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Petals on the Wind
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Petals on the Wind | |
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Petals on the Wind | comment |
Petals on the Wind, written by V. C. Andrews, published in 1980, is the second book in the Dollanganger Series.The plot picks up immediately after the events of the first novel after the Dollanganger children escape from the attic. The kids are adopted by Paul Sheffield, a kindly doctor who puts them each through school. Cathy finally fulfills her dream of becoming a world-famous ballerina, using her fame to fuel her revenge against her mother, while becoming embroiled in a series of tempestuous love affairs, including her Will They or Won't They? relationship with her brother Chris. Everyone Has Lots of Sex, until tragedy strikes, hardening Cathy's resolve to expose her mother's murderous lies and claim victory over her own past.For the 2014 Lifetime Movie of the Week see Petals on the Wind. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_126ce03c | type |
I Was Quite a Looker | |
Petals on the Wind / int_126ce03c | comment |
I Was Quite a Looker: Madame Zolta shows Cathy a photograph of an extraordinarily beautiful young ballerina, and Cathy is shocked to learn that the photo is of Zolta herself at the beginning of her career. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_1779f10e | type |
"Well Done, Son" Guy | |
Petals on the Wind / int_1779f10e | comment |
"Well Done, Son" Guy: All Carrie wants is for her mother to acknowledge her when she meets the latter on the street. She doesn't get her wish. A lot of Julian's emotional issues seem to stem from trying to get his parents' approval. Cathy nips that in the bud when Madam starts taking an interest in Jory's prospective ballet career. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_1869b4b1 | type |
Unreliable Narrator | |
Petals on the Wind / int_1869b4b1 | comment |
Unreliable Narrator: Many people deride this book for shoddy writing, not realizing the story is being told from the perspective of a screwed-up and deeply traumatized woman. Cathy's actions aren't always justifiable—but she portrays them as justified. She portrays men as enraptured with her beauty and falling in love with her instantly—but she seems to solely attract abusive scumbags. She portrays Chris as obsessed with her and constantly making unwanted advances towards her—but often "finds herself" kissing Chris, weeps when he leaves after a visit, and stares at him so often several other people comment on it, making it clear she has her own lingering feelings for him too. Corrine claims that Malcolm knew of her children's existence and knew they were in the attic, but also that he was always lording that fact over Corrine's head, making snide comments that the children should be dead, or even beating her. Cathy isn't sure if she believes this, knowing full well that Corrine has a talent for making her problems seem greater than the children's. Bart adds a bit more ambiguity to this, saying that Malcolm doted on Corrine when he was still alive and that he never saw any hint that he beat her as punishment. It doesn't help that Corrine spends most of the scene on the edge of a nervous breakdown. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_18aff462 | type |
Artistic License – Biology | |
Petals on the Wind / int_18aff462 | comment |
Artistic License – Biology: Carrie's health problems should not have lingered on as long as they have. Being so young, she would have thrived after treatment for her sunlight deprivation, malnutrition, and arsenic poisoning compared to her older siblings. Instead, however, her growth is stunted and she's forever dainty and pale. Cathy and Chris should have been in worse health than Carrie was with the arsenic poisoning, especially with all of Cathy's dancing causing her to burn more calories than she consumed. Instead Cathy and Chris are both regarded as being incredibly beautiful and good-looking with their health flourishing compared to Carrie's. Cathy's medical emergency during her audition During a D&C procedure, the embryo or fetus is dismembered. It results in a bloody mess of visually identifiable limbs, but not an intact specimen like the one Paul has preserved in a jar. If VC Anderews knew this, Paul could've put Cathy's accusations to rest by telling her so. The plausibly of the "missed periods" explanation of Cathy's medical energy has been debated amongst fans for years. Can missed or delayed periods cause sudden bleeding later on? Then, alongside the real medical plausibly, there's a second, slightly different question: Is this supposed to be considered a plausible idea in-universe? | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_1b4e322c | type |
Mr. Fanservice | |
Petals on the Wind / int_1b4e322c | comment |
Mr. Fanservice: Even after several years of abusive marriage, Cathy will freely admit that Julian is really hot and great in bed, if nothing else. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_1e4a1e0e | type |
I Owe You My Life | |
Petals on the Wind / int_1e4a1e0e | comment |
I Owe You My Life/Rescue Sex/Sexual Extortion: Downplayed Trope. Cathy at multiple points states that she feels like she owes Paul for taking in her and her siblings when they were so desperately in need. For his part, Paul insists that they do not owe him anything. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_1f6983f7 | type |
Ambiguous Situation | |
Petals on the Wind / int_1f6983f7 | comment |
Ambiguous Situation: When Cathy starts bleeding and is rushed to the hospital, when she gets D & C (dilation and curettage). At the time it's said to be missed periods that clotted. Later, Amanda claims it was an abortion and that there was an embryo. It's not, but it could have been a miscarriage. Given the timing, this would've been her baby with Chris via attic sex. Amanda claimed there was "a two-headed embryo with three legs—twins who didn't separate properly." Scientists still aren't sure what causes Conjoined Twins. It mostly seem to be a random chance event, although inbreeding and exposure to toxins have been suggested as possible risk factors. Regardless of the actual science, in Cathy's mind there's a strong association between incest and misformed babies, and this brings those fears to the forefront. Corrine's claims that Malcolm not only knew about the children but putting them in the attic was his idea and he was also regularly degrading and beating Corrine while he was still alive. It's unknown if there's any truth to this. Bart claims he never saw a mark on Corrine and that Malcolm doted on her. Olivia gives Corrine looks that Cathy interprets as either dispute to her claims or as Olivia simply keeping Cathy's attention off her. Compounding it further is how Corrine tended to play the victim through Attic whenever Cathy called her out for Moving the Goalposts and several times it's mentioned that Corrine's hands go for her neck as though to fiddle with her pearls. It's also worth considering that Corrine's story is being told through Cathy's biases which may have altered her recollection of the event. In the end, Cathy isn't sure what she believes regarding Corrine's story. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_2171fd57 | type |
I'm a Man; I Can't Help It | |
Petals on the Wind / int_2171fd57 | comment |
I'm a Man; I Can't Help It: Nearly every male character in the book. Paul admits to raping his first wife Julia because she was too beautiful for him to resist. Julia told him he was never to touch her again and insisted on a Sexless Marriage, and he then used the same logic to explain away his numerous extramarital affairs. Finally, he is unable to resist the beautiful now-17-year-old Cathy, even though he has legally adopted her. Chris claims that he only had sex with Cathy's roommate because Cathy wouldn't put out. To be fair, she was explicitly telling him he should go find someone else. Bart has an affair with Cathy since his wife has become increasingly distant from him. Julian's mother blames Cathy for his frequent cheating, claiming that he does it in the first place because she doesn't show him enough love, then keeps doing it because her uncaring reaction even further cements his belief that she doesn't love him. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_234fa9ba | type |
May–December Romance | |
Petals on the Wind / int_234fa9ba | comment |
May–December Romance: Cathy and Paul hook up when she's 17 and he's 42. He specifically refers to them as "April and September." These slightly closer months are more true of their actual ages, and they're also their birth months respectively. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_23f1384a | type |
Babies Make Everything Better | |
Petals on the Wind / int_23f1384a | comment |
Babies Make Everything Better: Paul notes that the time of Julia's pregnancy was probably the only time in their marriage when they were genuinely happy and that whatever problems they had afterwards, she was always a loving and devoted mother to their son. Cathy sees her pregnancy as a chance to reconcile with Julian; it doesn't work, he still kills himself after finding out. She sees her second pregnancy as the final thing to ensure Bart leaving her mother for her; it also doesn't work, as though while he might have done this, he's killed before he can. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_25bc8511 | type |
Generation Xerox | |
Petals on the Wind / int_25bc8511 | comment |
Generation Xerox: Cathy consciously struggles not to be like her mother. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_25bc8511 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_26577944 | type |
Model Couple | |
Petals on the Wind / int_26577944 | comment |
Model Couple: Madame Marisha wants Cathy and Chris as one. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_26577944 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_28ea0e57 | type |
Cock Fight | |
Petals on the Wind / int_28ea0e57 | comment |
Cock Fight: In a downplayed, comedic, and unusually innocent version, Paul and Chris vie for the position of Cathy's next husband by being good stepfathers to her son Jory and buying him lots of stuffed animals. Chris and Julian have a much more hostile dynamic. They immediately dislike one another and break into a fierce argument in one of their initial encounters (in which, while subtextually about competing for affection, Chris does have a point: Julian had been trying to convince an underage Cathy to leave her family and abscond to New York). Chris cools out as he grows older and is capable of civility; Julian only grows worse and refuses to even share a room with him. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_322f6b34 | type |
Angsty Surviving Twin | |
Petals on the Wind / int_322f6b34 | comment |
Angsty Surviving Twin: Carrie never fully recovers from losing her twin. She chooses to commit suicide via the same means that killed Cory, and states in her suicide note that no one ever really needed her more than he did. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_33987735 | type |
Disposing of a Body | |
Petals on the Wind / int_33987735 | comment |
Disposing of a Body/Dead Man's Chest: Implied Trope. Cathy reveals she found a room connected to the attic and the main stairway with a strange smell in it. When Corrine runs away to start the fire, she chose that room specifically to start it in. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_33ba37ca | type |
Out with a Bang | |
Petals on the Wind / int_33ba37ca | comment |
Out with a Bang: Downplayed. Toward the end of the novel, Cathy marries Paul, who has suffered a major heart attack. They have sex exactly once after that, and take it easy. Paul dies a day later. This is treated as a coincidence. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_37d94ed9 | type |
Agony of the Feet | |
Petals on the Wind / int_37d94ed9 | comment |
Agony of the Feet: Julian breaks Cathy's toes after she returns to him. Cruel in the first place, even more so given that she's a ballerina. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_37d94ed9 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_39c6cac7 | type |
Shed the Family Name | |
Petals on the Wind / int_39c6cac7 | comment |
Shed the Family Name: Julian changed his name to distance himself from his parents both in a professional and personal capacity. Chris is proud to be adopted by Paul and uses the surname Sheffield for the rest of his life; he's more than happy to be rid of both Dollanganger and Foxworth, considering the former a lie and the second a blight. Much later, when they finally marry, Cathy and Chris take the name Sheffield as part of their disguise. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_39c6cac7 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_3ae6199a | type |
Psychopathic Manchild | |
Petals on the Wind / int_3ae6199a | comment |
Psychopathic Manchild: Good Lord, Julian. Physically, emotionally, sexually abusive; prone to violent tantrums and outbursts; demands Cathy's complete and utter devotion and attention to the exclusion of anybody else, while insisting on doing anything (and sleeping with anyone) he pleases; petty, whiny, and bitchy. Cathy's relationship with him is less wife and husband, more mother and out-of-control toddler. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_3ae6199a | |
Petals on the Wind / int_3e0c789e | type |
Thoroughly Mistaken Identity | |
Petals on the Wind / int_3e0c789e | comment |
Thoroughly Mistaken Identity: When they confront Corrine at the very end, she speaks to her son Chris as if he's her late husband who he so much resembles. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_3e0c789e | |
Petals on the Wind / int_3f11ef74 | type |
Parental Substitute | |
Petals on the Wind / int_3f11ef74 | comment |
Parental Substitute: Downplayed Trope, but Madame Zolta to Cathy. Carrie acknowledges in her suicide note that Cathy and Chris were both sister and brother, and mother and father to her, and thanks them both for this. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_3f11ef74 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_3fb6b526 | type |
Delayed Reaction | |
Petals on the Wind / int_3fb6b526 | comment |
Delayed Reaction: When Cathy confronts Paul over Amanda's accusations he brings up her spreading a rumor that Cathy's medical procedure D & C operation was actually an abortion of a fetus he'd impregnated her with. Cathy (to whom Amanda had confided this "fact") latches on to it and begins demanding the truth. They argue back and forth for a minute... then both freeze up, realizing the implications of her genuine worry over a potential fetus, conceived before they'd had sex, mature enough to have begun during her imprisonment with Chris. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_3fb6b526 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_40bb59d0 | type |
Blatant Lies | |
Petals on the Wind / int_40bb59d0 | comment |
Blatant Lies: What Julian tells Cathy about Madame Zolta | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_40bb59d0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_424c9a9b | type |
Cold-Blooded Torture | |
Petals on the Wind / int_424c9a9b | comment |
Cold-Blooded Torture: As tortures go, it's pretty light, but Cathy finally does get to inflict some physical pain on the now-disabled grandmother. She is a bit horrified by herself for it and relents on following through completely. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_424c9a9b | |
Petals on the Wind / int_448ce20c | type |
Downplayed Trope | |
Petals on the Wind / int_448ce20c | comment |
In a downplayed, comedic, and unusually innocent version, Paul and Chris vie for the position of Cathy's next husband by being good stepfathers to her son Jory and buying him lots of stuffed animals. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_448ce20c | |
Petals on the Wind / int_46c1dc8e | type |
Someone to Remember Him By | |
Petals on the Wind / int_46c1dc8e | comment |
Someone to Remember Him By: Jory and Bart Jr. to Cathy after Julian and Bart's deaths, respectively. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_46c1dc8e | |
Petals on the Wind / int_4733b5a5 | type |
Saying Too Much | |
Petals on the Wind / int_4733b5a5 | comment |
Saying Too Much: Cathy is so worried over the possibility of her and Chris' sexual encounter resulting in offspring that, when the rumor that her medical procedure was actually an abortion (of Paul's child) comes up, she's focused entirely on the abortion aspect and demands the truth from Paul. They argue for a minute before realizing her genuine doubts of a pre-Paul pregnancy mean Chris would have been the father. Luckily Paul recognizes the twisted nature of their lives at that point and doesn't judge. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_4733b5a5 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_4782e60f | type |
Jerk with a Heart of Jerk | |
Petals on the Wind / int_4782e60f | comment |
Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Cathy sometimes thinks there's more to Julian—he has a Freudian Excuse after all! But ultimately no. He's just a dick who is also a gifted dancer. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_4782e60f | |
Petals on the Wind / int_4d044580 | type |
Motive Rant | |
Petals on the Wind / int_4d044580 | comment |
After her Motive Rant, Corrine burns down Foxworth Hall. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_4d044580 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_4e0444f2 | type |
No Guy Wants to Be Chased | |
Petals on the Wind / int_4e0444f2 | comment |
No Guy Wants to Be Chased: Bart at times claims he's put off by Cathy's pointed pursuit of him. But—as she demonstrates—he's also annoyed when she makes no effort. What he really wants is for her to pursue him without seeming like it. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_4e0444f2 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_4fa68c72 | type |
Like Parent, Like Spouse | |
Petals on the Wind / int_4fa68c72 | comment |
Like Parent, Like Spouse: More prominent here than in the last book is the implication that this is a motive for both Chris and Cathy's attraction to each other. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_4fa68c72 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_506bf16a | type |
Sex Signals Death | |
Petals on the Wind / int_506bf16a | comment |
Sex Signals Death: Trampy Yolanda dies in the car accident that crippled Julian, not long after taunting Cathy about how she has replaced her in their bed. The womanizing Julian dies too, although that's suicide due to despondency over his injuries. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_506bf16a | |
Petals on the Wind / int_516f986d | type |
Loving a Shadow | |
Petals on the Wind / int_516f986d | comment |
Loving a Shadow: We know that Julian put Cathy on a pedestal very early on, and that his conceptualization of her had little to do with who she really was. What did he imagine her to be? That's somewhat less clear. Cathy herself says she never really understood Julian's internal life. We know there's some inner conflict going on there, and we get parts of it, but we never get the full picture—and that's the point. Cathy had a literal one of these: a dark-haired imaginary partner with whom she used to dance in the attic, his face always hidden in shadow. Every time she sees a dark-haired man in real life, she wonders if he could be her imaginary lover, and is almost invariably disappointed when they turn out to be complicated, unsatisfactory real men. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_516f986d | |
Petals on the Wind / int_5311aa2d | type |
Love Father, Love Son | |
Petals on the Wind / int_5311aa2d | comment |
Love Mother, Love Daughter: Cathy very deliberately sets out to seduce her mother's husband. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_5311aa2d | |
Petals on the Wind / int_53243b25 | type |
Conjoined Twins | |
Petals on the Wind / int_53243b25 | comment |
When Cathy starts bleeding and is rushed to the hospital, when she gets D & C (dilation and curettage). At the time it's said to be missed periods that clotted. Later, Amanda claims it was an abortion and that there was an embryo. It's not, but it could have been a miscarriage. Given the timing, this would've been her baby with Chris via attic sex. Amanda claimed there was "a two-headed embryo with three legs—twins who didn't separate properly." Scientists still aren't sure what causes Conjoined Twins. It mostly seem to be a random chance event, although inbreeding and exposure to toxins have been suggested as possible risk factors. Regardless of the actual science, in Cathy's mind there's a strong association between incest and misformed babies, and this brings those fears to the forefront. | |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_53243b25 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_54725e95 | type |
Omnidisciplinary Lawyer | |
Petals on the Wind / int_54725e95 | comment |
Omnidisciplinary Lawyer: Bart is the same lawyer who drew up Malcolm Foxworth's will, indicating he's a probate attorney. But Cathy hires him to handle her late husband's reluctant life insurance company, implying he's a claims attorney. (Possibly Truth in Television, as it's not uncommon for some attorneys to have a side hustle handling day-to-day issues like claims or probate to tide them over between cases in their major discipline—except that Bart's a millionaire playboy who clearly isn't in this for the money. Man, he must love probate.) | |
Petals on the Wind / int_54725e95 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_54725e95 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_54725e95 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_590eb583 | type |
Domestic Abuse | |
Petals on the Wind / int_590eb583 | comment |
Domestic Abuse: Julian (whose pickup line is "What are you worried about? I won't rape you") is emotionally, physically and sexually abusive toward Cathy, including a memorable scene where, in a fit of rage, he breaks several of her toes. During their marriage, he follows the classic cycle of explosions, regret and apologies, honeymoon phase, growing tension, and then another explosion. Paul Sheffield was emotionally abusive toward his late wife Julia and raped her on several occasions. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_590eb583 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_590eb583 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_590eb583 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_59b571c | type |
Destroy the Abusive Home | |
Petals on the Wind / int_59b571c | comment |
Destroy the Abusive Home: When Corrine sets fire to Foxworth Hall, she starts it in the room where the children were imprisoned. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_59b571c | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_59b571c | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_59b571c | |
Petals on the Wind / int_5c24cfa1 | type |
Love Will Lead You Back | |
Petals on the Wind / int_5c24cfa1 | comment |
Love Will Lead You Back: Chris—the eternal optimist—spends the better part of the duration of Petals holding out hope Cathy will come back to him at some point. There are points at which he tries dating other people, but that only serves to solidify his certainly that Cathy is the only one for him. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_5c24cfa1 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_5c24cfa1 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_5c24cfa1 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_5dd191ec | type |
Wife Husbandry | |
Petals on the Wind / int_5dd191ec | comment |
Wife Husbandry: Cathy is 15 when Paul becomes their guardian. He lusts after her from the start, they have an affair when she's 17, and eventually, she marries him when she's 27. Enraged when Cathy dumps Paul to marry Julian, Carrie declares that she will marry Paul. It never happens though, and there's no indication that Paul was thinking this way. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_5dd191ec | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_5dd191ec | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_5dd191ec | |
Petals on the Wind / int_60547993 | type |
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy | |
Petals on the Wind / int_60547993 | comment |
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Near the end of his life, Paul encourages Cathy to go be happy with Chris. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_60547993 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_60547993 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_60547993 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_616a4c | type |
Give the Baby a Father | |
Petals on the Wind / int_616a4c | comment |
Give the Baby a Father: Chris is eager to do this, although Cathy turns him down. Years later, she takes him up on it. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_616a4c | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_616a4c | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_616a4c | |
Petals on the Wind / int_617f0563 | type |
Heel–Face Turn | |
Petals on the Wind / int_617f0563 | comment |
Heel–Face Turn: Corrine, she secretly attends Carrie's funeral and reveals her father is the one who ordered her to kill her children. Though whether this is true or not is left ambiguous. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_617f0563 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_617f0563 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_617f0563 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_62434fe2 | type |
Sanity Slippage | |
Petals on the Wind / int_62434fe2 | comment |
Sanity Slippage: Corrine becomes increasingly unstable as all the secrets finally spill out and catch up to her. The extent versus her faking is unclear, as she alternates between rational actions, like destroying evidence, to the highly irrational, such as admitting to the arsenic scheme while addressing Chris as her dead husband. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_62434fe2 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_62434fe2 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_62434fe2 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_6272a974 | type |
Remarrying for Your Kids | |
Petals on the Wind / int_6272a974 | comment |
Remarrying for Your Kids: Downplayed. Cathy wants a husband for herself for all the usual reasons—love, support, companionship, sex, etc—but she also wants a father for her son Jory, and this is a factor she considers in her suitors. And to their credit, Paul, Chris, and Bart are all pretty good to her son. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_6272a974 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_6272a974 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_6272a974 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_63389b0b | type |
Kids Are Cruel | |
Petals on the Wind / int_63389b0b | comment |
Kids Are Cruel: All the girls in Carrie's boarding school gang up to bully her. The only girl that tried to defend her ends up being punched in the face. Her main bully faces karma a few short years later by drowning at the age of twelve. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_63389b0b | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_63389b0b | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_63389b0b | |
Petals on the Wind / int_643618e5 | type |
Replacement Goldfish | |
Petals on the Wind / int_643618e5 | comment |
Replacement Goldfish: Julian and Paul are demoted to this after Bart dies, when Cathy claims to have fallen in Love at First Sight with him and that a large part of her attraction to Julian and Paul was because of their resemblance to him. Cathy and her siblings may have been this to Paul regarding his first wife and son. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_643618e5 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_643618e5 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_643618e5 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_658f7193 | type |
Lack of Empathy | |
Petals on the Wind / int_658f7193 | comment |
Lack of Empathy: The other bus passengers, except Henrietta, when Carrie gets violently ill. They really don't like the idea of delaying their schedules long enough to take a child to the hospital. The bus driver shows some concern, but he's worried about losing his job if he holds up the rest of the passengers. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_658f7193 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_658f7193 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_6b05b601 | type |
Jerkass Has a Point | |
Petals on the Wind / int_6b05b601 | comment |
Jerkass Has a Point: Chris' disapproval of Cathy's relationships with both Paul and Julian are no doubt mostly born of Love Triangle romantic jealousy. But he's absolutely right about Julian's many flaws, and the impropriety of Cathy and Paul's relationship given their age difference and that Paul was their guardian for several years. Similarly with Bart, he's aware that it's (at first) merely a manipulative, callous ploy to get back at their mother. While the way he ultimately handled it was dreadful, it seems Paul made numerous legitimate attempts at helping Julia get over her sexual fears—buying books on seduction techniques, suggesting she see a therapist—all of which she rebuffed or refused without even trying. She does seem a good bit justified in refusing these attempts, because did he expect these techniques would convince a woman to stop hating her rapist and submit to regular sex with him? Honestly, the best decision at that point would have been to divorce or annul their marriage, as scandalous as it would have been. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_6b05b601 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_6b05b601 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_6b05b601 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_6b7e3069 | type |
Birth-Death Juxtaposition | |
Petals on the Wind / int_6b7e3069 | comment |
Birth-Death Juxtaposition: Julia murders Scotty on his birthday. Later, Cathy discovers she's pregnant with Julian and Bart's children shortly before each man is killed. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_6b7e3069 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_6b7e3069 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_6b7e3069 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_6bd689ca | type |
Meaningful Echo | |
Petals on the Wind / int_6bd689ca | comment |
Meaningful Echo: Chris and Paul say strikingly similar things to Cathy just a few chapters apart. If multiple people in your life—both of whom know you well—are telling you the same thing, they might have a point. The parallelism serves to highlight this. At the end, when they're married, Chris comes home to his family at the end of the day and says—just like their father used to say—"Come greet me with kisses if you love me." | |
Petals on the Wind / int_6bd689ca | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_6bd689ca | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_6bd689ca | |
Petals on the Wind / int_6d332aea | type |
Driven to Suicide | |
Petals on the Wind / int_6d332aea | comment |
Driven to Suicide: Paul's late wife Julian after an accident leaves him paralyzed and unlikely to even walk again, much less dance Carrie, after her mother rejects her | |
Petals on the Wind / int_6d332aea | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_6d332aea | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_6d332aea | |
Petals on the Wind / int_737bd0e4 | type |
Dainty Little Ballet Dancers | |
Petals on the Wind / int_737bd0e4 | comment |
Dainty Little Ballet Dancers: Thoroughly subverted. Cathy goes through grueling hours of practice and rehearsal in order to become a prima ballerina, describing bruises from her partner's lifts, how her armpits are rubbed raw from being lifted, and working on a single routine until she's wringing wet from sweat. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_737bd0e4 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_737bd0e4 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_737bd0e4 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_744f2273 | type |
Jar of the Bizarre | |
Petals on the Wind / int_744f2273 | comment |
Jar of the Bizarre: There's an Ambiguous Situation where Cathy spontaneously begins bleeding heavily from the vagina. It may or may not be a miscarriage. An extremely Unreliable Expositor claims there was a "two-headed embryo with three legs — twins who didn't separate properly." Complicating matters, Paul (Cathy's guardian and also the doctor who oversaw her treatment) apparently does have such an artifact, preserved in a glass jar, leading her to believe that he kept and preserved the malformed fetus. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_744f2273 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_744f2273 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_744f2273 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_76e24530 | type |
Delicate and Sickly | |
Petals on the Wind / int_76e24530 | comment |
Delicate and Sickly: Carrie is especially frail and weak from arsenic poisoning. Not only that, she is miles behind her peers in weight and height, not getting much taller than 4.5 feet tall when she's an adult. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_76e24530 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_76e24530 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_76e24530 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_771f6307 | type |
Brother–Sister Incest | |
Petals on the Wind / int_771f6307 | comment |
Brother–Sister Incest: Cathy continues to struggle against Chris' advances, which eventually grow strong enough to drive her to other men. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_771f6307 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_771f6307 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_771f6307 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_77cd56b3 | type |
Paralyzing Fear of Sexuality | |
Petals on the Wind / int_77cd56b3 | comment |
Paralyzing Fear of Sexuality: Julia, thanks to childhood sexual abuse. Because of the Grandmother's teachings, Carrie also believes that Sex Is Evil (in the first novel, when she's only a child, she begs to sleep beside her dying twin, swearing that they won't do anything bad). The teachings are hammered home when Carrie is molested by Julian as a teenager and is overcome with self-recrimination for enjoying the physical pleasure and male attention, causing her to believe that she is to blame. When Carrie falls in love with Alex, she fears he will demand a physical relationship with her and that he will judge her for her past unwilling experiences. These conflicts plays a role in Carrie's final mental breakdown and ultimately lead to her suicide. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_77cd56b3 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_77cd56b3 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_77cd56b3 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_77d826c7 | type |
Stern Teacher | |
Petals on the Wind / int_77d826c7 | comment |
Stern Teacher: Both Madame Marisha and Madame Zolta—stern, Russian dancing mistresses. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_77d826c7 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_77d826c7 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_77d826c7 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_7c020e46 | type |
One-Scene Wonder | |
Petals on the Wind / int_7c020e46 | comment |
Paul's sister Amanda flies to New York City armed with photographs and grotesque stories about two-headed babies for no apparent reason other than that she enjoyed ruining lives. Throughout her only scene, she coos backhanded compliments at Cathy and gloats at her distress. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_7c020e46 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_7c020e46 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_7c020e46 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_7dad519f | type |
Sex Is Evil | |
Petals on the Wind / int_7dad519f | comment |
Sex Is Evil: Julia's response whenever Paul made advances to her was to weep and wail, "Why does it have to be so ugly?" One gets the feeling she would have hated sex even without having been abused as a child. Unbeknownst to Cathy, the Grandmother managed to drill this trope into Carrie's head. Carrie seems to view perfectly normal sexual desire as evil and herself as bad because Julian molested her and she liked it. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_7dad519f | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_7dad519f | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_7dad519f | |
Petals on the Wind / int_8391b1c7 | type |
Artistic License – Law | |
Petals on the Wind / int_8391b1c7 | comment |
The addendum to the grandfather's will mentioned in the previous book under that page's Artistic License – Law is brought up by Bart; he tells Corrine that as a lawyer, he could have contested it and gotten it dismissed easily. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_8391b1c7 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_8391b1c7 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_8391b1c7 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_842721ff | type |
Platonic Co-Parenting | |
Petals on the Wind / int_842721ff | comment |
Platonic Coparenting: Both Chris and Paul are happy to co-parent Cathy's sons. Amusingly, Jory, who had always been insecure over not having a dad, is ecstatic to have "two daddies", but his classmates don't understand when he tells them. "Maybe I don't tell it right." | |
Petals on the Wind / int_842721ff | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_842721ff | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_842721ff | |
Petals on the Wind / int_87a38662 | type |
Murder-Suicide | |
Petals on the Wind / int_87a38662 | comment |
Murder-Suicide: Enraged upon learning of Paul's infidelity, Julia drowns herself and their son. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_87a38662 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_87a38662 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_87a38662 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_880ce607 | type |
Vanity Is Feminine | |
Petals on the Wind / int_880ce607 | comment |
Vanity Is Feminine: Type A. It is heavily implied that part of Corrine's evil is her obsession with her beauty. Her long absence to a plastic surgeon and a weight-loss spa allows Cathy to move in on Bart. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_880ce607 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_880ce607 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_880ce607 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_8bc5b86e | type |
One-Shot Character | |
Petals on the Wind / int_8bc5b86e | comment |
One-Shot Character: Carrie's fiance Alex gives one impassioned speech at her deathbed and is never mentioned again, not even at her funeral. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_8bc5b86e | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_8bc5b86e | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_8bc5b86e | |
Petals on the Wind / int_8d0785d5 | type |
Didn't Think This Through | |
Petals on the Wind / int_8d0785d5 | comment |
Didn't Think This Through: After Paul's venomous sister visits Cathy and tells her horrible things about Paul—namely, that Julia is still alive—she runs off and impulsively marries Julian. Only afterward does she confront Paul and learn that his sister was lying (or at least, putting a spin on things), meaning she's now trapped in a loveless marriage to an abusive cheat. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_8d0785d5 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_8d0785d5 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_8d0785d5 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_90d44f44 | type |
Karmic Death | |
Petals on the Wind / int_90d44f44 | comment |
Karmic Death: Julian caps his years of awful abuse by breaking Cathy's toes, purposefully trying to rob her of the career she'd dedicated her life to out of senseless spite. Shortly thereafter he is terribly injured in a car wreck, ruining his career (while she recovers), and kills himself in despair. Yolanda is a bitch to Cathy for years, jealous of her talent, and gleefully replaces her as Julian's partner and lover. When it's made clear she was only made a desperate last-minute stand-in upon Cathy's return, she wrecks Cathy's home and every one of her most prized, treasured possessions. During the same wreck that injures Julian she ends up launched through the windshield. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_90d44f44 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_90d44f44 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_92a61707 | type |
The Speechless | |
Petals on the Wind / int_92a61707 | comment |
The Speechless: Henny Later, the Grandmother | |
Petals on the Wind / int_92a61707 | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_92a61707 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_92a61707 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_935212c | type |
Feminine Women Can Cook | |
Petals on the Wind / int_935212c | comment |
Feminine Women Can Cook: Played with. Cathy is always fighting against expectations of her to be a stereotypical housewife. When Paul asks if she can cook, she responds that they didn't even have a toaster for three years. She then goes on to say when she's a famous ballerina she will hire someone to do the cooking and cleaning. Played straight with Carrie, whose stated goal in life is to become a housewife and mother. She learns to cook as a way to help Dr. Paul and Henny. By the time she moves out of his house, she's a better cook than Cathy. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_935212c | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_935212c | |
Petals on the Wind / int_94e4c8ab | type |
Betty and Veronica | |
Petals on the Wind / int_94e4c8ab | comment |
Betty and Veronica: Cathy plays the innocent blonde Betty to Yolanda's sultry raven-haired Veronica when it comes to Julian, and to a lesser extent, Chris. Cathy's other roommate, April, is also a "Betty"-type to Yolanda. Even though they never explicitly vie for the same man, Cathy mentions that the boys ignore the virginal April in favor of the promiscuous Yolanda. As for Cathy's men: First, Chris is the Betty and Paul is the Veronica. Once Cathy lands Paul, he becomes the Betty and Julian becomes the Veronica. After Julian dies, both Chris and Paul become the Betty, and Bart Winslow becomes the Veronica. For Bart Winslow, Corrine is the Betty and Cathy is the Veronica. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_94e4c8ab | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_94e4c8ab | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_94e4c8ab | |
Petals on the Wind / int_94f517db | type |
Discretion Shot | |
Petals on the Wind / int_94f517db | comment |
Discretion Shot: Cathy tells us about the beginning and end of her marriage to Julian, but largely brushes over the middle. This gives a sense that even when she's writing a memoir about the most traumatic parts of her life—and describing some parts of it in great detail—her abusive 5-year marriage is still something she does not want to dwell on. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_94f517db | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_94f517db | |
Petals on the Wind / int_957e5fc2 | type |
Villainous Breakdown | |
Petals on the Wind / int_957e5fc2 | comment |
Villainous Breakdown: After her Motive Rant, Corrine burns down Foxworth Hall. Julian goes off the deep end when Cathy escapes him to attend Chris' graduation. He compounds his alcoholism with substance abuse, engages in behavior and actions that sabotage his own career merely to spite her, and ends up a physically-broken and suicidal mess in a hospital bed. | |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_957e5fc2 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_963e36bd | type |
Boarding School of Horrors | |
Petals on the Wind / int_963e36bd | comment |
Boarding School of Horrors: Carrie's private boarding school turns out to be a hellhole where her fellow students torment and very nearly kill her. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_963e36bd | featureApplicability |
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Petals on the Wind / int_963e36bd | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_963e36bd | |
Petals on the Wind / int_96fbeaf | type |
There Are No Therapists | |
Petals on the Wind / int_96fbeaf | comment |
There Are No Therapists: Julia refused to see one to help her get over her sexual fears—to the point of laughing in Paul's face when he suggested it—and none of the kids see one despite how clearly screwed up they are from their ordeal. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_96fbeaf | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_96fbeaf | |
Petals on the Wind / int_9838d681 | type |
DudeMagnet | |
Petals on the Wind / int_9838d681 | comment |
Dude Magnet: Cathy has four love interests in the course of this book. However, it's subtly deconstructed. Not a one of them are classically good partner material — for example, all four raped a woman a some point (and she was a victim of all of them except for Paul). The fact that Cathy is consistently pulling the attention of these guys is not a flex, it's not a sign of how hot or enigmatic she is. It's the Birds of a Feather principle: Cathy consistently attracts the attention of messed up men because she herself is messed up. | |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_9838d681 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_9d12bbc1 | type |
Foreshadowing | |
Petals on the Wind / int_9d12bbc1 | comment |
Foreshadowing: Paul awakens from a nap and tells Cathy that he was dreaming about Julia and Scotty. He dies very shortly after this conversation, with the implication being that they were waiting for him so that they could be Together in Death as a family. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_9d12bbc1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_9d12bbc1 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_9d12bbc1 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a16d511d | type |
Insecure Love Interest | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a16d511d | comment |
Insecure Love Interest: Carrie is this to Alex. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a16d511d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a16d511d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_a16d511d | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a1b141f4 | type |
My God, What Have I Done? | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a1b141f4 | comment |
My God, What Have I Done?: In a small concession of remorse, the grandmother tears up when she learns her treatment poisoned Carrie against happy marriage to a minister, and contributed to her suicide to be with her brother again. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a1b141f4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a1b141f4 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_a1b141f4 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a201dad2 | type |
Passive-Aggressive Kombat | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a201dad2 | comment |
Passive-Aggressive Kombat: Cathy engages in such with Julian when he refuses to allow her to attend Chris' graduation. It's unfortunately interspersed with physical and sexual violence. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a201dad2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a201dad2 | featureConfidence |
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Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_a201dad2 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a36fb848 | type |
Grand Staircase Entrance | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a36fb848 | comment |
Grand Staircase Entrance: An Invoked Trope, Cathy makes her presence known at Bart and Corrine's Christmas party. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a36fb848 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a36fb848 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_a36fb848 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a5f5b4e0 | type |
Playing the Victim Card | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a5f5b4e0 | comment |
Corrine claims that Malcolm knew of her children's existence and knew they were in the attic, but also that he was always lording that fact over Corrine's head, making snide comments that the children should be dead, or even beating her. Cathy isn't sure if she believes this, knowing full well that Corrine has a talent for making her problems seem greater than the children's. Bart adds a bit more ambiguity to this, saying that Malcolm doted on Corrine when he was still alive and that he never saw any hint that he beat her as punishment. It doesn't help that Corrine spends most of the scene on the edge of a nervous breakdown. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a5f5b4e0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a5f5b4e0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_a5f5b4e0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a8dcb1d7 | type |
Love at First Sight | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a8dcb1d7 | comment |
Julian and Paul are demoted to this after Bart dies, when Cathy claims to have fallen in Love at First Sight with him and that a large part of her attraction to Julian and Paul was because of their resemblance to him. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a8dcb1d7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_a8dcb1d7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_a8dcb1d7 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_aa9beb0c | type |
Straight to the Pointe | |
Petals on the Wind / int_aa9beb0c | comment |
Straight to the Pointe: If Chris is to be believed. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_aa9beb0c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_aa9beb0c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_aa9beb0c | |
Petals on the Wind / int_abdc0b3f | type |
Held Gaze | |
Petals on the Wind / int_abdc0b3f | comment |
Held Gaze: Chris and Cathy share a lot of these, sometimes without even realizing it, allowing numerous people to pick up on their feelings for each other (see Everyone Can See It). | |
Petals on the Wind / int_abdc0b3f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_abdc0b3f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_abdc0b3f | |
Petals on the Wind / int_ae50ca8f | type |
Stage Names | |
Petals on the Wind / int_ae50ca8f | comment |
Stage Names: As a young girl, Cathy decided to use Catherine Doll as her stage name. When Cathy actually gets to a performing level of ballet, her teacher says that Catherine Doll is a bad stage name. In a reluctant compromise, they agrees to use Catherine Dahl as her professional name. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_ae50ca8f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_ae50ca8f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_ae50ca8f | |
Petals on the Wind / int_aeec99a9 | type |
Immediate Sequel | |
Petals on the Wind / int_aeec99a9 | comment |
Immediate Sequel: Picks up right where the first book ended. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_aeec99a9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_aeec99a9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_aeec99a9 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b1c8e04e | type |
Marital Rape License | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b1c8e04e | comment |
Marital Rape License: Paul with Julia, although he admits it was wrong. Julian to Cathy, along with some other forms of domestic abuse to round it out. Implied with Bart and Corrine—after he assaults Cathy and she calls him a rapist, he dismissively tells her: | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b1c8e04e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b1c8e04e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_b1c8e04e | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b352e864 | type |
Sexless Marriage | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b352e864 | comment |
Sexless Marriage: Julia cut Paul off after she had Scotty. Paul and Cathy after they finally get married, due to his weak heart. When they finally do have sex, they have to take it very slow and easy. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b352e864 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b352e864 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_b352e864 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b39b84ee | type |
Fiery Coverup | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b39b84ee | comment |
Fiery Cover-Up: Corrine burning Foxworth Hall removes several important damning details: She starts it in the attic where the children lived, erasing signs of their imprisonment; it destroys Cory's remains (hidden in a room they never found); it kills the grandmother, who knows everything; and in begging Bart to rescue her mother, she gets the one person who witnessed her confession killed (while denying him to Cathy). It's not enough, though, to ensure she'll escape punishment should she be declared sane. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b39b84ee | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b39b84ee | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_b39b84ee | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b4fce1ab | type |
Obfuscating Insanity | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b4fce1ab | comment |
Obfuscating Insanity: Cathy believes her mother is only feigning insanity at the end of the novel to avoid being convicted for her murder of Cory. Whether this is actually the case or not is never confirmed: There are points during the climax where she's clearly become extremely unstable (addressing Chris as her long-dead husband while incriminating herself for poisoning their children), but also acts fairly rationally (Destroying the Evidence, getting the witness to her confessions killed). It seems that realizing she's finally lost the trust and been rejected by her most beloved child is what drives her off the deep end, but even that might have been an act. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b4fce1ab | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b4fce1ab | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_b4fce1ab | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b7e0c5ff | type |
Love Triangle | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b7e0c5ff | comment |
Chris' disapproval of Cathy's relationships with both Paul and Julian are no doubt mostly born of Love Triangle romantic jealousy. But he's absolutely right about Julian's many flaws, and the impropriety of Cathy and Paul's relationship given their age difference and that Paul was their guardian for several years. Similarly with Bart, he's aware that it's (at first) merely a manipulative, callous ploy to get back at their mother. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b7e0c5ff | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b7e0c5ff | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_b7e0c5ff | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b9e87cf3 | type |
Knitting Pregnancy Announcement | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b9e87cf3 | comment |
Knitting Pregnancy Announcement: Cathy tells Bart she's pregnant while knitting a baby bunting. He's mad that she deliberately got pregnant without consulting him, and grabs the knitting from her, causing it to unravel. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b9e87cf3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_b9e87cf3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_b9e87cf3 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_ba0791de | type |
First Girl Wins | |
Petals on the Wind / int_ba0791de | comment |
First Girl Wins: Chris eventually outlives all of Cathy's other love interests, and becomes her third husband. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_ba0791de | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_ba0791de | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_ba0791de | |
Petals on the Wind / int_bb18a227 | type |
It's All About Me | |
Petals on the Wind / int_bb18a227 | comment |
It's All About Me: Cathy is extremely self-involved. She'll use anything terrible that happens to anyone else including Julian and Carrie's suicides to have her needs met and exact her revenge against her mother. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_bb18a227 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_bb18a227 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_bb18a227 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_bbec7823 | type |
Bedroom Adultery Scene | |
Petals on the Wind / int_bbec7823 | comment |
Bedroom Adultery Scene: Yolanda taunts Cathy about this, telling her that she's slept in her bed and worn her clothes and makeup—"I have taken your place in everything." | |
Petals on the Wind / int_bbec7823 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_bbec7823 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_bbec7823 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_bdc453a0 | type |
Incest Subtext | |
Petals on the Wind / int_bdc453a0 | comment |
Incest Subtext: In addition to the textual incest with each other, the subtext of Chris and Cathy's relationships with their parents remains ever-present. Averted once, actually! Jory—age 3—tells Cathy that a boy in his preschool class was slapped by his mother for touching her breast. Cathy says it's no big deal, and Jory can touch her breast if he wants. Cathy's internal moment of "They're small children, stop making this incestuous and weird!" is both hilarious and refreshing. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_bdc453a0 | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_bdc453a0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_bdc453a0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_beb932ca | type |
Big Applesauce | |
Petals on the Wind / int_beb932ca | comment |
Big Applesauce: Cathy's first professional ballet job is with Madame Zolta's troupe in New York City. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_beb932ca | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_beb932ca | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_beb932ca | |
Petals on the Wind / int_bf4628aa | type |
Romance on the Set | |
Petals on the Wind / int_bf4628aa | comment |
Romance on the Set: Cathy and Julian have amazing onstage chemistry. Julian tries to Invoke this, believing they would actually be a good couple. Cathy is not so convinced, but they give it a try. Deconstructed hard: it's a horrible mess of a relationship, and the fallout falls directly onto their careers. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_bf4628aa | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_bf4628aa | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_bf4628aa | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c335b9ec | type |
Irony | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c335b9ec | comment |
Irony: Cathy dislikes Yolanda instantly, even though they both have hatred for their parents. As noted several times, Cathy jumps through a lot of mental hoops to pin Julian's death on Corrine. However, the same logic could tie Cathy to Carrie's death. Had Cathy left Carrie with Paul she wouldn't have fallen in love with a minister and may never have seen Corrine again. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c335b9ec | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c335b9ec | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_c335b9ec | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c3665600 | type |
Mammy | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c3665600 | comment |
Mammy: Henny personifies this trope. She's a huge Southern black lady who cares for her white charges with no complaints—possibly because she's mute. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c3665600 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c3665600 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_c3665600 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c4500946 | type |
Break His Heart to Save Him | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c4500946 | comment |
Break His Heart to Save Him: Cathy to Chris. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c4500946 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c4500946 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_c4500946 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c5f0119c | type |
Insane Troll Logic | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c5f0119c | comment |
Insane Troll Logic: Cathy blames her mother for Julian's suicide, deciding that had her mother not imprisoned them in the attic, she and Chris would never have had an incestuous relationship. If they had never had an incestuous relationship, she wouldn't have started a relationship with Paul to escape Chris, meaning that she would have been the untouched virgin Julian seemed to need, which would have somehow allowed her to love him completely, thus preventing him from drinking and womanizing out of despondency. If he hadn't been drunk and out with another woman, he wouldn't have gotten into the car accident that paralyzed him, thus driving him to kill himself out of despair that he could never dance again. See? It's all your fault, Momma! | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c5f0119c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c5f0119c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_c5f0119c | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c7853b1e | type |
On the Rebound | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c7853b1e | comment |
On the Rebound: Cathy jumps into a relationship with Paul to escape her feelings for Chris. Chris is aware of this early on and very specifically tells her not to. She assures him she won't, and then does anyways. Cathy then married Julian to escape the situation with Paul. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c7853b1e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c7853b1e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_c7853b1e | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c8c7fb4f | type |
DomesticAbuser | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c8c7fb4f | comment |
Domestic Abuser: Cathy's love interests tend to have unsavory characteristics. Julian's a Jerkass domestic abuser with few redeeming qualities who rapes Cathy. Paul was unfaithful to his wife and raped her, eventually driving her to drown their son and kill herself. Bart Winslow has many Jerkass moments, which also include raping Cathy. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c8c7fb4f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_c8c7fb4f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_c8c7fb4f | |
Petals on the Wind / int_ca87e3ec | type |
No Name Given | |
Petals on the Wind / int_ca87e3ec | comment |
No Name Given: After years of referring to her as "the Grandmother," it becomes a Subverted Trope when Cathy realizes she's never heard her real name, and in morbid curiosity, asks. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_ca87e3ec | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_ca87e3ec | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_ca87e3ec | |
Petals on the Wind / int_d1ceb951 | type |
Holier Than Thou | |
Petals on the Wind / int_d1ceb951 | comment |
Holier Than Thou: When Carrie finds out her boyfriend Alex wants to be a minister, she jumps to the assumption he'll be like this because of her past experience with Religious Stereotype characters. There's no evidence Alex actually is or would be, though. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_d1ceb951 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_d1ceb951 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_d1ceb951 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_d308cbb0 | type |
Character Catchphrase | |
Petals on the Wind / int_d308cbb0 | comment |
Cathy's Character Catchphrase | |
Petals on the Wind / int_d308cbb0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_d308cbb0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_d308cbb0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_d39eb836 | type |
Seduction as One-Upmanship | |
Petals on the Wind / int_d39eb836 | comment |
Seduction as One-Upmanship: Cathy spends over a decade planning her Roaring Rampage of Revenge against her mother, the capstone of which is seducing her mother's husband and Baby Traping him. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_d39eb836 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_d39eb836 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_d39eb836 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_d5d265ec | type |
Housewife | |
Petals on the Wind / int_d5d265ec | comment |
Cathy is always fighting against expectations of her to be a stereotypical housewife. When Paul asks if she can cook, she responds that they didn't even have a toaster for three years. She then goes on to say when she's a famous ballerina she will hire someone to do the cooking and cleaning. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_d5d265ec | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_d5d265ec | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_d5d265ec | |
Petals on the Wind / int_d67d184b | type |
Murder Makes You Crazy | |
Petals on the Wind / int_d67d184b | comment |
Murder Makes You Crazy: Implied Trope | |
Petals on the Wind / int_d67d184b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_d67d184b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_d67d184b | |
Petals on the Wind / int_da9131af | type |
The Baby Trap | |
Petals on the Wind / int_da9131af | comment |
The Baby Trap: Cathy with Bart | |
Petals on the Wind / int_da9131af | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_da9131af | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_da9131af | |
Petals on the Wind / int_db0ffe92 | type |
Follow in My Footsteps | |
Petals on the Wind / int_db0ffe92 | comment |
Follow in My Footsteps: The Rosencoffs are a long line of Russian ballet stars. Madame Marisha claims she tried not to do this with Julian, but she ultimately did. By the time Jory comes along, Madame Marisha is over any such qualms about forcing dance onto kids. Cathy, on the other hand, does not want her son forced into dance. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_db0ffe92 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_db0ffe92 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_db0ffe92 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_dbb414ed | type |
Hand Wave | |
Petals on the Wind / int_dbb414ed | comment |
Hand Wave: Paul gaining custody over the kids looks as if it's going to end in a confrontational Courtroom Episode... but in the end, Corrine turns out to be too rich to subpoena and the scene ends with "and then he adopted us." | |
Petals on the Wind / int_dbb414ed | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_dbb414ed | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_dbb414ed | |
Petals on the Wind / int_dbd2c15e | type |
Everyone Can See It | |
Petals on the Wind / int_dbd2c15e | comment |
Everyone Can See It: Cathy and Chris have a lot of Held Gazes and Longing Looks, and other people notice. Paul Julian. He says it in a moment of anger, designed to be cruel, so it's not clear if he actually believes it's a serious thing occurring—but at the very least he noticed the undertones. Even Carrie tells Cathy that she's picked up on it. Once again, it's because of the way they look at each other. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_dbd2c15e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_dbd2c15e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_dbd2c15e | |
Petals on the Wind / int_dc8ba6d5 | type |
The Scapegoat | |
Petals on the Wind / int_dc8ba6d5 | comment |
The Scapegoat: While Corrine is legitimately at the root of many of her children's current issues, Cathy also performs some serious mental gymnastics to blame her for anything and everything that goes wrong with their lives. One example is that Cathy blames Corrine for her attraction to Chris, since she locked them in an attic, setting up the Situational Sexuality and A Shared Suffering that bonded them together. But at the end, when Cathy and Chris get married, Cathy flips this around and says it's Corrine's fault she didn't see they were endgame for so long, because Corrine once told her, "Marry a man with dark, dark eyes, Cathy." | |
Petals on the Wind / int_dc8ba6d5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_dc8ba6d5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_dc8ba6d5 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_de04e30c | type |
Tears of Remorse | |
Petals on the Wind / int_de04e30c | comment |
Tears of Remorse: Cathy's revenge against the grandmother initially involves Cold-Blooded Torture. She finds herself unable to go through with it, but walks away triumphant when she catches her gazing tearfully at a switch of hair belonging to recently deceased Carrie. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_de04e30c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_de04e30c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_de04e30c | |
Petals on the Wind / int_deecc9eb | type |
Awful Wedded Life | |
Petals on the Wind / int_deecc9eb | comment |
Awful Wedded Life: Paul and Julia. She hated sex and rebuffed all his attempts at helping her get over her fears, resulting in their only sex life being when he would force himself on her. After they had their son, she cut him off, and the marriage was apparently not very good outside of the bedroom either, worsening even more once she found out about his adultery—"She stopped speaking to me at all, unless Scotty was around"—culminating in her killing their son and herself to get back at him. Cathy's ill-conceived and hasty marriage to Julian quickly turns into one of the worst decisions of her life, as he is both physically and emotionally abusive and unfaithful. | |
Petals on the Wind / int_deecc9eb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_deecc9eb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Petals on the Wind | hasFeature |
Petals on the Wind / int_deecc9eb | |
Petals on the Wind / int_e4f5affb | type |
The Chew Toy | |
Petals on the Wind / int_e4f5affb | comment |
The Chew Toy: Carrie, Carrie, Carrie. She's disastrously ill at the start and her health problems stunt her growth. Every school she goes to has the other students mock her for her size. Her brother in law, Julian, molests her and makes her feel impure the rest of her life. When she has a chance at happiness with her fiance, he wants to become a minister without knowing of her fear of religious people and it makes her doubt the relationship. And then she sees her mother and is Driven to Suicide when she pretends not to know her. The worst thing of all is that Carrie as a character never develops; she's just there to be Cathy and Chris's Morality Pet and her mentality at twenty is the same as when she's eight. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_e52a0409 | type |
Calling the Old Man Out | |
Petals on the Wind / int_e52a0409 | comment |
Calling the Old Man Out/Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Cathy's main goal is to get revenge on her mother for what she did to her children. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_e52a0409 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_e621b159 | type |
A-Cup Angst | |
Petals on the Wind / int_e621b159 | comment |
A-Cup Angst: Bart admires Cathy's rear as she's dressing. When she asks what he thinks of her front, he says it's "not bad" and she throws a shoe at him. Since the very next paragraph describes her bra as "tiny," and since she frequently compares her slim, petite dancer's figure to that of her taller, curvier mother, we can guess that cup size is a sore point. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_e621b159 | |
Petals on the Wind / int_e7cb46d3 | type |
Satellite Character | |
Petals on the Wind / int_e7cb46d3 | comment |
Satellite Character: Because Petals spans 15 years, it becomes most evident in this book that Cathy kind of treats everyone in her life like this. There are moments when we get glimpses into the interiority of other characters, but this is the exception rather than the rule. Particularly apparent with Chris and Carrie. They were main characters in Flowers, but in Petals each of them is mostly living their own life. We get periodic updates on Chris and Carrie, but it's not their story, it's Cathy's, and we tend to only hear about them when it relates to her. Within the Framing Device of this being Cathy's memoir, and Cathy being something of an Unreliable Narrator, this actually makes a lot of sense: in real life, most people do perceive themselves this way to some extent. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_e8749dab | type |
Teach Him Anger | |
Petals on the Wind / int_e8749dab | comment |
Teach Him Anger: Madame Zolta deliberately provokes Cathy into screaming her at her that she quits, because she wants to see if Cathy has claws. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_e8749dab | |
Petals on the Wind / int_eae41a | type |
The Vamp | |
Petals on the Wind / int_eae41a | comment |
The Vamp: Yolanda. When she finally gets Julian, she dies in a car accident. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_eb8e4fa8 | type |
Jerkass | |
Petals on the Wind / int_eb8e4fa8 | comment |
Bart Winslow has many Jerkass moments, which also include raping Cathy. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_ec02c97e | type |
Defied Trope | |
Petals on the Wind / int_ec02c97e | comment |
Cathy jumps into a relationship with Paul to escape her feelings for Chris. Chris is aware of this early on and very specifically tells her not to. She assures him she won't, and then does anyways. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_edc22fe8 | type |
Cartwright Curse | |
Petals on the Wind / int_edc22fe8 | comment |
Cartwright Curse: Cathy, and how. Julian, Bart, Paul. She even bitterly lampshades this at the end of the book, wondering why Chris isn't afraid to get together with her, given that "behind me lay a trail of dead men." | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_f19b5fcf | type |
Died on Their Birthday | |
Petals on the Wind / int_f19b5fcf | comment |
Died on Their Birthday: Julia kills Scotty on his 3rd birthday as part of a Murder-Suicide. They both drown. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_f829585a | type |
Beauty Is Bad | |
Petals on the Wind / int_f829585a | comment |
Beauty Is Bad: Trampy and bitchy Yolanda is—in Cathy's own words—one of the most beautiful women she's ever seen. Though older now, Cathy's mother remains very beautiful. Cathy despises looking so much like the woman who imprisoned them. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_faf4a043 | type |
Good Adultery, Bad Adultery | |
Petals on the Wind / int_faf4a043 | comment |
Good Adultery, Bad Adultery: There are quite a few affairs, and—while it's not quite clear where the book falls on this morally—the characters take multiple stances. Paul admits to cheating on his late wife, but excuses himself because she was mentally ill and sexually unresponsive. Cathy actually sympathizes with this story, although this later exchange may indicate that the book is more critical of him. Cathy is well-aware that Julian is attracted to very young girls, but doesn't hold it against him—until she learns he molested her little sister. He also cheats on her with women their same age, like Yolanda. He is portrayed as a dick. Cathy justifies having an affair with her mother's husband Bart as part of her revenge. This is seen as vaguely sympathetic because it's from Cathy's POV, although the book is not entirely uncritical of her, giving voice to other characters criticizing her behavior. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_fb3576b2 | type |
The Dog Bites Back | |
Petals on the Wind / int_fb3576b2 | comment |
The Dog Bites Back: Cathy has sworn revenge upon her mother, resulting in several good examples of revenge tropes. The victim of Cathy's Misplaced Retribution is Bart Winslow. With whom she sleeps with and who is the father of her second son, Bart. All of this without ever telling Winslow the truth until it's too late. Later, Cathy attempts a Reunion Revenge at Foxworth Hall. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_fb7cc1ff | type |
Master of the Mixed Message | |
Petals on the Wind / int_fb7cc1ff | comment |
Master of the Mixed Message: Cathy is adamant she and Chris cannot be together, but somehow she often "finds herself" kissing him, and won't hold to any of the boundaries that are classically conducive to getting over someone. For example: | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_fd0925ef | type |
Bitch Alert | |
Petals on the Wind / int_fd0925ef | comment |
Bitch Alert: Yolanda is introduced with the information that even her breasts look bitchy. Paul's sister Amanda flies to New York City armed with photographs and grotesque stories about two-headed babies for no apparent reason other than that she enjoyed ruining lives. Throughout her only scene, she coos backhanded compliments at Cathy and gloats at her distress. | |
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Petals on the Wind / int_feac0f90 | type |
Ephebophile | |
Petals on the Wind / int_feac0f90 | comment |
Ephebophile: Paul, given that Cathy's 15 when he begins lusting after her, and 17 when they consummate their relationship. His sister Amanda claims this is a pattern, although it's hard to know what to believe with Amanda. Cathy is well-aware that Julian is attracted to very young girls, enough to even need to get him to promise to leave Carrie alone. Years later, after Julian's death, she learns that he didn't keep that promise, and molested Carrie when she was 15. | |
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