Did Paul really take in the children because he's a lonely widower trying to fill the void in his life? Or is he nothing more than a pedophile grooming Cathy to be his wife and trying to get into her leotard by way of placating her siblings and sending them to boarding school and out of state colleges?
Julia, given that the bulk of what we know about her comes secondhand from her husband who sees himself as the injured party of the relationship. It's entirely possible he had exaggerated or misunderstood her situation. While it is not wrong to want to have sex with one's spouse, Paul's callous demand for something that she clearly dreads so much looks especially troublesome (though, in retrospect, he does regret the way that he handled the situation). As for turning down the possibility of counseling, this may have been an honest fear of Julia's that the counselor's help might consist of helping her husband bully her into doing her wifely duty. After all, the intended goal of Paul's suggestion of counseling was to convince her to have regular sex with him.
Given Cathy's Unreliable Narrator issues and her extremely screwed-up perception of him, the reader almost certainly doesn't get an accurate portrayal of Chris. He's presented as nearly perfect except for his annoying tendency of repeatedly forcing himself on Cathy. Chris, while handsome, kind, and successful, is often hinted at having his own lingering issues from the attic (people-pleasing tendencies, denying his own needs, wanting to ignore the past, not to mention all the Cathy stuff, etc.), and based on side character comments and how often Cathy "finds herself" in compromising situations with Chris, she likely contributes to their ongoing pseudo-sexual dynamic far more than she's willing to admit.
Designated Hero: Cathy's behavior is downright inexcusable at times, as she constantly blames her mother for EVERYTHING that goes wrong in her life, and ignores her sister and later her son in her obsession for revenge. Remember, we're supposed to be rooting for her to reach her goals.
That looks to be intentional. The traumas Cathy has gone through have left their mark on her. There are hints throughout the books about how she might be imitating her mother's carefree sexuality too well. For some, it works in the book's favor that Cathy has not come through her horrid past emotionally unscathed, and that this dark streak of rage resides within her.
Moment of Awesome: Yolanda and Cathy are backstage, with Yolanda taunting her about having replaced her in Julian's bed and his life. When the music starts and Cathy tries to go on, Yolanda tries to restrain her... and the fed-up Cathy shoves her so hard that she falls down.
Older Than They Think: The name Jory. It's picked by Cathy for Julian and Cory, but the name while uncommon then or today, is an actual name that's not made up by Andrews.
Recycled Script: Paul tells a story of his honeymoon with Julia, who was so terrified to consummate their marriage that she spent several hours locked in the bathroom on their honeymoon night. This same scenario plays out in My Sweet Audrina, where the traumatized title character locks herself in the bathroom on her honeymoon night to avoid consummating her marriage. My Sweet Audrina is suspected to be an older manuscript, written well before Flowers in the Attic, that Andrews never intended to publish. It seems possible that Andrews, believing Audrina would never see the light of day, borrowed the honeymoon scene for Petals, then later changed her mind and published Audrina with the original scene intact.
Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Julia. What happened to her as a child was horrible and so were the marital rapes she had to endure. But she rebuffed or refused all of Paul's genuine attempts at helping her get over her sexual fears without even trying—to the point of laughing in his face when he suggested she see a therapist—fully expected Paul to be content with a Sexless Marriage, given her rage when she learned of his infidelity, and murdered their son to get back at him.
Paul would be the unsympathetic one in this situation. Keep in mind that the story of Julia is told completely from Paul's point of view, so he may have fudged the degree of her unreasonableness. Though he does seem genuinely regretful of the way he treated her, he also is utterly baffled as to why she would hate him so much. A bit of Values Dissonance comes into play that Paul expects Julia simply to forgive him for raping her and transform into a loving wife — he's even willing to take her to counseling so she can "get over" her phobic feelings about having sex with him after he has violated her trust — but Julia refuses to agree with this plan, apparently (as Paul tells it to Cathy) for no other reason than to make his life difficult. Oh, Paul.
What the Hell, Hero?: Bart violently rapes Cathy on their first date. Cathy herself refers to the attack as rape and reacts by sobbing, threatening to call the police, and telling Bart that she will shoot him if he ever comes near her again. A few days later, Cathy invites Bart back to her home and their affair begins in earnest. The rape is never mentioned again.
Awesome Music: The promo for the Lifetime movie based on the novel uses Kelly Sweet's cover of the already awesome Phil Collins classic "In The Air Tonight."
Fridge Brilliance: Not once but twice do Cathy and Chris fail to close a door behind them before they start making out. Both times they are seen: once by Carrie, once by Chris's fiancee. You'd think they'd learn to make sure the door was locked before they got started...but then again, considering the place they escaped, they might simply never want to be stuck behind a closed, locked door again.
