FLOWERS IN THE ADDIC

In Partial Fulfillment of the

requirements on Book Report.

2021

Submitted by:

Wika Meliani

403180071

Submitted to:

Bahren Nurdin, SS, MA

6th July, 2021

WIKA MELIANI/403180071 /BSIVIB/2021 | 1

FLOWERS IN THE ADDIC
V. C. Andrews

WIKA MELIANI/403180071 /BSIVIB/2021 | 2

 INTRODUCTION

Flowers in the Attic is a 1979 Gothic novel by V. C. Andrews. It is the first book in

the Dollanganger Series, and was followed by Petals on the Wind, If There Be Thorns, Seeds
of Yesterday, Garden of Shadows, Christopher's Diary: Secrets of Foxworth, Christopher's
Diary: Echoes of Dollangangerand Christopher's Diary: Secret Brother. The novel is written
in the first-person, from the point of view of Cathy Dollanganger. It was twice adapted into
films in 1987 and 2014. The book was extremely popular, selling over forty million copies
world-wide.

The Flowers in the Attic is a 1979 novel by V.C Andrews. This book was the first
book in the Dollanganger series, with other movies Petals in the Wind, If there be Thorns,
Seeds of Yesterday, and Garden of Shadows. This was written in first person from the point
of view of Cathy Dollanganger. It was filmed in the 1987 and 2014. This book sold over 40
million copies worldwide.

WIKA MELIANI/403180071 /BSIVIB/2021 | 3

 CHARACTERS

1. Catherine Leigh Dollanganger

Catherine Leigh Dollanganger is the eldest daughter of Christopher and

Corrine. She is the sister of Kelly and Corey, and the sister of Christopher Dolangege.
Cathy is the narrator of the Dollanganger series. She has been married three times: the
first time to Julian Marquette; second only to Paul Sheffield; third is her own brother
Chris Dollanganger-Sheffield. She is the mother of three children.

2. Christopher Dollanganger

Christopher Dollanganger (Chris) is the eldest son of Christopher Sr. and

Corrine Foxworth/Dollanganger. He is Cathy's brother and the twins Corey and Kelly.
He is known for his unbrotherly love for his sister Cathy, which developed in the
attic, where he, Cathy and the twins Corey and Kelly were locked in the attic for
many years.

3. Carrie Dollanganger

Carrie is the younger sister of Cathy and Chris. Carrie lived with her two
siblings in Gladstone, Pennsylvania, and was five years old until her father was killed
in a car accident. Carrie and her family then moved to Virginia to live with their
grandparents, and her mother regained her father's love. Carrie, Chris, Cathy, and
Corey were locked in the attic of Foxworth Hall, so their grandfather did not know
their existence. Carrie and Cory became short and dull after being locked in the attic
for many years. Before experiencing in the attic, Carrie was extroverted, after which
she became docile and rat.

4. Cory Dollanganger

Cory is the quieter of the twins and is easier to keep clean. He has a talent for
music, teaches himself to play an instrument, and is able to teach all his brothers and
sisters how to play the guitar and even compose music.

5. Corrine Dollanganger

Corrine is portrayed pretty sympathetically in the beginning of the book. A

widow with four children and no skills to survive, she returns to her parent’s house.
Unfortunately, the circumstances under which she previously left the house mean that
she has to hide her children from her father.

Initially, she starts working at secretarial college so that she will have a skill to
take care of her brood but that desire is quickly put to rest when she decides to wait

WIKA MELIANI/403180071 /BSIVIB/2021 | 4

 for her father’s death and the inheritance that will come with it. She quickly descends
into a selfish, money-hungry murderess as she aids and abets with her mother to hide
and to kill her children gradually.

Even after her father’s death, she remarries her father’s lawyer and quickly
forgets her children. She descends pretty quickly in the book as a hated antagonist as
she rapidly forgets her children and her life before Foxworth Hall.

6. Bartholomew Winslow, Sr.

Corrine's second husband, his role in the story is truly defined through Cathy's
eyes. Eight years younger than his wife, he happily didn't know that Corrine had any
children, and they lived in the attic. Later he and his wife left Foxworth Concert Hall.

7. Olivia Foxworth

She is the wife of Malcolm Foxworth, who is the grandmother of Dolange's

children and the cousin of John Amos. Olivia is a well-known evil stepmother who
hates her grandchildren with religious fanaticism. In this case, she is the evil
grandmother of the children. On the one hand, she tried to conceal the "mistake" of
her daughter Colleen calling the children to express her love for her daughter.
However, on the other hand, she is pure evil to the children, even trying to poison
Corey and trying to poison others.
8. Malcolm Foxworth

Corrine's father and Dollanganger's child's grandfather, he was described as

ruthless. The root cause of his behavior was revealed to be his half-brother having an
affair with his daughter Colleen, and they both left Foxworth Manor after being
discovered. He stated in his will that Corrine cannot inherit if she has any children
from this relationship. He died of a heart attack in the book, and this incident was
discovered by the children long after it happened.

9. Christopher Dollanganger, Sr.

Died in a car accident at the beginning of the book, we can only glimpse old
Chris through Cathy’s eyes. He was Corrine's first husband and the very loving father
of the children. In the first part of the book, his interaction with Cathy is very
sensitive to her feelings when she jealously thinks of not his favorite daughter after
the birth of a new child.

WIKA MELIANI/403180071 /BSIVIB/2021 | 5

 SUMMARY

The flower in the attic is the first novel in V.C.'s Dollanganger series. Andrews. In
this novel, four siblings are locked in a secluded second-floor room in their mother's
childhood home after their father's death. The children are told that they only need to stay
here until their grandfather dies and leave all his property to their mother. However, as the
years passed and the children were detained for more than three years, they began to doubt
their mother's dedication to their safety and began to find a way to escape. The flower in the
attic is a dark gothic story about greed and incest, which will fascinate readers until the last
paragraph.

The Dollanganger family lives in Pennsylvania, and their father often travels to the
public relations firm where he works. When the father is at home, the children will receive
many gifts and watch the parents greet each other affectionately. When a mother gives birth
to twins, a boy and a girl, and everyone is as perfect as the two older children Cathy and
Chris, the family will grow. However, when his father was killed in a car accident on the
night of his 36th birthday, everything changed. Mother began to work hard to pay the bills.
The mother is uneducated, has no way of making money to support the family, and has no
desire to receive education for this purpose. Instead, the mother turned to the family she had
humiliated and fled from.

The mother told the children that in order to move into their parents’ home, they
would be forced to abandon their home and all their property except two suitcases. The
mother told the children that her father was very ill and was about to die. Since both of her
mother's brothers were killed when they were young, she was the only heir to her father. The
mother hopes to win back his father's love and name it in his will. However, to do this, she
must return to her childhood home. The mother drove the children on the morning and night
train and led them through the desolate fields to the largest and richest home they had ever
seen. After arriving there, the children were taken up the stairs, where they were locked in a
secluded room on the second floor by their grandmother. The children received a list of rules
and were ordered to obey these rules while they were hiding in this room while waiting for
their grandfather's death.

At first, the children believed that they would only stay in this room for a few days
until their mother told their grandfather of their existence. However, this situation has
changed over time, and the children are told that their grandfather will never know of their
existence. However, the mother assured them that his grandfather was very ill and that he
would die in a few days or weeks. Chris and Cathy tried to turn this situation into a game
suitable for young children, creating a playroom in the attic, accessible through the closet of
the secluded bedroom they were waiting for. Chris and Cathy cleaned the attic with the help
of their mother, and began to decorate it with flowers and other works, and built a garden for
the young children. Over time, young children are used to playing in the dusty attic, making
insects and flowers for the garden together, or playing hide-and-seek in old wardrobes and
suitcases.

WIKA MELIANI/403180071 /BSIVIB/2021 | 6

 The mother tried to give the children expensive gifts, painting tools, TV and listening
to music to make them spend a pleasant time in a secluded room. At Christmas, my mother
brought rich, decadent food and exquisite gifts. However, with the passage of time, the
mother's visits became less and less. One day, my mother came to the room and announced
that she was married to a great man. She believed she would love her child. However, the
mother did not notice that her two eldest children were no longer children, but teenagers.
They needed to be the same as teenagers of the same age in order to bloom in their sexual
desires. Mom didn't know. Grandmother spotted Cathy staring at her naked body in the
mirror, severely punished her, put tar on her hair, and forced Chris to cut off the front part of
her precious hair.

Chris' idea was to make a key based on the impression of the key his mother used to
enter their secluded room. Using this key, Chris was able to escape the room at night and
rummaged through his mother's bedroom, stealing the money she accidentally left behind.
Chris hopes to get enough money to take care of himself and his siblings after they escape.
During this period, Cory fell ill and Cathy insisted that his mother take him to the hospital.
Mother did this, and came back a few days later to tell them that Corey was dead. The
children were heartbroken, but more determined than ever to escape. Then one night, Chris
decided to go to see his grandfather and tell him the existence of him and his siblings.
However, Chris discovered that his grandfather had been dead for several months. Not only
that, but Chris overheard several servants discussing the will and learned that if someone
proves the existence of Chris and his siblings, their mother will lose everything. Chris also
learned that his mother added arsenic to the doughnut powder sent to them every day.

Chris went back to the room and told Cathy everything he had learned. Then Chris
feeds Mickey, Corey's tamed mouse, and a piece of doughnut powder. The mouse is dead.
That night, Chris and Cathy packed up their things and ran away with mice, hoping to
convince the police that their mother had committed a crime against them. However, once
they are safe from Foxworth Hall, Cathy and Chris decide to continue their revenge another
day.

WIKA MELIANI/403180071 /BSIVIB/2021 | 7