Flowers in the Attic (1987) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Corrine concealed her children in the attic because her wealthy father, Malcolm Foxworth, had disinherited her when she married Christopher. When Malcolm became ill, Corrine saw an opportunity to reclaim her inheritance by returning to Foxworth Hall, but she knew her father would not accept her marriage or children. To keep her presence a secret, she confined the children to an upstairs room, promising it would be temporary.

Foreshadowing: Corrine had previously told her children about her estrangement from her wealthy father, foreshadowing the need for secrecy.

• corrine
• foxworth hall
• hidden children
• malcolm foxworth
• inheritance

Cory died from food poisoning that was deliberately inflicted by his grandmother. After the children discovered the poisoning and realized the grandmother had been slowly killing them, Chris, Cathy, and Carrie fled Foxworth Hall. The grandmother had been systematically starving and poisoning the children to keep them hidden and ensure they would never reveal their existence to Malcolm.

Foreshadowing: The grandmother's harsh rules and sudden treats that later turned to silence hinted at her malicious intent.

• cory
• death
• poisoning
• grandmother
• food poisoning
• foxworth hall

Corrine ultimately abandoned her children because she prioritized reclaiming her inheritance and her new life with Bart Winslow over her own children. After her father died, she and Bart fled Foxworth Hall without the children, leaving them entirely in the grandmother's cruel hands. Chris later discovered that Corrine had forfeited her inheritance by having children from her previous marriage, making her choose between her children and her wealth, and she chose to abandon them.

Foreshadowing: Corrine's visits had become increasingly infrequent over the years, and her return with stories of European trips while the twins deteriorated showed where her priorities lay.

• corrine
• abandonment
• bart winslow
• inheritance
• foxworth hall

The twins, Carrie and Cory, were fathered by Christopher (the children's father) with his half-sister, making them the result of incest. This shocking secret was revealed by the grandmother when she imposed strict rules about modesty and separation between the children. The incestuous relationship had produced the twins, a fact that Corrine had kept hidden even from the children themselves.

Foreshadowing: The grandmother's emphasis on strict rules and separation between the children, particularly targeting Chris and Cathy, hinted at the forbidden nature of the family.

• twins
• cory
• carrie
• incest
• christopher
• parentage
• family secret

Corrine's visits gradually stopped because she was focused on repairing her relationship with her dying father and reclaiming her inheritance. The grandmother enforced increasingly strict rules, telling Corrine that the children should not know her as their mother. As months turned into years, Corrine chose to distance herself, eventually abandoning them entirely to pursue her new life with Bart Winslow.

Foreshadowing: Early in their confinement, the grandmother began enforcing harsh rules about modesty and parental absence, gradually cutting off the children's access to their mother.

• corrine
• visits
• attic
• grandmother
• isolation

Chris was brutally punished by the grandmother for looking at Cathy with longing because the grandmother was aware of the incestuous tensions in the household and used this as an opportunity to exert control and create further division between the children. The punishment involved severe hunger and isolation, intended to break the children's spirits and keep them compliant.

Foreshadowing: The reveal of the twins' incestuous parentage set the tone for the grandmother's surveillance of all the children's relationships.

• chris
• cathy
• punishment
• grandmother
• incest

The grandmother was the primary architect of the children's prolonged captivity. She enforced brutal rules requiring the children to wear drab clothing, forbade them from making noise, and isolated them from their mother. When Malcolm died, she continued keeping the children hidden and systematically poisoned them to prevent their escape or discovery. She acted entirely out of malice to protect the family's reputation and maintain control.

Foreshadowing: From the moment she imposed harsh restrictions on modesty and parental contact, the grandmother demonstrated her willingness to go to extreme lengths to conceal the children.

• grandmother
• confinement
• foxworth hall
• malcolm
• poisoning
• control

Cathy and Chris made paper flowers to transform their oppressive attic prison into a sanctuary and maintain their sanity. The attic became their only refuge from the harsh restrictions imposed by their grandmother. Creating the flowers was an act of creativity and hope, a way to beautify their bleak surroundings while enduring years of confinement and neglect.

Foreshadowing: The flowers served as a symbol of their resilience and their ability to find beauty even in captivity, foreshadowing their eventual escape and survival.

• cathy
• chris
• paper flowers
• attic
• hope
• sanctuary

When Chris searched through Corrine's belongings after she fled, he discovered that Corrine had forfeited her entire inheritance by having children from her previous marriage to Christopher. This meant there was no fortune waiting for her at Foxworth Hall, it had been lost years ago. This revelation shifted the children's understanding of their situation: the grandmother's cruelty was not driven by protecting an inheritance, but purely by malice.

Foreshadowing: Corrine had returned to Foxworth Hall seeking her inheritance, but the children's suffering continued even after Malcolm's death, suggesting something didn't add up.

• chris
• corrine
• inheritance
• forfeiture
• revelation
• foxworth hall

When Cathy found Bart sleeping one day, she kissed him in a moment of teenage desperation and rebellion against her confined existence. This act triggered Chris's jealousy and led to a violent confrontation between the siblings. The incident highlighted the emotional turmoil and twisted dynamics that years of isolation and incestuous tension had created among the children.

Foreshadowing: The kiss represented the psychological damage caused by their prolonged confinement and the unhealthy emotional dependencies that had developed.

• cathy
• bart winslow
• kiss
• chris
• jealousy
• conflict

The three surviving siblings, Chris, Cathy, and Carrie, escaped Foxworth Hall and boarded a train bound for Florida. They chose Florida as their destination hoping to start fresh far from the traumatic memories of Foxworth Hall. The escape marked their physical liberation from years of abuse and captivity.

Foreshadowing: Their earlier failed escape plans and the desperate yearning for freedom throughout the story built toward this final successful departure.

• escape
• florida
• train
• chris
• cathy
• carrie
• foxworth hall

Carrie was the surviving twin. Cory fell gravely ill from the deliberate poisoning inflicted by their grandmother and died before the children could escape. Carrie survived the poisoning and made it out alive with Chris and Cathy, escaping Foxworth Hall together.

Foreshadowing: The twins' health had been deteriorating for months due to starvation and poisoning, with Cory being the weaker of the two.

• cory
• carrie
• twins
• survival
• death
• poisoning