by Mary Beougher

Created on: August 19, 2010

For a follow-up to such a critically acclaimed novel, Petals on the Wind by V.C. Andrews masterfully continues the story begun in Flowers in the Attic.  Chris, Cathy, and Carrie have escaped the attic and Foxworth Hall, where they were imprisoned for over three years. It is time for them to finally have their day in the sun. For the three of them, however, it’s not that simple. If Flowers in the Attic was a harrowing tale of survival, then Petals on the Wind is the story of struggling to live with the shadows and demons of the past.

This story is told from Cathy’s point of view and it is her need for vengeance and search for love that drives the plot. From the very beginning she chafes at Chris’s need to protect their mother and defies him, although he is the eldest, revealing their story to the doctor that initially saves them from being alone in the world. Through Dr. Paul’s generosity, Cathy is able to pursue her dream of becoming a ballerina. She gains fame, but her quest for retribution is always in the back of her mind, as she sends clips of her success to her mother, the woman who exchanged her own children for a fortune, in an effort to torture her. Cathy’s need drives her to commit depraved acts that are followed by guilt, but even that doesn’t deter her. Although she never manages to completely shut out the whispers of the past, Cathy eventually comes to realize that the quest for vengeance and the desire for a perfect and ever-abiding love are just part of a childish fantasy and that she must put these things aside if she is ever to truly live.

Chris also wants to have success in his life, but his dream is to be a doctor, so it is a less selfish need than Cathy’s. His personal demon, which characterizes his struggles in Petals on the Wind, and a situation that might never have come to light had they not been locked up together, is his love for his sister that is somewhat more than brotherly. From the beginning, he makes it clear that it is Cathy that he wants and tells her that no matter what she does she will never be free of him. The situation is fulfilling of a prophecy made by the Grandmother in Flowers in the Attic, who feared such an “unholy” union, which mirrored the union of their parents. Eventually, Chris achieves his goal of becoming a doctor, but he never manages to escape his incestuous feelings for his sister, but unlike Cathy, he is at peace with his feelings and by the end,

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