Petals on the Wind

CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS!

Petals on the Wind by V.C Andrews 
Question: Who's perspective is missing? What effect would it have had? Why do you think the author chose not to include it?

Petals on the Wind by V.C Andrews is about the three Dollanganger Dolls trying to find their place in the world after escaping the mother who killed their 4^th Dollanganger Doll, telling that they would need to be hidden until she inherits the millions of dollars her grandfather has. While the two main dolls-Cathy and Christopher- manage to find their place-with the help of their new guardian, Paul Sheffield-while one doll withers slowly, mourning for the 4^th doll who had been her twin, Cory, who had been the closet person with her in the whole world.  

The point of view which the story is told is the dancing doll, Cathy. Cathy is the most bitter of the dolls. She is stuck in the past, wanting revenge for the mother who betrayed them all-especially the child who loved her the most and who Cathy is closest to, Christopher. As she strives through her dancing career, trying to become the best dancer in the world (for personal reasons involving her mother and since she loves dancing), she begins to plan to get revenge on her mother, making sure she is aware of where she is and sending her letters that say something like: ‘Are you still running away from me? Don’t you know yet you can never run fast enough for far enough? Someday I will catch up, and we will meet again. Perhaps this time you will suffer as you made me suffer, and, hopefully, thrice the amount.’ 

Though Cathy’s point of the view on things makes the book interesting, suspenseful, and makes me wanna read it over and over again, I feel that there could be other people who tell the story and still tell the story wonderfully. The first person I think could make it interesting is the Doctor Doll-Christopher. 

I think Christopher could make it just as interesting is because you would get to know what he thinks. His mother betrayed him, he loved his mother, he thought she was perfect, that no one else could be better than her…and then she goes and locks him up in a room, promising him riches beyond beliefs, not letting him go outside, not letting him live a life! Then 3 years later, when they plan to escape, and after Cory-the Dead Doll-died, Chris’s heart is broken. The woman he loved the most killed his little brother and made him suffer at a very young age all for riches which he found out in the end, he and his siblings would have to die so the mom could keep the riches…

The story would show what Chris feels about his mother betraying him. How he feels about when he has to choose becoming a doctor or staying with Cathy (He loves her-they’ve been locked up for 3 years, becoming closer and closer, so, yeah) and Carrie-the dying, mourning little doll, and how he ended up choosing the becoming a doctor. Also how Cathy tries to escape the sinful love they have by marrying Julian (Another famous dancer) then going to New York, then as he dies, she goes and marries Paul (It’s complicated…). Chris, who is so shut up, who mourns more than Cathy though doesn’t show it, who wants his sister to be his and his only, who just can’t stand the fact that his own mother wants to money more than them, no matter what she says. Chris is so expressional with his blue eyes, he get hurt easily; he doesn’t have that mean spark like Cathy…Chris who would have made an excellent person to tell the story of trying to live in the world. 

Another person who would be good to hear from is the mother-Corrine. The mother doll, who made it clear she wanted money more than her own children who loved her so much, who made it clear she cared more for herself than others, the one who killed her own child and tried to get away from it. How did she feel when she put arsenic in the children’s food to kill them slowly? How could she bear it? How could she walk in that room, telling the Dolls that she still loves them and is working hard for them just to get them out when she really was just spending the money she had gained in due time, living the lives the Dolls should have had? How could she do it? How could she betray her own children just to get money? How is the question, or for Cathy, Chris, Carrie, and Cory, why? 

What the telling of Chris’s and Corrine’s point of view, for me, would have made the book more interesting. Cathy’s point of view makes me love the book-but I’d like to know what it was like for the mother to see her children die then become successful later, when they hate her. I’d like to know what it would be like for the one who loved the mother the most, to slowly realize the mother loved money more than them. I don’t think that if it had been told from their point of view they couldn’t have ‘drowned out’ Cathy’s voice. Cathy is a headstrong dancer; a bit like her mother when she wants things to go her way-as in she would do anything to get it. Cathy’s version shows what she would do to get her revenge on her mother. Chris wouldn’t really do anything just try and stop Cathy but ending up failing. Corrine would just mourn, wanting her children back and wanting to reverse her mistakes. Cathy shows the step by step of what she does to get her revenge, she shows her struggles, her anger, the mistakes she made, the things she pleads. But either way, any view from there’s would have been awesome to hear from…maybe even the little twins, the most innocent, would have been nice to read…or maybe even a person from the outside trying to tell the Dollanganger’s twisted story.