Major ? about Petals -- who was evil? - Flowers in the Attic (2014) Discussion

[–] funnygurl 11 years ago

Well I think they were both evil.

But their reasons for what they did make a difference regardless of who knew what.

Olivia honestly believed she was doing the right thing by keeping those kids in the attic. She believed that they were tainted with their parents' sin and that by keeping them locked up she was protecting the world from their evil. Yes it's crazy. But even if it came out that Corrine had kids and she lost her inheritance, Olivia would still have kept the kids hidden away, because she believed that was the right thing to do.

For Corrine the only motivation was money and self interest. Even if she knew that the money would go to her mother if it came out that she had kids, and then go to her when her mother died, she'd been living as a childless woman for three years. She'd married a man who believed her to be childless. Was she just supposed to say "Oh, by the way..."? Not only would she risk criminal charges at that point (child abuse, attempted murder, murder etc) but she would have a lot of explaining to do to everyone in her life. Even if she did know she was guaranteed to get the money sooner or later it was in her interests to make sure that no one ever heard from those kids again.

I think Cathy saw it that way. The fact that the will would've given her mother the money eventually wasn't the point. Corrine still would've kept them hidden away because they were inconvenient. Cathy focused her revenge more on Corrine because she saw her motivations were greed and self interest. She did a little revenge job on Olivia but it was far less elaborate and she cut it short. I think she knew that Olivia was motivated by a skewed sense of right and wrong rather than greed.

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[–] JacksCatGirl 11 years ago

Corrine was evil in the sense that she was indifferent in a childlike way, she never grew up and always had the inability to see past her own needs and couldn't for the life of her see the needs of other people, it was easy for her to overlook people and not see them as people with individual needs as great as her own, easy because she was so simple minded that she was a sociopath.

Because she was stunted in emotional maturity she loved her children like a little girl loves her dolls and of course that love waned to where it was as if she were a preteen wanting to put away, forget, and get rid of her "dolls" in an attic, now having more interest in boys. The thing about Corrine was she lived for three things, herself, the love of a man, and material things. She had to have a man's love at any cost and would do anything to keep her man and secure him, for Chris she gave birth to his children, and for Bart she tried getting rid of all her children--she did both without second thought to the consequences.

Corrine was demanding but she wasn't the brains, that was her main problem, if she had the brains she wouldn't have the desperate and constant need for the security of men and money. The brains actually was mostly Malcolm and the rest was Olivia and her religious hysteria Malcolm psychologically inflicted on her, Malcolm spent YEARS molding his young insecure wife, Olivia, into his dutiful soldier to unknowingly carry out his bidding with precision even long after his death.

Corrine didn't pay attention to details anymore than she paid attention to how much money she kept in her purse. Malcolm played Corrine by pulling her strings of self indulgence introducing her to Bart and spoiling her with money and gifts, Malcolm, I believe, always knew about the children and wanted to get back at Corrine for leaving him first by setting her up with Bart, a man unlike Chris who is not easily satisfied (a man much like herself), and then secondly getting her to do away with the only four people who would ever love her unconditionally, he wanted to trap Corrine in a cage of her own self indulgence. Malcolm was a very sick man and he loved to mold, condition, and play upon people's needs and insecurities for his own amusement.

Malcolm didn't know about Olivia's true wealth, he knew her father had money but her father made it so that Malcolm could never have any access nor even knowledge of the amount, and when the depression hit, Malcolm assumed her father lost his fortune in the stock market crash. The only smart thing Olivia ever did was keeping silent on her truth worth and never letting Malcolm know the truth no matter how much he tried to con and beat it out of her.

Jacks

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[–] blueathena623 11 years ago

I hope it was clear in my post that I think Corrine and Olivia were in the wrong, to put it lightly, but I think Olivia's character changes somewhat if you think Garden is accurate and she purposefully planned to harden her heart towards the children as opposed to her automatically hating them. She was horrid, horrid, horrid, but she did warn about the poison, she urged Corrine to take Cory to the dr, etc. Would she have eventually relented to the kids going to a boarding school or something? Probably not, but may be. But if she purposefully withheld the information that Corrine wouldn't be destitute after her father died, I think that makes her all the more horrid.

But in terms of Corrine, she started dating Bart pretty early on, and she was obviously included in some conversations about the will. I truly believe that initially Corrine really did want to do right by her kids. So given her connection to Bart, I don't think it would have taken 3 years for her to learn about Olivia being the ultimate inheritor. They were dating by the Christmas party, right? So that was only a year or so, right? While I know she couldn't spring the kids on Bart at that point, there wouldn't be criminal charges at that point (unless you think they would charge her with neglect, and that would have been a hard case back then) and I think she would have gotten away with them going to boarding school and a last name change if she still cared for them in the least. But if she did know about Olivia being the ultimate inheritor that early on, and still kept the kids locked up, I think that makes her all the more horrid.

I guess my question is being tainted by the fact that I originally read the series as a teenager but now I'm actually a mom, and its hard for me to imagine that it only took a few months for Corrine to decide that she never wanted to deal with her kids ever again.

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[–] funnygurl 11 years ago

So given her connection to Bart, I don't think it would have taken 3 years for her to learn about Olivia being the ultimate inheritor. They were dating by the Christmas party, right? So that was only a year or so, right?

Well we don't know if they were dating at that point but Corrine was certainly pushing it in that direction. And it might not be the first conversation that comes up. It's not stuff you want to grill a guy about on a first date! Plus remember a lot of legal stuff is confidential so Bart might only be able to tell Corrine the things that directly affect her (that if she has kids from her first marriage she's out of the will) and not things that are removed (if she's out of the will the money goes to Olivia). He might be able to tell her that she's Olivia's heir, but would Corinne know how much money that meant?

Let's assume it's a year and a half to two years before this conversation came up- if it did at all, and Corrine learned that she'd come into the money either way. At that point she's already established a childless identity with the world so she'd have to send them off the boarding school under a false name like you said. But even if she did that, someone would have to pay tuition. It's not like she can ask dad to pay. And Olivia believes that it's for the best that the world is protected from the "devil's spawn" so she probably wouldn't be much help with that. Plus if one of the kids got hurt/sick/in trouble Corrine would have to deal with it which could cause an awkward situation. And I think by that point (say a year or two in) she's definitely guilty of a few offenses legally. Maybe this wss before the murder/attempted murder but there are other things. Neglect/abuse may be hard to make a case for in the 50's, but given the kid's physical condition (all are described as being unhealthy due to lack of exercise and proper nutrition) a case could be made. Also the kids have been truant: none attended school for the past year, nor were they home schooled. Corrine "aided" their truancy. I'm also pretty sure there are laws about imprisonment. And even if Corrine got off, her reputation would be in ruins, and Bart would probably think a lot less of her! All if would take was one of the kids telling the truth to ruin her.

Correct me if I'm wrong but she started with the doughnuts around that point. Year two-ish. It's possible that she went through this line of thought at that point and then decided it was best for all involved if the kids didn't exist.

now I'm actually a mom, and its hard for me to imagine that it only took a few months for Corrine to decide that she never wanted to deal with her kids ever again.

As I said I think it was more than a few months. Closer to 1.5- 2 years. That said I agree that she loved them in the beginning and wanted to do right by them, but I don't think she loved the the way a normal (sane) mother loves her kids. I think she sort of thought of them as pets. Cute at first but later on they can get awfully messy and inconvenient. I think that's as much as Corrine is capable of loving anyone. She can't put someone else's needs before her own desires.

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[–] JacksCatGirl 11 years ago

You may be a mom but I'm positive you're not the peculiar type of mother Corrine was, I'm pretty sure you always wanted your children and had them for yourself and not solely to keep a man happy. That's the big difference, unlike normal mothers, Corrine's children are not a labor of love to her but burdens she took on for someone who is now dead.

I believe Corrine never wanted to be a mother and only became a mother because she wanted to please Chris and secure their relationship so he wouldn't leave her. One thing is for sure is that Corrine is a very insecure girl who never really became a woman and never tasted independence and feared being on her own without someone to lean on. Corrine was a follower who needed someone to tell her what to do and take care of her. She didn't decide right away to get rid of her kids, she was slowly conditioned by Malcolm(remember, she in the beginning was spending a lot of time with him, he for awhile made her be his personal nurse and caretaker and forced her to spoon feed him and entertain him at his bedside, separating her from her children because with Corrine, it's out of sight-out of mind), once again Corrine can easily be controlled and brainwashed the Stockholm way, she has the inability to act alone and fears having to stand on her own two feet. Her fear of being on her own without support was greater than her love of her children and Malcolm played upon that to punish her.

Jacks

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[–] VonFisch 11 years ago

The father, Chris Sr., was supposed to have been this wonderful person, brilliant, too, and yet, couldn't detect Corrine's weaknesses and values or did he overlook them because he was so enchanted by her beauty and charm? He really comes across as naive in retrospect, much like his oldest son regarding his mother.

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[–] sylvia67 11 years ago

Spoilers
Even in this book when Corrine is now an old woman and released from the mental hospital, she confesses to her selfish was but never confesses to wanting to murder the kids.. She says she wanted to make them sick and holds on this story... Has anyone read If there be thorns.. if you have please give me your impressions of the book.

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[–] QuintessentialBella 11 years ago

I think Corrine genuinely believes that the children were just supposed to get sick. I mean, as in, she's told herself that over and over and over to be able to live with what she did. On some level Corrine probably knows what she did wrong but admitting it is just not plausible, because she prefers pretending that she did act for the good of her kids and that she did what she did because she thought it would turn out for the best.

My opinion on Corrine is that she's just helpless. Completely helpless. And stuck in this picture her father painted where the woman is useless and good for nothing but arm candy and being pretty and giving the husband everything he wants. I think she just got lost in the idea that men rule everything and everyone and women are just there for the ride as long as the men wants them to be. Thus, she was willing to get rid of her children selfishly, but at the same time for the reason that it was just supposed to be that way - because her father, a man, told her how it had to be. This is a reason, I believe, that Corrine never could respect Olivia as she respected her father. Olivia was a woman, and she too, was just a pawn.

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[–] VonFisch 11 years ago

It's been many years (decades) since I've read Thorns but I do recall she kept saying she only wanted to make them a little sick. I don't understand it really.

I kept wondering why Corrine showed favoritism to Bart and didn't seem all that interested in Jory. Just because he was her second husband's son? Both children are related to her only through Cathy. I seem to recall that Jory looked kind of like a dark haired Foxworth and he resembled her son, Chris, in personality. I guess Corrine's first family and first husband are dismissed again.

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[–] ednalyn99 11 years ago

I think Corrinne felt Bart jr. belonged to her since he is the child that should have been hers.

She's twisted really and selfish.

And I guess she knows she has no chance of winning over Jory who was more grown up and more emotionally stable.

Bart jr. she can still win his affections by creating an image of the doting grandmother vs the busy parents. His needy and unstable nature is ripe for Corrinne's manipulations.

She's quite the operator. During the confrontation between Chris jr. and Corrinne in If There Be Thorns, she was obviously trying to create a wedge between Chris and Cathy by reminding Chris that Jory and Bart are only Cathy's kids and not his. Always manipulative and trying to get the men on her side. That's Corrinne's way.

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[–] JacksCatGirl 11 years ago

Corrine LIES(oh she LIES!) and she'll ALWAYS put the blame on someone else and will NEVER take responsibility for her actions, she'll play the victim till the end--it's all she knows how to do really.

Don't believe that crock about her wanting to make them sick so they'll get sent to the hospital where it would get them away to safety--(Really Corrine?) What bull!

Jacks

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[–] sylvia67 11 years ago

I want to thank everyone for their opinions. Made for interesting reading..

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[–] sylvia67 11 years ago

I always felt that Chris was the only kid that Corrine perhaps truly loved... I felt that on some level she was threatened by Cathy's strength and determination and she just had the twins because Chris Sr. wanted them. I remember in Flowers in the Attic she told Cathy that she looked like Corrine, but that she was not like her in her personality, that she was more aggressive and more determined. I think the only thing she liked about Cathy was watching her dance in her ballet performances.. since she dragged Bart to them...

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[–] ednalyn99 11 years ago

Another thing that has me wondering about COrrinne is her reasoning behind extending Bart jr.'s inheritance claim to another 10 years. I don't understand it. She knew it would piss off Bart jr. especially since Chris jr. is the administrator until he gets to claim the Foxworth Fortune.

Was it truly so Bart can build his own fortune and find himself?

Or was it V.C. Andrews running out of ideas on what issues to give Bart jr.?

Or is it to show Chris Jr. as Corrinne's real favorite?

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[–] sylvia67 11 years ago

Jacki thank you for ur critical analysis.. Corrine had me going for a while in that book she almost had me feeling sorry for her...

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[–] sylvia67 11 years ago

In, If there be thorns, Corrine confesses to Jory that she was a bad mother, she does take responsibility then.

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[–] ednalyn99 11 years ago

The father, Chris Sr., was supposed to have been this wonderful person, brilliant, too, and yet, couldn't detect Corrine's weaknesses and values or did he overlook them because he was so enchanted by her beauty and charm? He really comes across as naive in retrospect, much like his oldest son regarding his mother.

The men in the V.C. Andrews universe are never smart when it comes to their women. They become hapless lapdogs or beastly versions of themselves once they see the V.C. Andrews heroine. It's a twisted way of flattering the heroine. She's so beautiful that these men just totally lose their mind and senses.hehehe

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[–] VonFisch 11 years ago

Someone here linked me to this blog:

http://vcablogorama.blogspot.com/

I have taken the time to read through it and found it really funny and I think a lot is spot on and describes what I was trying to say in the other thread about Chris's obsession with Cathy, too.

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[–] ednalyn99 11 years ago

Personally, I find this to be the best humorous review of a V.C. Andrews book and character analysis:

http://www.mrsgiggles.com/books/andrews_petals.html

She totally gets how self-absorbed and vain Cathy truly is and how ridiculous the books really are. haha

I'm surprised though no one has really mentioned how bad Cathy's Daddy issues are. Check out the men she hooks up with:

Paul -- adoptive father
Bart -- stepfather
Chris jr -- son, look-alike and character copy of her biological father

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[–] rikajessie 11 years ago

That is a pretty good analysis.

Cathy's romantic relationships are bizarre and unhealthy if you ask me, but I think it was all supposed to show how traumatized she was by the imprisonment. Basically, I think she was driven crazy.

I don't like the men she was involved with, especially Bart, after that it would be Paul. I like Chris though, he was the only one I felt was truly decent, unfortunately he's her brother............

I see the FITA saga as a story of a dysfunctional family that stretched back way before Cathy was born, and how that dysfunction and abuse affected the whole family and how it deprived these children of the normal, good lives they could have had.

Also, I don't see Cathy as the classic Mary Sue. Mary Sues usually lack flaws in their personality, which Cathy has. Cathy is a victim, though she does have strength and her relationships are flawed, her best one is with Chris and he's her brother.

Mary Sues I've read in fiction usually end up with a perfect life. Not so with Cathy and all of her men in some way were sort of bad people except for Chris.

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[–] sylvia67 11 years ago

Mary Sue? who is Mary Sue?

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[–] funnygurl 11 years ago

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue

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[–] rikajessie 11 years ago

Mary Sue is a term that's used for a female character that dominates a story, that everything is perfect about her and all the men are in love with her. Sometimes it's her perfect beauty, her perfect personality.....she can end up saving the world....being related to nobility.....things like that.

Have you ever read or seen Stephen King's Misery? In that story, the main character wrote a cheesy romance novel heroine named Misery who pretty much fits the criteria for a Mary Sue. Every man is in love with her, she's perfectly beautiful, no other woman can compete with her.

I forget where the term originated. For a male character like that I think it's called a Gary Stu?

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[–] ednalyn99 11 years ago

I think Cathy was subconsciously not choosing the "right type of guys" 'coz all along she knew she had already found the right one. Chris.

She just couldn't express her love for him in a complete way.Hence the random guys who were substitutes with whom she can express the physical love she can't have with Chris.

Well, they were not totally random men. They were mostly tools for her revenge.

Julian so she can have a successful dance career so she can show Momma that she's more talented than her. Paul so somebody can support her financially while she goes for her dream (also Paul would financially support Chris' medical education) Bart...the most obvious pawn for her revenge.

So it seems Cathy wasn't looking at good character as a criteria for choosing her alternative men. They were caught up in her revenge against Momma somehow.

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[–] rikajessie 11 years ago

That's true. I hadn't thought of it that way.

What's kind of sad though is Cathy really thought she fell for all these men and even though they weren't really good people, she kind of overlooks it or doesn't care about it or recognize it.

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[–] sylvia67 11 years ago

I always felt Cathy "used" the men she fell for as much as they used her so I didn't have that much sympathy for her. I hated how Julian treated her the most but she never loved him at all, she just used him to advance her career and he knew it and reacted to that..

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[–] ednalyn99 11 years ago

Yeah Cathy and Julian together were a disaster. Their weaknesses were too similar for them to get along. Cathy couldn't love Julian 'coz he reminded her too much of himself. The parts of herself that she hated. In FITA, she mentions that she loves Chris because he provides her with what she lacks...makes her stable. That's what essentially she's looking for.

Both Julian and Cathy were also consumed with hate and revenge. Julian against his father and Cathy against her mother. Two bitter people together have a very slim chance of finding happiness.

Julian also had a warped view of loving Cathy. He saw her as pure and virginal but I bet he was disappointed to find out she was anything but. And when Cathy disappoints, he turns against her...beats her and sleeps with young girls. His love for her is similar to how Malcolm "loves." Selfish and possessive. And Cathy hated that.

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[–] rikajessie 11 years ago

That's true. I still think of her men though as not moral, good men. Paul had cheated on his wife, his behavior with Cathy was inappropriate, he performed an abortion on her without even telling her, Julian was doing dirty things with her own sister and had attractions to underaged girls, and Bart was an adulterer not just with Cathy but with other women as well.

It seems like V.C. Andrews knew the kind of men I've known!

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[–] ednalyn99 11 years ago

Paul also cheated on Julia while they were still gf and bf. I go back and forth on Paul. I mean, he really did help those kids. But I really can't help but think he's a real creeper. Buying nighties for an underaged girl was just...blech

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[–] ednalyn99 11 years ago

What's kind of sad though is Cathy really thought she fell for all these men and even though they weren't really good people, she kind of overlooks it or doesn't care about it or recognize it.

I think she only convinced herself that she loved them so she can say that she's not like Momma who uses and hurts people to get what she wants. Cathy's very good at rationalizing.

But I don't think she truly loved them. Paul she might have felt gratitude for him and truly cared for him (altho I find him creepy for buying her nighties when she was only 15 and isolating her from her siblings on the weekdays)...but she didn't love him the way she loved her Christopher Doll. He was always a substitute and a way for Chris to become a doctor.

But I really can't hate on Cathy. She really was damaged because of the imprisonment and how the Grandmother destroyed her image of herself and self-worth (devil's spawn all the time). Even so, there was one person she loved more than she loved herself...and that was Chris. Look closely and everything she did was really for him. Even her revenge.

I think she even loved him more than her own children.

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[–] rikajessie 11 years ago

Good analysis of Cathy. I agree. I like Cathy, I don't think she's a bad person. She was damaged, and I like her and Chris even though I'm no supporter of incest, lol. Their's was a really special case where you can't help but feel sorry for them and understand how they got messed up.

One thing I didn't agree with in the link someone provided, the Mary Sue thing, that Cathy was a sociopath, I don't think so. Cathy loved her siblings, her children, her father, even her mother to an extent after what she did. I think of a sociopath as someone who only cares about themselves.

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[–] ednalyn99 11 years ago

One thing I didn't agree with in the link someone provided, the Mary Sue thing, that Cathy was a sociopath, I don't think so. Cathy loved her siblings, her children, her father, even her mother to an extent after what she did. I think of a sociopath as someone who only cares about themselves.

Yeah i don't think she was a sociopath either. I think the reviewer was just exaggerating for comedic effect. If there was a sociopath in VCA, it was Corrine.

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[–] rikajessie 11 years ago

Do you think Corrine was really more a victim of abuse though? Her bizarre upbringing?

I think the major sociopath was Malcolm and his father. They were the ones that started the whole terrible story.

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[–] ednalyn99 11 years ago

She did have a bizarre upbringing. Both doted and indulged, but easily and cruelly punished when she displeased her parents. That's bound to have some effect.

But it's no excuse for what she did tho. I also think there's a genetic factor in all this. A defective gene in Malcolm, Corrine, Cathy and Bart jr. They all have that ability to be cruel and detached from their victims. But it was the worst in Malcolm and Corrine.

I also figure that Cathy's tendencies were tempered or controlled because Chris was there to support her and forced her to face up to what cruelty she could possibly inflict. Remember how many times he reminds her to stop her plans for revenge? And that opening scene in If There Be Thorns when he confronts her abt the beds in the attic. In the same way that when Chris Sr. was alive, Corrine was quite the loving mother...not the greedy sociopath she became after his death.

Bart Jr. was also eventually able to be "set free" from that Malcolm gene because of the presence and death of Chris in his life.

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[–] EMME30 11 years ago

I think you are mistaken in Garden of Shadows Malcolm's father Garland was a very nice man. Olivia even talks about how much she liked him. Malcolm disapproved of him for marrying what he saw as a flighty girl half his age. The truth is he really wanted her. Malcolm was the sick sociopath not Garland!

Go shake down the 7-11 for a day old wiener. Melvin- As Good as it Gets

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[–] rikajessie 11 years ago

Yeah, you're right, I don't know what I was thinking. I don't even remember Malcolm's father or his name. Maybe I was thinking that he had raised Malcolm wrong and that's why he was the way he was?

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[–] Sweet_T0209 10 years ago

So Malcolm knew about the children? In The Garden of Shadows Olivia stated she wanted to keep the kids away from Malcolm because he would be bewitched by their beauty and everything would start up all over again: her being the outcast while Corrine and her children are loved on over her.

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[–] EMME30 11 years ago

If you read the book Garden of Shadows (prequel to Flowers in the Attic) You find that initially the Grandmother wasn't as evil as portrayed in FITA. She went through a load of stuff. She was nice, but just a wallflower. (The book was from Olivia's POV) She also knew how beautiful the children would be & vowed she would MAKE herself not become attached to them. She had been abused a LOT by Malcolm Foxworth! I don't see it as an excuse for what she did to the children, but that was just her reasoning. And we find in GOS that the REAL reason Olivia was so sickened is because she knew the truth. Corrine & Christopher were half brother & sister. He wasn't just her half uncle! Imagine her horror when they fell in love & she knew the truth. She faked her pregnancy with Corrine after Malcolm raped his Father's widow & got her pregnant!

As for Corrine Bart acknowledged in Petals on the Wind that an EXTRA codicil had been added to the will. Corrine couldn't even have children with HIM! So, no children with him or disinheritance if it was proven she had children with Christopher. Even if the money was supposed to go to her from Olivia she would have been disinherited. So, the money was her motivator & she was determined to get rid of the children. Bart was livid with Corrine for not telling him about the children though. I believe he said she could have told him about them & he would have found a way to thwart her Father's will. He would not have had a problem with her having children already.

Go shake down the 7-11 for a day old wiener. Melvin- As Good as it Gets

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[–] Sweet_T0209 10 years ago

Out of all the characters in the entire Foxworth family series I think Malcolm and his mother, Corrine Sr. were evil. Olivia, Corrine Jr, and Cathy only reacted to the deck of cards handed to them. The men in Cathy's life didn't make a tremendous impact on the series; therefore I won't count them as being contributors to the evil vicious family cycle of the Foxworths.

It all began with Malcolm's mother when he was a little boy. For those who read Garden of Shadows you already know. I am not sure what transpired between this mother-son relationship. All we know is she was a very beautiful woman, the first woman in his life that heavily influenced his opinion about women. This beautiful woman left him while he was 5. She abandoned him. And from that point on he saw beautiful women as being good only for being laid and deceiving which is why he selected Olivia who turned into a monster as a result of his treatment of her. He believed his mom planted herself in Garland's, Malcolm father path in order to land a rich man. This is why he wanted a plain Jane for a wife. For this who read Olivia's story we learn Malcolm has this unnatural attachment and regard for his mother. While raping Alicia he had her to dress in his mother's gown and made her chant Corrine while he was thrusting himself into her. He kept calling her his mother's name. I think incestuous tendencies began long before Chris and Cathy. Malcolm was obsessed with his mom and the evil begins here. Malcolm's mother caused the evil that follows in the novels.

As a result of Malcolm's treatment of Olivia, because of his childhood, she turns into a cold hearted monster that started out as an innocent young woman yearning for love. Her yearnings turns into ice and the feelings of hate is transcended to Corrine Jr. who adopted a selfish personality as a result of her father's affection for her and all the men in her life. She never knew what real love was because Olivia could never loved her like a mother would since she was not her real mother. Corrine suspected men's approval of her was a result of her looks. Since all she knew was riches she would be damned if anything stop her from obtaining the lifestyle she always knew, no not even her children. Her parents reduced her to this point. I personally don't think she wanted them to be in that attic. Corrine didn't know how to really love because she like I said she didn't know what true love was. All she knew was showers of gifts. Since she didn't have that to provide to her children she reasoned that keeping them in the attic was a great choice. And as a result one of her children dies. Olivia on the other hand refused to let Malcolm know about the children because she feared that once again someone else would be loved and respected over her. She refused to allow Corrine's inbred children to be Malcolm's trophies because of his thoughts of beautiful women/people.

Cathy wasn't evil either. She is psychologically scarred as a result of the emotional and physical abuse she received while living in the attic. This leads to her making the wrong decisions for her life romantically.

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[–] DCompton86 10 years ago

I assume that Corrine likely did get a chance to read the will considering she was married to the family lawyer. Yes she was a bit stupid, but she wasn't that stupid. If I'm not deeply mistaken she started having the children poisoned while she was on her honeymoon, which is before the grandfather dies. So she had found out she needed to get rid of the grandchildren. I would venture a guess she found out a little while before she married Bart so she could have made up a story on why she wouldn't have children with him.

"It's better to be hated for who you are than be loved for who you aren't."

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[–] ednalyn99 10 years ago

Corrine always had her eye on the fortune.

That's the reason why she even went after Bart Sr., the lawyer. Even hooking up with Chris Sr. was a way to get to Malcolm's fortune. Chris Jr. pointed it out to her when they were arguing in If There Be thorns.

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