Three in the Attic (1968) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

The three women locked Paxton in the attic after discovering he was dating all three of them simultaneously, promising each woman an exclusive relationship while cheating on all of them. Tobey confronted Paxton with evidence from an art show painting by Eulice that confirmed his indiscretions. The women planned to demand constant sexual companionship as punishment for his betrayal, effectively turning his deceit into a playful revenge scheme.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes showed Paxton's brothers plotting to have him date three women at once, a scheme that directly led to this confrontation when the women compared notes.

• attic confinement
• revenge plot
• three women
• betrayal
• punishment

Paxton went on a hunger strike because he refused to capitulate to the women's demands for constant sexual companionship. He resisted their control and manipulation, seeing the hunger strike as his only form of rebellion against being held captive. The two weeks of malnutrition eventually became severe enough that Tobey consented to release him, fearing for his life.

Foreshadowing: The film established early on that Paxton, despite his womanizing ways, had a strong sense of self-preservation and wasn't easily controlled.

• hunger strike
• resistance
• malnutrition
• captivity
• refusal

Dean Nazarin connected the missing-person report about Paxton's sudden drop in class attendance with clues from the dorms and the attic. She pieced together evidence from the Fulton College side of campus and concluded that Paxton was being held at Ford Hall by Tobey, Eulice, and Jan. Her investigation threatened to expose the situation as a scandal but also gave her leverage to negotiate a resolution.

Foreshadowing: The dean's investigation was triggered by Paxton's absence from classes, which the timeline shows occurred two weeks into his confinement.

• dean
• nazarin
• investigation
• missing person
• campus authorities

Dean Nazarin offered a pragmatic resolution that protected the women's reputations. She told Tobey that Paxton could be released without formal campus sanctions against the trio. The dean balanced justice with mercy, viewing the situation as a morally tangled dilemma best handled discreetly. This allowed the women to avoid disciplinary action while Paxton recovered from his ordeal.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes showed the dean was more concerned with preventing a scandal than with strict enforcement of rules.

• dean
• nazarin
• no punishment
• reputation
• discretion

Paxton's moral awakening was triggered by witnessing the casual abuse of a drunken student at a Zeta Chi party. Seeing this injustice stirred something inside him, and he stepped forward to defend the vulnerable girl. This moment of standing up for someone else marked the beginning of his shift from selfish womanizer to someone capable of genuine commitment.

Foreshadowing: The timeline indicates this was a pivotal turning point that led directly to Paxton renting an apartment to show he could be serious about Tobey.

• moral awakening
• witnessing abuse
• change
• commitment
• growth

The three women discovered Paxton's cheating when Tobey confronted him with evidence from an art show painting. Eulice had painted a portrait of Paxton, which revealed to Tobey that Eulice also had a relationship with him. This evidence confirmed what had been building throughout the film, the near-discovery at the movie theater when Eulice and Jan almost caught Paxton with Tobey.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes showed multiple close calls where Paxton was almost discovered, including the movie theater incident where Eulice and Jan spotted him.

• discovered cheating
• art show
• Eulice painting
• evidence
• infidelity

The ending suggests Paxton is capable of change, though the reconciliation is fragile. After being released and recovering, he enlisted Eulice's help to locate Tobey, who was leaving town on a bus. He made a desperate plea for reconciliation, and Tobey chose to stay. The film closes on hopeful renewal while acknowledging the scars left by the summer's trials, the forgiveness is possible but requires genuine effort.

Foreshadowing: This reconciliation builds on Paxton's earlier moral awakening when he defended the student at the Zeta Chi party.

• reconciliation
• forgiveness
• change
• growth
• Tobey
• Eulice

The women chose this punishment as a form of ironic reversal, they wanted Paxton to experience exactly what he had been offering insincerely to multiple women. By demanding constant sexual companionship, they turned his own deceptive tactics against him. The punishment was meant to wear him down both physically and emotionally, though it ultimately escalated to the point where even Tobey recognized it had gone too far.

Foreshadowing: The premise of the film revolved around Paxton's womanizing, making this thematically appropriate revenge.

• sexual punishment
• revenge
• irony
• confinement
• reversal

While attending a movie with Tobey, Paxton was almost discovered by Eulice and Jan, who spotted him from the front of the theater. He barely escaped detection by the women he was simultaneously dating. This close call highlighted how precarious his double life had become and intensified the tension leading up to the eventual discovery.

Foreshadowing: This near-miss was one of several escalating close calls that made the women's eventual discovery inevitable.

• movie theater
• near discovery
• double life
• close call
• tension

During a motorcycle ride, Eulice asked Paxton to pose naked for a painting, claiming she wanted to capture his physique. However, the request was actually a prank, Eulice only wanted to paint his face, but she arranged things so he ended up exposed in more ways than one. The encounter led to a motel rendezvous charged with reckless energy, and Paxton boasted to his brothers about his lack of remorse afterward.

Foreshadowing: This scene established Eulice as a more cunning and unpredictable character than Paxton's usual conquests.

• Eulice
• painting
• naked
• motorcycle
• motel

Tobey's parents discovered Paxton and Tobey living together at her family house in Provincetown during summer break. After a heated confrontation, the parents drove them apart for the last two weeks of summer. Despite this separation, Tobey returned to Willard with renewed devotion, convinced Paxton would change, a hope that would later be shattered by his continued infidelity.

Foreshadowing: This early conflict established the pattern of Tobey clinging to hope despite Paxton's behavior.

• Tobey parents
• Provincetown
• confrontation
• separation
• summer

Paxton's sudden absence from classes for two weeks triggered a campus-wide concern at Willard College. The dean issued a missing-person description that reached beyond their own grounds into the Fulton College community. This official concern eventually led Dean Nazarin to investigate and piece together clues about Paxton's whereabouts, initiating the chain of events that would resolve the attic situation.

Foreshadowing: The timeline shows Paxton's absence directly preceded the dean's involvement in the case.

• missing person
• classes
• attendance
• dean
• campus concern