MovieChat Forums > Flowers in the Attic (2014) Discussion > About Cathy and Christopher

About Cathy and Christopher

posted 10 years ago by s9marti7
4 replies | jump to latest

I haven't read the books and have only seen the three movies.

I am confused on how the book supposedly portrays their first encounter and how the 2014 movie portrays it.

Spoilers below if you haven't seen the movie.

On Wikipedia the book summarizes the sexual relationship as Christopher raping Cathy. In the movie we see something totally different. My question is did Andrews classify this scene in the book as a rape because Cathy was clearly underage and could not consent? Or was it that Christopher forced himself onto her unwillingly?

[–] destyne76 10 years ago

It was rape in the book. Though afterward Chris showed remorse, threatening to castrate himself. Cathy told him she wanted it, she could have fought him off if she wanted to. But there was a huge rape undertone. I guess it's really left to interpretation, but I took it as rape.

Sidenote, and spoiler if you ever do read the book, Cathy has a lot of her first sexual encounters that could be interpreted as rape, then ends up falling in love with the rapist. (Bart Winslow for one, Paul was statutory rape, etc.)

Andrews made Cathy a very complex character, I never really could understand her.

~In the end the love you take is equal to the love you make~

[–] ScrystaLz 10 years ago

he raped her in the book, but in this adaption, they made it consensual.

[–] hodie1 10 years ago

I read the novel. Christopher didn't rape her in the novel, not in the way forcible rape is thought of; she certainly didn't go on to marry, live with and raise children with her rapist. It was an instinctual act on the part of both of them. Chris was older and knew more about sex from his knowledge of human biology, but they were both virgins.

[–] TrueRubberChicken 10 years ago

I am confused on how the book supposedly portrays their first encounter and how the 2014 movie portrays it.

I'll throw my two cents into this debate. What Chris did to Cathy in the book was mostly rape, but it was written really well in the sense that you felt equally bad for them both. It should go without saying that rape is never okay, but the circumstances were really unique, and due to it all, something inside him snapped. Cathy had no choice but to forgive him, and even soothe him saying she wanted it too (and on some level, that might have a grain of truth) because Chris was not only her brother, but her only rock in the attic.

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