimed at teen readers (like actively marketed as teen books...yikes).
“I will, in fact, heal in hell.” That’s a line I’m using! That’s good!
New hour-long video about one of my niche interests just dropped, big day for me
I have been waiting for this since the Flowers video!
Same my guy
Same here! So happy it's finally up
Same!
Me too !
Me too! I read Flowers as a younger teen but never finished the series.
This book series was the original Series of Unfortunate Events I swear 😭😂
They make Count Olaf look like a goddamn hero. He rescued those orphans from the streets and didn't try to rape any of them.
@@sweeety969 literallyyyyy! I mean trying to marry violet was pretty bad but he never once suggests he wants her sexually 😭😭
Looking forward to your review!
The thing that makes the character of Paul so sad, because it’s so realistic, is that he wasn’t 100% evil. He did very good things, he puts Chris through medical school, he treats Henny well, he provides Carrie a “normal life”(but he sends her to boarding school for room to creep on Cathy), he married Cathy to protect her baby- but he’s a creep and a predator. No way could she consent to anything with him. It’s just sad that after all the trauma Cathy went through Paul is a “safe” option. That’s the tragic part!!
That he did those things for them is true but (and it's a huge but) he only did them for self-serving reasons. He's just as bad as their mother, only the things he did benefitted them whereas she stifled and abused them. He helped them all out, yes, BUT only so he could isolate and groom Cathy. He got her siblings into school, but he put them in distant schooling so he could keep her to himself. And he put Cathy in a nearby dance school so he could keep a pretty, young ballerina in his home to perv on. And he took her in with her kid for...obvious reasons. Yes he did good things but like their mom he only did things for them so he could get something out of it.
@@sweeety969 yes!
55:00 Did we forget about how corrine had to be talked into taking corie to the hospital? It was never a question if her version of events was true. If it was, she would have jumped at the chance of getting him out of the house.
Just came in to say the same thing! She didn't want them hospitalised at all!
I’ll never believe any explanation from Corrine even if we didn’t have the confirmation from the other book!!!!
I watched the movies as a kid and had no idea there was books so now that im 18 i decided to read the books mostly i skipped the first book and went straight into the second and omg this book sent me into a spiral where i was just in crisis for what was happening! everything felt so sick.. the way Julian was guilt tripping Cathy when they went on there first date and they were in the car and he tried to force himself and Cathy told him no and to take him home and he kept saying she was childish and just a kid like uh yea dude SHES 15?! and ur like 19.. omg and then when Paul was explaining how he forced himself onto his wife it felt so sick because it felt like he was trying to pity himself and kept trying to say to cathy he tried his best being a good husband and then when Cathy went on to say hes a good man and stuff it made me even more sick and then Chris forcing himself onto Cathy and then talking about her breasts growing in the attic felt so sick too its just jesus i just want Cathy to be alone! why does she need a man to support her when all of these men have caused her trauma and agony I wish the ending had her leaving Chris and just trying to raise her kids by herself and letting herself heal.. i felt like she was never given the time to heal BY HERSELF and not have to jump in one relationship to the next
Might I suggest reading the first one. I saw the movie first when I was younger and for some reason read Thorns (the next book after this) first and thought I was good. Actually reading Flowers, I knew I had to read this one too. But then I do love a good back story.
She “needs” a man because she “needs” one who will love and appreciate her like their father did. And how he loved their mom. That’s what she’s always chasing. It’s just another tragedy that it never crossed her mind to try to love herself.
The story is set in the late 50's onwards. Women depended on men for survival more than we do now. Paedophilia and incest were taboo subjects swept under the carpet, sexual assault of young girls wasn't taken as seriously as it is today. People didn't talk about it, the pervasive idea that women were to be blamed for or wanted sexual contact was the norm.
@@angeltangleexactly! These books were way more horrifying when they came out because grooming was just trimming your fingernails and predators' arguments couldn't be refuted. We just didn't know!
I have had a D&C related to heavy periods, I 100% very definitely did not have a miscarriage. So it's possible. But when I read this in 8th grade, I definitely thought she'd had a miscarriage.
I read this in my 30s and I thought she had a miscarriage.
same I had a D & C for heavy periods but I read this before I had a period
Yes I've also had a d&c due to heavy bleeding, Virginia Andrew's did her homework
I’ll have to revisit the book because this part was very confusing to me. I thought she just had a miscarriage (from Chris) and then went about her business after she recovered… so was she admitted to the hospital for a D&C after a delayed period due to malnutrition, and her body just didn’t know how to properly menstruate after all that trauma, or was she actually impregnated by Chris…? I think this is why I stopped reading the series because there was way too much going on and back-and-forth that I just got so lost in this hot mess.
As a teenager when these books came out, THANK YOU for this! There was so much I didn't get as a 14 year old that I needed to hear now.
I think Flowers in the Attic comes around every 20-ish years.
It’s due.
and thus we are many!
I read these books obsessively throughout my teens (I'm Gen X). I accepted VC Andrews books with unreserved naivete 😂😂😂. now I'm in my 50s and it just tickles me so hard to see how the books hit you as a Gen Z, it's great! Yeah that while Paul debacle IS outrageous, at the time that relationship read as fully consensual (even tho it is so so icky!) Thank you for your fresh take on my old favorites 😂
Yeah I’m Gen X too. So I know about that old school loose definition of consensual that was really coercion and lack of self-control on the part of the adult.
Same, I, love modern interpretations of books from my youth. I keep wondering if any of the young people will find Bertrice Small, Queen of the Harems. I can pray.
I think at least part of Cathys abuse acceptance is part of her trauma. Even when her father was alive, theres a shadow of abuse in Corrine, who shows mild jealousy of her husbands attention to Cathy. After his death, Cathy os the first to notice the change in her mother. Even while the others are still holding on hope, Cathy is starting to see, just along the edges, of who her mother is. She has to quantify that love and abuse are hand in hand in order for her life in the attic to make sense.
As she grows, her attraction to Chris and sexual confusion meld her to love him, and his first "carnal" act with her is violent and somewhat against her will. But shes conflicted, because while Chris is the monster who atracked her, he is also the only person she has. With love and abuse so tied together, theres no way she would ever be able to enter a non-toxic relationship. Hence the more tragic any romance story for her would be.
100% AGREE WITH ALL OF THIS OMG. It started with Corrine's jealousy of her own daughter. By the time Chris attacked her, she had already learned to accept violently conflicting feelings about people. She had to "make it okay" for him and, on the surface, for herself.
Cories death being the most important moment in the series, then we flash forward to Andrew Neiderman writing Christopher's Diary Series and ruining it all, RUINING IT, ABSOLUTELY RUINING IT ALL, and if you keep this series going, I will gladly watch all of them, and also, god the way Andrew Neiderman just ruins this series good lord, fckng good lord he undoes EVERYTHING
Wait what did he do???? I only read the first one, Christopher’s Diary (because the writing was atrocious) but I remember almost none of it (except the aforementioned atrocious writing and how much Niederman could NOT sound like a teenage girl)
Same as MissManiacMellie, please illuminate us! Pretty please! :)
What did he do?
@@MissManicMellie *Spoilers*
At the end of the second Christopher's Diary book, it's revealed that Cory didn't die from arsenic poisoning, he was dumped at the hospital by Corrine and Olivia. The next book is Secret Brother, which has Cory get adopted by a wealthy man and his granddaughter. It's some of the worst retconning.
@@Star_Sagittarius WHAT THAT MAKES NO SENSE
I gave you an automatic follow as soon as I saw your Flowers in the attic. I struggle to put in words how much these books impacted me and changed me and changed my life to people who havent read them. The struggle, the pain that was reading these and always wanting to know more and more. And back then internet wasnt a thing for me I had to look on libraries for all the books to know what came next. Just enthralled. Please keep going while I mentally prepare myself for the next one and the prequel as they hit the hardest, and also would you consider talking about House of the dragon?
Me too! So glad I found this channel!
❤ Pleeeease part three!!!! I am reliving so much of my teenhood with your brilliant story telling. Great job! I need more on this haunting series!!!!
Yes, please 🙏
These kinds of stories really disturb me on a deeper level since becoming a mother. My baby came out of my body. How the mother in this story behaves so selfishly that she is just EVIL is beyond me.
AH! i thought of GOT during your last video because of the constant comparisons to porcelain dolls and Sansa being told she goes from porcelain, to ivory, to steal
Screaming crying throwing up i love you for this series
*Grabs keys and heads to Staples to buy a new box of pins"...BECAUSE I'VE RUN OUT OF PINS!!!!!!!!!! I can't stop watching you videos.
i have literally been waiting for this video WITH BAITED BREATH!!! i have always wanted an analysis on these books. THANK YOU - i’m watching RIGHT NOW❤
Same bro
Sameeee
The Dollenganger Series is the very definition of a guilty pleasure for me. It's a good continuation of the orginal.book but I honestly have take breaks from POTW because of how over the top dark it gets; I mean does Cathy know *any* man that doesn't want to or has SAed her or someone else?
Besides that did anyone else notice that Cathy has a bit of an obsession with the female body and form? The amount of times she narrates about hips, legs, and especially breasts; even Yolanda has her personality compared to her bosom. I am sure there is something to say about Cathy's psychology on all this with her trauma with sexuality and even in relation to physicality being a dancer but it can be hard to think critically when a character always has their figure and bosom described in finite detail.
I just figured that was the male author not understanding how people actually think
@@pinkpugginz It's a female author.
It's hard for Cathy to not think about the female body when in her formative years that's all that people focused on for her, whether in a good or bad context. And because she thrives on the good context, she's so easily taken advantage of by people that say the right words to get to her, but she also has trauma from how she was treated when she was growing up, how her grandmother fixated on her growing body, and even before they went to the attic, Cathy was always very focused on looks and prided herself on having gorgeous hair like her mother's and wanted a gorgeous body like hers.
It's tragic and Cathy needed a therapist, not multiple predators at once, one of them being her own brother.
Some better phrases you could maybe use would be: instead of Paul having feelings he has "an inappropriate attraction to Kathy" and instead of them getting together they "began an inappropriate relationship." There are several concise synonyms that emphasize the wrongness with sensitivity that I see a lot of true crime UA-camrs use.
Loving this series, I'm hooked ❣️
I would die to hear your take on My Sweet Audrina. That was my first taste of VC Andrews (Dawn being next) and it sincerely twisted my mind and affected my reading journey forever.
LOVE My Sweet Audrina. I’m glad it was a stand alone.
AGREED SO HARD
I enjoyed this take on flowers of the attic so much that i brushed up on the second book to get ready for this
As a fan of AOSIAF, VC Andrews, and gothic horror (who also thinks incest is very bad), it can be difficult to engage in analysis both in and outside of the fandom. Thank you for making this series. I don't know much beyond the first novel. It was marketed as a "forbidden romance" to my teenage self on tumblr. It's actually just deeply sad. Real horror and tragedy happens within our homes and families. Something not talked about is the horror that comes with looking like an abuser to thanks for highlighting it. I think Andrews is written off at large as a soap opera "trashy" novelist. As outrageous as some plots get, there's truth. A lot of everyone's actions make sense when you consider their traumas.
Anyway, I can't wait for more videos from you
Its Nobel prize lit compared to popular romance authors today like Colleen hoover. And it wasnt considered romance when it came out. It was horror
just watched your first video on Flowers in the Attic and i was instantly hooked to your channel
Honestly I don’t even care they are siblings at this point cause these bitches went through too much and they deserve to be happy.
That’s usually the generally consensus when you finish the series lol
Yeah that’s how most of us feel. Christopher was the healthiest relationship Cathy ever had! (The attack in FITA was completely out of character for Chris and I’m pretending like it didn’t happen)
@@Natalie_11188even if it did he was literally in a child prison dying of starvation and poison. Dude was feeding his blood to his siblings to keep them alive. None of this is an excuse for SA and idk if he was loopy from the malnutrition. Cathy forgives him and he never does it to anyone again so hell i might forgive my brother too.
@@cyagami90 yup.
god bless you for doing this series on behalf of all the middle school VC Andrews fanatics
Iread the series far too young, and reread it as an adult, so I thought I was reasonably familiar with it. But apparently I completely blocked out Paul's two headed souvenir. I can't describe the sound I made when you hit that, but there was definitely a horrified laugh mixed in. Andrews didn't miss a horror!
I related to Cathy because she struggled to process the trauma and abuse she endured and manage the all internal changes when you lost belief in the world as safe and the symptoms that abuse left. What the VC Andrew Flowers series taught me is the cost to a person who chooses to pursue punishing an abuser.
You can achieve your goal of ruining those people who abused you. However, it doesn't erase the past abuse or lessen the unprocessed pain and trauma.
Instead, the time and energy could've been used on learning how to manage her and Chris's emotional co-dependence and enmeshment that led to an incestuous pair bonding between them. Cathy was a very observant and intelligent young woman who had no idea how to set boundaries with anyone but strangers, especially learning how to identify and defend herself from predatory "protectors" and accepting that none of the abuse she and her brothers and sister suffered before or after was their fault.
I forgot to mention that incest can occur in cases of extreme social isolation, plus the Grandmother's unhealthy focus on Chris and Cathy's relationship, and her extreme abuse put them in the position of defending each other from her. However, Olivia's worst example of her obsession with her twisted fanatical piety is discussing and projecting all her disgusting ideas on all her grandchildren being predestined to be evil because they were born of incest.
In fact, the grandmother's fire and brimstone lectures on sexuality and atonement backfired. One thing I always believed was although Olivia had twisted fanatical beliefs about Christianity
she was absolutely sincere and devoted to a fault about her twisted interpretation.
I've wondered recently if she knew what she put her grandchildren through created not only incestuous emotional enmeshment which caused Chris and Cathy to act out their enmeshment with one another physically? Oddly Olivia reminded me of Cersei Lannister in the books, she had people spying on Margery and Loras because she was convinced they were incestuous even though she knew Loras was gay!
There is a hilarious line in the book about Cersei's point of view about her suspicions at Joffery's and Margery's wedding as she observes Margery and Loras dancing together, she compares Lora's sexuality akin to preferring ale to drink, it wouldn't stop one from drinking wine if no ale was available. Cersei was determined to learn if it was true.
So I've wondered would've Olivia had another stroke over the incest or felt vindicated in her fanatical piety?
I will always believe Corrie married her half-uncle in part as a way of giving the finger to her mother for her heretical fanatical religious piety.
According to the prequel book Garden of Shadows, Olivia sees Chris looking at Cathy the same way their parents looked at each other, so perhaps they always had eyes for each other before the attic, cause I don’t believe all siblings would end up committing incest if they were socially isolated.
@@Freezient What I was talking about is a sadly known consequence of extreme abuse and neglect. It is a rare occurrence that is true but usually happens from a lack of any other person to turn to for emotional or physical support and closeness.
It is not incest born of lust, desire, or being groomed into an incestuous relationship from a pedo relative or affection between attractive siblings (cough cough hint) but desperate preteens usually.
Plus, I always thought the incestuous relationship between Chris and Cathy that between developed them appeared me as a pronounced symptom of severe emotional enmeshment due to co-dependency from being forced into extreme social isolation from being locked in the attic of a mansion while almost being starved to death and depending on one another for everything.
@@Freezient You are making assumptions about situations that are not related to Cathy and Chris's situations.
Furthermore, if you did any research at all on how generational incest begins and continues the greatest predictor of incest is geographical social isolation, and poverty being left out of social interaction with wider society.
Social Scientists and amateur and professional genealogists all concluded
if a community suffered a cut-off of access to a wider larger part of their community through a lack of roads, and infrastructure or had built their homes in a secluded or isolated area either by design or lack of options. Incest would occur.
While other groups of families had decided to form a private insular community out of a desire to be self-sufficient in wider society would inadvertently end up becoming incestuous as larger families would absorb smaller families. You would have towns with people, that had begun where the marriages and relationships were not incestuous. Still, you end up within two generations you had kissing-cousin-cousin marriages and, by the third generation double-cousin marriages, and finally everyone can trace by their lineages to 5, 10, or 25 original families in two hundred years.
So Cathy and Chris were placed in a purgatory of isolation and neglect, which took them years to escape, but by then they had developed an extreme psychological dependence on one another, which was never addressed.
Chris said again and again he couldn't form romantic attachments to anyone else but Cathy. He tried to date and chose a kind young woman who was devoted to her and could never feel anything for her.
He finally broke up with her, because he felt guilty for wasting her time and breaking her heart.
@@karenlacey4549 So if what Olivia was seeing was true, that Chris and Cathy already had eyes for each other before the attic, what would be the cause of it?
@@Freezient It wasn't true, she constantly attributed any innocent sibling interaction as perverted. Cathy and Chris had been loving and supportive brothers and sisters. Olivia's abuse was an unrelenting projection of her twisted heretical Christian fanaticism that she actively and maliciously used psychological warfare on all her grandchildren, but she fixated on Chris and Cathy just because they resembled their parents. This is similar to children who have abusive parents who constantly tell them they are worthless. These children internalize the belief they are worthless and they always have been.
Chris and Cathy stood up against her as long as they could. But slowly they began to conform to the idea they were fated to repeat their parent's choices.
Oh, I think Cathy DEFINITELY got pregnant with Bart's baby on purpose. I LOVE that scene where she tells him while she's casually knitting baby booties. And when he tries to make her stop and talk to him for real, she's all "You're unraveling it!" A comedy QUEEN.
Hey the second part dropped!
Edit: man Bart out here having one HECK of a Christmas party
I am so so glad you did this review. I read the first book and was grossed out and weirded out, but I trudged through. I only made it about 16th of the way through the second book before putting it down and not picking it up again, so I really appreciate you doing this and seemingly taking one for the team so I could know what happened without actually having to read the book. Thanks again great content.
I absolutely love this series!! Please do the movies too! This is the only analysis on these books that feels calm and appropriate for all the trauma and drama written. It’s such a good listen thank you!
Heavens. I remember this as my favorite of the first 3 books and I was glad that Cathy got Bart from her mom. When I got to book 3 and the Bart/zipper question.... it finally hit me. All of it. I noped out of the series so hard at that point. However, grown up me is really enjoying your take on all of these books.
Thank you for this review. You said a lot of things that I had thought about this story for a long time! A lot of other famous reviews, even current ones, tend to lay a lot of blame on Cathy for her actions in the book. I saw a review before I read the book so I, like others, assumed that Cathy becomes some kind of slutty, revenge-driven bitch. Then I read the books and saw this quote from somewhere. I can't remember it exactly, but it was something along the lines of 'you blame me for being a monster, but not the people who made me into a monster'. And yes: much of the blame was placed on Cathy for being with multiple men and wanting revenge on her mother but we hardly ever stopped to consider that these older, flawed, predatory men might have been at fault here.
Paul, the man twenty years her senior who admitted to raping and cheating on his sexually-traumatized wife who quite clearly suffered from depression at some point in their marriage. Then lied further about her being in a coma for years after. Julian, the abusive, egocentric maniac who, in my opinion, didn't deserve an ounce of forgiveness. Bart, the married man who engaged in an affair with Cathy, even when he knew that cheating on his wife was wrong, as Cathy CONSTANTLY reminded him. Even Chris, the one we're supposed to root for, who continues to push and harass Cathy to be with him, to a very unhealthy degree. Even going so far as to wish they were back in the attic so he could be the only man in her life. But no, it can't be their fault! Cathy is the beautiful, young femme fatale, set on revenge towards her abusive, greedy mother who tried to murder her and her siblings to ensure her own gain. Clearly, Cathy is to blame here.
While she is responsible for the actions she takes, it was gratifying to hear you hold the other characters accountable for their actions too. I know there will be people popping up, saying 'it's just a story!' but stories like this, with the kind of popularity they hold, can affect the lives of the real people who read them. Especially as V.C Andrews herself claimed that it was based on a true story. Blaming the woman alone, who was a victim in many of her situations, is toxic. That shouldn't be what people take away from these stories.
I've never read the books but grew up knowing the infamy of the first book and seen the old movie. So it's super interesting to hear it all (and fun to listen to while gaming). I really appreciate how you frame a lot of the most messed up parts as tragic because really it truly is. It is quite dark and tragic in a way. So much of the awful stuff is a result of trauma and abuse.
There's so much... uh... low comprehension (misunderstandings?) I guess, in some people now that many assume certain conflicts in stories are there because the author must think it's hot/sexy/okay and is romanticizing it, and I realize now that maybe in many of those cases they're only reacting to the fact that the bad thing happens without considering or giving the context. And regardless it is still really messed up. Like. Jesus. And it got a lot worse in this holy damn. But I guess that's part of what makes it intriguing, like watching an horrible accident unfold in front of you.
As horrific as the book is, your coverage and break down was great. Thx amazing job well done
I squealed when I saw this !!!! I’m so happy that you are continuing this !!
Hi ~ I read this series around 1979. I remember loving it, but had forgotten most of it. How fun to revisit! Thank you so much for this enjoyable summary !!
47:59 this bit is so sad because it’s almost word for word what Olivia says in Garden of Shadows to herself when the children come to Foxworth Hall.
Thank you for these! I'm one of the many Gen Xers who read these in my teens. Revisiting them in adulthood is really eye-opening (I remember thinking Paul was one of the good guys in my initial reading, for instance). Thank you for taking these books seriously.
I would be very interested to learn what you think about Andrew's ghostwriter and his impact on her legacy.
VC Andrews has so many great series, would love to hear your take/synapses of all them lol you’re very well spoken and you do the work justice, which, as a fan, is invaluable. Wishing you continued success 🫶
Hurrayyyy I've been waiting for this video
Fyi, for anyone interested, there is a saga telling the story from Chris' perspective. They are questionable, to say the least, but they give the insight of the med school
I have come back to petals the most out of any book in the series! It truly has it all and is very memorable I think
So excited to see that you posted the second part of this series! I read the first one a while back and never got around to finishing the rest. I’m excited to see how the saga ends.
I started reading this series when I was 12 because my mom thought it was a story about some kids and bought it for me at a flea market for 25 cents. I never really stopped thinking about it and reread it every now and then. I have them all on audible now but those old paperbacks are still on my bookshelf. I thought it was funny that in the movie adaptation of POTW, they found the Paul storyline so problematic that they blew right past it and started the movie with his funeral lol.
Woop woop! Part 2!
Thanks for bringing back my favorite part of the original videos.
All 👏 the 👏 men 👏 in 👏 Cassies 👏 life 👏 are 👏 trash
As I said it lives rent free in my head. Really excited for part 3.
Cathy
This is like an adult version of my book and record sets when I was little lol! I love it and it even has witty commentary about the story! And a lot of pins. ❤😂🎉 I think I first read Flowers in the Attic the summer before seventh grade. I remember thinking I wasn’t really sure about wanting to become an adult if this is what it was going to be like. Thank you for your work on this!
Trashy novels sometimes illuminate social problems better than serious case studies do. (Example: Valley of the Dolls, which actually was a stinging portrait of the toxic and destructive effect of male beauty standards on women). Petals on the Wind is a detailed case study of the long-trail effects of abuse - crushed self-esteem, feeling isolated from peers, getting in one toxic relationship after another. Cathy stays with Julian because part of her believes she deserves no better. Honestly, it’s hard to say which of Cathy’s men is the worst, though I have to say the nod goes to Paul, the groomer. (I do wonder if this was the first time that Henny, sweet as she was, accidentally ended up being Paul’s Ghislaine Maxwell.)
IM SO HAPPY!!!!!!!! I loved your first discussion so much. I reread the first book right after and the second in prep for this!! feels like a lil book club.
This is my favorite book in the series. So much happens in a small amount of time.
I read these books in middle school. (I remember twilight being a hugely band book in my conservative small town. My friends not being allowed to read it because of sexual content. Meanwhile, at thirteen I'm reading Flowers in the Attic. Jesus Christ.) Thank you for this series. It's been interesting to revisit this series over a decade after reading it. Crazy how on point trauma is handled in these books (up to this point.) Looking forward to watching the next few!!!
How did my mother let me read this series in junior high! 😂
I always wanted to read the series,but really didn't want to at the same time. Thank you for the unanswered questions without the gory details.
Very much looking forward to the next review!
I still wonder how my mom let me read this series at the tender age of 12. Also i want to reread them now as an adult because there's so many things i didn't understand as a kid and i want to get the opportunity to understand them now
Not just me then 😂
Why is it always in our pre-teens? My mom gave me the same series too.
I think the horror of these stories, these childrens trauma, is how realistic and relatable it is. Like everyone remembers being a child in an adult world with unpredictable adults dictating their lives and limited their freedom, and most people experienced some form of bullying that they can relate that feelings how these kids felt. Even children lucky enough to be raised by loving and well rounded parents still had to juggle managing teachers, extended family, friends parents. Every child knows an adult bully in one way or another. And more over, even as children, most of us instinctively knew not all adults were safe. Let alone the children who did suffer direct and malicious familial abuse. Basically everyone can relate in some way to what those children went through and how life dealt them hard blow afrer another. And the fact that such experiences as Chris, Cathy and Carrie are so universal, so well known to happen in the real world behind closed doors but unknown until someone speaks out about it, is the root of the horror for stories like these. Not just that abuse goes on, but that it goes on so easily and it so hard to see around us most of the time because it happens behind closed doors or byaster manipulator who can twist people against the abused.
Oh wow, im lucky! I JUST got to enjoy your flowers in the attic vid and didn't notice this was new! I've never read the series BUT my mom showed me the 1987 movie to me when I was 12 or 13.
I saw it when I was like 8 or 9 that shit messed me up man
There's so many of us. Why were our mum's obsessed with showing us this as soon as we hit puberty?
My bff and I rented the movie when it came out back in the day and oh my word. Not nearly as traumatizing as the books but still, dang. We had no business watching that! Unforgettable and satisfying as Corinne got what was coming to her.
I always thought the two-headed embryo was her miscarriage from chris
Me too
The Dollenganger series is iconic. Looking forward to more reviews.
Good timing for me, just finished the Flowers in the Attic video. I hope you cover all the books. I have such a soft spot for this series even though I couldn’t finish it because it got too much.
Thank God I read this during college when my psych professor recommended this to our class.
Thanks for this!!! I read the series when I was way young to understand everything and how incredibly toxic it is, I question the sanity of my family when they let me read this but I remember I loved it, now… wellllll let’s just say I’m in kind of a shock but I reeeeeaaaalllly like your videos!!! Keep up!!!
❤ I was looking for this video from you after i finished your video on "Flowers in the Attic" and I am so happy to have this to enjoy tonight! Thanks for making this video!! ❤
This is amazing. Please continue with the other sequels! I've read these books several times, but I feel that VC Andrews novels sometimes drag out scenes longer than they need to be.
Your consolidation of these novels shows that the story behind this- and many of her novels- portrays generational trauma. You should do a whole series of her books!
I just reread the original 4 books due to your first video. Gosh. It was rough.
My Sweet Audrina was a great standalone that had ONE male figure that was non toxic. Mostly.
Do tell. And please don't say Arden. (It's been so long that I can't think of any male characters beside her father, the piano teacher, and Arden.) Arden was toxic in that he was weak, he went along with the deception out of guilt. Audrina deserved way better.
@@AmyBennett-kd2nb i forgot he knew all along ☠️
@@AmyBennett-kd2nb And he has an affair with Vera which including them banging on the floor next to Audrina when she's in her coma that she is able to see before she falls asleep again and that's not even talking about the whole grave site scene, so yep; none lol
I read these books about 27 years ago, in middle school, and I'm so glad you're talking about them! Thanks. Will definitely look out for if there be thorns.
I am really liking this series. I remember watching Flowers in the Attic on Starz one day in my early twenties. I kept thinking something was off. I quickly went out and bought the books. Keep up the good work.
I’ve been waiting on this since hearing the first books summary. I haven’t read any of these. Love your story telling ability
"Also....incest bad" Understatement of the century. 🤣😂
Please do the rest of this series. I havent read these books since high school, i devoured so much V.C Andrews that year ❤
Will you please do the 'My Sweet Audrina' duology? Flowers in the Attic always gets talked about because it's the most popular VC Andrews series but those two books are really crazy too.
44:17 😂 doesn’t everyone just hang out with their handsome stepdad lawyer?? Cathy is such a mess I love her.
Really looking forward to you covering If There Be Thorns
Lifetime did this book so bad. I had forgotten and watched it again after this review. They completely cut the story of Paul out, what!!!!
I’d love to hear your take on My Sweet Audrina. The first 3 Heaven books are also good too.
YES. The Landry Series is really good too! Heaven is one of my absolute favorites by Andrews. Those first 3 books were SO GOOD!
I'm so enjoying this series!
Thank you.
Long time fan of these books
I was waiting for this since I saw your FITA review last week! I read the book in high school and hadn’t read it in years and years, I forgot how bad it really was omg.
Thanks sooo much for this series! I loves Flower in the Attic as a child and never knew of the continued story.
I literally started reading the series of Flowers in the Attic because of your video on the first book and now it is my current hiperfixation. I'll patiently wait for your next video! I kinda feel like the third book jumps the shark....
I do not have the stomach to read these books but want to know what happens so thank you for these videos
You’re doing such a good job. It’s like I’m expiring the books all over again.
Thank u soooo much for continuing this saga!!
yoooo poor bart, man has NO IDEA what the heck was happening and got caught up in this whole mess
I found these books during my teens and loved them. Thank you for making this series.
I’d forgotten how much I loved and dreaded reading these books!
Clicked immediately! Great commentary, this series is so dark and I love your recap of it, thanks!