MovieChat Forums > Flowers in the Attic (1987) Discussion > Incest, a strong theme in this movie

Incest, a strong theme in this movie

posted 9 years ago by leishayoung
6 replies | jump to latest

The major theme of this movie is incest IMHO. The father has a strange relationship with his daughter (almost romantic). You see the way the mother is looking at them both when he gives his daughter the jewelry box...it's a really weird moment; and it's hard to read what her mother is thinking, personally I think it's jealousy, but it could also be fear that the father will abuse the daughter.

The mother married her uncle (the kid's father) and got pregnant to him out of wedlock.

There's also the scene where the mother is removing her blouse for the whipping and you can see her father's face twitch as she reveals her body. To me this suggested that he was probably sexually attracted to her and had probably sexually abused her as a child.

The whipping alone suggests sado-masochism and sexual depravity.

The mother, has become hardened over the years, as the father has probably shown no sexual interest in her for most of their marriage, because his daughter was the focus of his sexual desire. The mother resents the daughter for this and takes out her rage on her and her children.

I also understand in the book that the brother and sister engage in incest whilst they are locked in the attic.

It's a very interesting story/film.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] 9 years ago

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[–] oprlvr33 9 years ago

Yes. And indeed, Bloom (director) should have exposed all of this in a special release Director's Cut. But he didn't. And ridiculously undermined the brilliance of Andrews' deep, dark, and colorful novel series.

Peanutlee33

[–] UpperEastSider 9 years ago

The major theme of this movie is incest IMHO. The father has a strange relationship with his daughter (almost romantic). You see the way the mother is looking at them both when he gives his daughter the jewelry box...it's a really weird moment; and it's hard to read what her mother is thinking, personally I think it's jealousy, but it could also be fear that the father will abuse the daughter.

From what I saw, I didn't think that Cathy and her father had any sort of "strange" relationship. I noticed the mother staring at them blankly but like you suggested it was most likely jealousy but who knows. I figured that maybe their marriage had sort of gone down hill over the years and had more of connection with his kids than he did with his wife.

There's also the scene where the mother is removing her blouse for the whipping and you can see her father's face twitch as she reveals her body. To me this suggested that he was probably sexually attracted to her and had probably sexually abused her as a child.

Good catch. I don't think I picked up on that.

The whipping alone suggests sado-masochism and sexual depravity.

How?/Why? The whipping was the parents' harsh form of punishment for what their daughter had done. I didn't think that her whipping had any relation to anything sexual.

The mother, has become hardened over the years, as the father has probably shown no sexual interest in her for most of their marriage, because his daughter was the focus of his sexual desire. The mother resents the daughter for this and takes out her rage on her and her children.

Either that or all the hate that she had built up inside of her, was due to what the daughter had done.

I haven't read the book. I've only seen the movie, so... I'm just going by what I gathered from that.

Respect what you have 🌌

[–] StaunchWoman 8 years ago

all the hate that she had built up inside of her, was due to what the daughter had done.

It started much earlier than that, before Corrine. But how Corrine came about didn't help things in the least, where Olivia was concerned.

We've met before, haven't we?

[–] Noirdame79 8 years ago

In the novel, Corinne tells Cathy and Christopher that she and her father had always been close until he cut her out of his will, but that her mother had always been cold and indifferent to her. Her two older brothers (who died in tragic accidents) were adored by their mother. Although it's clear in the early part of the book that Corinne loves her children dearly and they love her, she has a special bond with Christopher (probably because he is her first born and looks so much like his father) and Cathy has a close relationship with her father, not only because she looks like Corinne but her personality reminded him of his own mother. In the prequel book of the series Garden Of Shadows, partially written by V.C. Andrews and completed by a ghost writer after her death, it is revealed that Corinne and her husband (Christopher Sr) were actually half-siblings, but were brought up to believe that they were half niece/half uncle.

In the novel, Cathy was actually given the music box and the ring by her father before the twins were born (in the book, Cathy and Chris are 12 and 14 when they are first locked away; the twins are 4 years old), because he saw that Cathy was jealous and concerned that the babies would take her place in her parents' hearts and minds, so he gave her the gift as a way of reassuring her that he will always love her and that she will always be special to him. I didn't get a hint of incest while reading that, but in the film, I can see why some would read it that way.

Yes, incest is definitely a theme in the series of books, and hinted at in the film. However, in the novels, the relationship between Cathy and Christopher takes center stage, as they spend over three years locked away together during their adolescence and assume the parental roles for the twins. In the theatrical cut of the movie, the bond between them going beyond a brother/sister relationship is suggested, but not overtly depicted or stated, although the original director's cut did feature scenes that featured their romantic/sexual relationship more clearly. The footage was cut due to a negative reception from the preview audience and as of this writing, is presumably lost.