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Example of Disabled Love Interest does not really qualify for new definition of Tragically Disabled Love Interest


* InspirationallyDisabled: Arden's mother Billie was an [[GloryDays ice-skating champion]] who [[ICouldaBeenAContender might have competed in the Olympics]] until she [[CareerEndingInjury lost both legs to diabetes]]. She then becomes a DisabledLoveInterest for [[spoiler:Audrina's father]]. Audrina finds this repulsive.

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* InspirationallyDisabled: Arden's mother Billie was an [[GloryDays ice-skating champion]] who [[ICouldaBeenAContender might have competed in the Olympics]] until she [[CareerEndingInjury lost both legs to diabetes]]. She then becomes a DisabledLoveInterest love interest for [[spoiler:Audrina's father]]. Audrina finds this repulsive.
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* IntimateLotionApplication: When Audrina, Vera, and Arden are hanging out by a lake, Vera takes the opportunity to lie down to sunbathe, and coyly asks Arden to rub sun lotion on her back. Arden is unable to refuse, which naturally makes his LoveInterest Audrina very jealous and insecure, which is [[SeductionAsOneUpmanship exactly what Vera is going for]].
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Daylight Horror is no longer a trope, don't link it anywhere.


* DaylightHorror: The second Audrina is terrified of flashing colors, keeping herself to the shadows to avoid the patterns of the stained-glass windows on the floor of her home. [[spoiler:We later learn that the First Audrina attempted suicide from one of those windows during a violent lightning storm.]]
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Seven-year-old [[AlliterativeName Audrina Adele Adare]] lives in isolation in a OldDarkHouse called Whitefern, along with her dad Damian, beautiful but self-absorbed mother Lucky, [[OldMaid her bitter spinster aunt Ellsbeth]], and Ellsbeth's jealous, spiteful daughter [[TheVamp Vera]]. Audrina suffers from [[LaserGuidedAmnesia a sporadic memory]] and a strange inability to sense time passing, leaving her confused and vulnerable. Her papa forbids her to go to school, make friends, or [[DontGoIntoTheWoods visit the woods behind their house]] where, on a rainy day nine years before Audrina's birth, her adored elder sister ([[LegacyVesselNaming also named Audrina]]) was [[RapeAsBackstory raped and murdered]].

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Seven-year-old [[AlliterativeName Audrina Adele Adare]] lives in isolation in a OldDarkHouse called Whitefern, along with her dad Damian, beautiful but self-absorbed mother Lucky, [[OldMaid her bitter spinster aunt Ellsbeth]], and Ellsbeth's jealous, spiteful daughter [[TheVamp Vera]]. Audrina suffers from [[LaserGuidedAmnesia a sporadic memory]] and a strange inability to sense time passing, leaving her confused and vulnerable. Her papa forbids her to go to school, make friends, or [[DontGoIntoTheWoods visit the woods behind their house]] where, on a rainy day nine years before Audrina's birth, her adored elder sister ([[LegacyVesselNaming ([[DeadGuyJunior also named Audrina]]) was [[RapeAsBackstory raped and murdered]].

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What The Hell Hero is for when a hero gets called out for acting unheroically in-story. The removed example is misuse.


[[FromBadToWorse It goes about as well as you'd expect.]]

As Audrina grows up, she begins to break away from her papa and her home, but her life is still overshadowed by memories that don't belong to her, memories that threaten to ruin her marriage and destroy her sanity. If she's ever going to live a normal life, she must finally learn [[LockedOutOfTheLoop the terrifying secret that everyone else already knows.]]

Everyone except...[[TitleDrop My Sweet Audrina]]

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[[FromBadToWorse It goes about as well as you'd expect.]]

expect]].

As Audrina grows up, she begins to break away from her papa and her home, but her life is still overshadowed by memories that don't belong to her, memories that threaten to ruin her marriage and destroy her sanity. If she's ever going to live a normal life, she must finally learn [[LockedOutOfTheLoop the terrifying secret that everyone else already knows.]]

knows]].

Everyone except... [[TitleDrop My Sweet Audrina]]
Audrina]].



* AbusiveParents: Damian and Lucky. Even before [[spoiler: Audrina was raped]], Damian was a father who was satisfied only with being treated with unquestioned obedience and worship. [[spoiler: After the rape, Lucky scrubs Audrina's skin so hard during a scalding hot bath that she bleeds and was the more hysterical parent. She also seems to see Audrina as defiled and impure from then on.]]
** Regarding Vera, he and Ellsbeth averts this trope more or less due to Vera being an EnfantTerrible.

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* AbusiveParents: Damian and Lucky. Even before [[spoiler: Audrina [[spoiler:Audrina was raped]], Damian was a father who was satisfied only with being treated with unquestioned obedience and worship. [[spoiler: After [[spoiler:After the rape, Lucky scrubs Audrina's skin so hard during a scalding hot bath that she bleeds and was the more hysterical parent. She also seems to see Audrina as defiled and impure from then on.]]
**
]] Regarding Vera, he and Ellsbeth averts avert this trope more or less due to Vera being an EnfantTerrible.



* AdaptationalHeroism: Arden's a ''much'' better person in the movie. While he participates in the ruse along with everyone else:
** It's shown that he actually tried to stop Audrina's rape, rather than running like a coward, before being overpowered by her assailants.
** ''Doesn't'' force himself on Audrina on their wedding night and patiently endures their SexlessMarriage until she's ready to have sex.
** Although clearly tempted, with the exception of one kiss that he immediately regrets, ultimately resists Vera's attempts at seducing him rather than succumbing immediately. Even after she drugs and undresses him, he's still coherent enough to fight her off.

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* AdaptationalHeroism: Arden's a ''much'' better person in the movie. While he participates in the ruse along with everyone else:
** It's
else, it's shown that he actually tried to stop Audrina's rape, rather than running like a coward, before being overpowered by her assailants.
** ''Doesn't''
assailants, ''doesn't'' force himself on Audrina on their wedding night and in fact patiently endures their SexlessMarriage waits until she's ready to have sex.
** Although
sex, and finally, although clearly tempted, with the exception of one kiss that he immediately regrets, ultimately resists Vera's attempts at seducing him rather than succumbing immediately. Even after she drugs and undresses him, he's still coherent enough to fight her off.immediately.



* TheBeautifulElite: The family is wealthy, lives in a huge house, and are all (with the exception of the plainer Ellsbeth) repeatedly described as very beautiful. Even Sylvia, who has severe and very apparent disabilities, is so striking that it's easy to miss her condition at first glance.
** Even Ellsbeth doesn't escape this trope. When Audrina spies on her and Damian, Ellsbeth is wearing such a sheer nightgown that she's as good as naked and Audrina says she's much more attractive without clothes to the point where she could compete with her prettier sister.

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* TheBeautifulElite: The family is wealthy, lives in a huge house, and are all (with the exception of the plainer Ellsbeth) repeatedly described as very beautiful. Even Sylvia, who has severe and very apparent disabilities, is so striking that it's easy to miss her condition at first glance.
**
glance. Even Ellsbeth doesn't escape this trope. When trope; when Audrina spies on her and Damian, Ellsbeth is wearing such a sheer nightgown that she's as good as naked naked, and Audrina says that she's much more attractive without clothes clothes, to the point where that she could compete with her prettier sister.



* BedroomAdulteryScene: Audrina catches Vera and Arden together in rooms that are never used. They're not doing anything, but it's heavily implied that they were about to start or had just finished. They later [[spoiler: go at it on the floor of her sickroom, unaware that she's come out of her coma and can see them]]. The movie waters it down to her walking in on them kissing.
* BigDamnHeroes: Sylvia, of all people, gets this when [[spoiler: she manages to get the once comatose Audrina out of her sickroom after Vera tries to trick her into unplugging the life support by putting cookies around the plug.]]

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* BedroomAdulteryScene: Audrina catches Vera and Arden together in rooms that are never used. They're not doing anything, but it's heavily implied that they were about to start or had just finished. They later [[spoiler: go [[spoiler:go at it on the floor of her sickroom, unaware that she's come out of her coma and can see them]]. The movie waters it down to her walking in on them kissing.
* BigDamnHeroes: Sylvia, of all people, gets this when [[spoiler: she [[spoiler:she manages to get the once comatose Audrina out of her sickroom after Vera tries to trick her into unplugging the life support by putting cookies around the plug.]]plug]].



** In the most explicit example, [[spoiler:Lucky dies giving birth to Sylvia.]] To make things worse, this happens on Audrina's ninth birthday.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Lucky, who indirectly taunts Ellsbeth [[spoiler: about how she stole Damian away from her]] and still keeps drinking while she's pregnant all while she's portrayed as the sweet, pretty Whitefern daughter compared to her plainer, serious sister. Vera would be this but she puts her bitchiness on display far more openly and her sweetness is almost always fake.
* BreadEggsMilkSquick: After being hit with a blood-clot [[spoiler: flung by her hemorrhaging, hysterical daughter in the throes of a miscarriage]], Ellsbeth calmly returns to the kitchen, changes her bloodstained apron, and goes back to rolling pie crusts.
* BrokenBird: Ellsbeth. After [[spoiler: Damian impregnates her with Vera and then leaves to marry her sister,]] she swears off men forever, only to end up a domestic servant for her sister and brother-in-law to provide a home for her daughter and herself. Vera becomes a terrifyingly oversexed and evil child and [[spoiler: even pushes Ellsbeth down the stairs, killing her.]] The only time she's ever happy is when she finally has Damian to herself at long last [[spoiler: after Lucky dies giving birth to Sylvia]] but it doesn't last long. She's also the OnlySaneMan in the story due to her treating Audrina like a real person rather than antagonizing her or lying to her.

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** In the most explicit example, [[spoiler:Lucky dies giving birth to Sylvia.]] Sylvia]]. To make things worse, this happens on Audrina's ninth birthday.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Lucky, who indirectly taunts Ellsbeth [[spoiler: about [[spoiler:about how she stole Damian away from her]] and still keeps drinking while she's pregnant all while she's portrayed as the sweet, pretty Whitefern daughter compared to her plainer, serious sister. Vera would be this this, but she puts her bitchiness on display far more openly and her sweetness is almost always fake.
* BreadEggsMilkSquick: After being hit with a blood-clot [[spoiler: flung [[spoiler:flung by her hemorrhaging, hysterical daughter in the throes of a miscarriage]], Ellsbeth calmly returns to the kitchen, changes her bloodstained apron, and goes back to rolling pie crusts.
* BrokenBird: Ellsbeth. After [[spoiler: Damian [[spoiler:Damian impregnates her with Vera and then leaves to marry her sister,]] sister]], she swears off men forever, only to end up a domestic servant for her sister and brother-in-law to provide a home for her daughter and herself. Vera becomes a terrifyingly oversexed and evil child and [[spoiler: even [[spoiler:even pushes Ellsbeth down the stairs, killing her.]] her]]. The only time she's ever happy is when she finally has Damian to herself at long last [[spoiler: after [[spoiler:after Lucky dies giving birth to Sylvia]] Sylvia]], but it doesn't last long. She's also the OnlySaneMan in the story due to her treating Audrina like a real person rather than antagonizing her or lying to her.



* CainAndAbel: Vera and Audrina. The comparison becomes even more apt when we find out that the two are not only cousins, but half-sisters, and that [[spoiler:Vera set Audrina up to be gang-raped in order to spoil her in their father's eyes so that Vera would look like the better daughter.]]
** Lucky and Ellsbeth also count though they're not at all what people think they are. [[spoiler: Lucky is treated as Abel but is more Cain-like in personality due to being more deceptive and secretly cruel. The stern Ellsbeth is seen as the Cain but is more Abel-like since she is actually a nicer person than her sister.]]
* CallingTheOldManOut: The climax of the novel is Audrina finally doing this. She goes on to call ''everyone'' out, including Arden and Vera.

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* CainAndAbel: CainAndAbel:
**
Vera and Audrina. The comparison becomes even more apt when we find out that the two are not only cousins, but half-sisters, and that [[spoiler:Vera set Audrina up to be gang-raped in order to spoil her in their father's eyes so that Vera would look like the better daughter.]]
daughter]].
** Lucky and Ellsbeth also count count, though they're not at all what people think they are. [[spoiler: Lucky [[spoiler:Lucky is treated as Abel but is more Cain-like in personality due to being more deceptive and secretly cruel. The stern Ellsbeth is seen as the Cain but is more Abel-like since she is actually a nicer person than her sister.]]
* CallingTheOldManOut: The climax of the novel is Audrina finally doing this. She goes on to call ''everyone'' out, including Arden and Vera.CallingTheOldManOut:



** The climax of the novel is Audrina finally doing this. She goes on to call ''everyone'' out, including Arden and Vera.



* {{Clairvoyance}}: Audrina displays a mild (and mostly unremarked upon) gift for seeing the past and future, which her father tries to channel through the rocking chair. For example, she uses her intuition to play the stock market, [[spoiler: she predicts Lucky's death around the moment it's happening]], and at the end of the book, she [[spoiler: believes she receives a warning against leaving Sylvia alone with Damian]].
** Some of Audrina's apparent clairvoyance may be conflated with [[spoiler: the gaslighting that has caused her to forget her past; she believes her own memories are actually those of her dead sister]]. Other times, the clairvoyance is PlayedStraight.



* ConvenientMiscarriage : Actually, a very inconvenient one, because it was supposed to be [[spoiler: Vera's way to escape Whitefern by forcing Lamar to marry her.]] Another [[{{Squick}} memorable scene]] happens when [[spoiler: Vera crawls around on the floor in blood and throws one of the clumps.]]
* ConverseWithTheUnconscious: Everyone to Audrina while she's in her coma. Vera to cruelly taunt her about how she and Arden are having sex and intend to kill her off for good, Arden to move her arms and legs and implore her to PleaseWakeUp, and Damien to basically whine and cry about how all [[ItsAllAboutMe this is affecting HIM]].
* CorporalPunishment: One of Vera's complaints about the blatant favoritism in the house is that the adults always spanked her for any minor transgression but never punished Audrina. In fact, we see Damien spanking Vera (through a pair of transparent panties, no less) when Vera's well into her teens.

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* ConvenientMiscarriage : ConvenientMiscarriage: Actually, a very inconvenient one, because it was supposed to be [[spoiler: Vera's [[spoiler:Vera's way to escape Whitefern by forcing Lamar to marry her.]] her]]. Another [[{{Squick}} memorable scene]] happens when [[spoiler: Vera [[spoiler:Vera crawls around on the floor in blood and throws one of the clumps.]]
clumps]].
* ConverseWithTheUnconscious: Everyone to Audrina while she's in her coma. Vera to cruelly taunt her about how she and Arden are having sex and intend to kill her off for good, Arden to move her arms and legs and implore her to PleaseWakeUp, and Damien to basically whine and cry about how all [[ItsAllAboutMe this is affecting HIM]].
''[[ItsAllAboutMe him]]''.
* CorporalPunishment: CorporalPunishment:
**
One of Vera's complaints about the blatant favoritism in the house is that the adults always spanked her for any minor transgression but never punished Audrina. In fact, we see Damien spanking Vera (through a pair of transparent panties, no less) when Vera's well into her teens.



* CoversAlwaysLie: [[http://www.completevca.com/pics/full/adare_audrina2016_1.jpg The cover for the book's 2016 edition]] shows Audrina as a brunette, probably to tie in with the film version. Likewise the cover of ''Whitefern,'' though in black and white, appears to show Audrina as a brunette.
** Audrina's stated hair color in the novel (an impossible mixture of blonde, red, chestnut, platinum, and white) is very difficult to portray visually. Most covers simply show her as a strawberry blonde.

to:

* CoversAlwaysLie: [[http://www.completevca.com/pics/full/adare_audrina2016_1.jpg The cover for the book's 2016 edition]] shows Audrina as a brunette, probably to tie in with the film version. Likewise the cover of ''Whitefern,'' though in black and white, appears to show Audrina as a brunette.
**
brunette. Audrina's stated hair color in the novel (an impossible mixture of blonde, red, chestnut, platinum, and white) is very difficult to portray visually. Most visually; most covers simply show her as a strawberry blonde.



* DaylightHorror : The second Audrina is terrified of flashing colors, keeping herself to the shadows to avoid the patterns of the stained glass windows on the floor of her home. [[spoiler: We later learn that the First Audrina attempted suicide from one of those windows during a violent lightning storm.]]
* DeadGuyJunior: [[spoiler: Audrina THINKS she's this to the first one]].

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* DaylightHorror : DaylightHorror: The second Audrina is terrified of flashing colors, keeping herself to the shadows to avoid the patterns of the stained glass stained-glass windows on the floor of her home. [[spoiler: We [[spoiler:We later learn that the First Audrina attempted suicide from one of those windows during a violent lightning storm.]]
* DeadGuyJunior: [[spoiler: Audrina THINKS [[spoiler:Audrina ''thinks'' she's this to the first one]].one.]]



* DefiledForever: The First Audrina's opinion of herself after being raped, ''upheld by her father,'' who consistently refers to the First Audrina as having been "spoiled."
** Lucky is implied to have upheld it to, though to a lesser extent. [[spoiler:The scalding-hot bath and the rather vicious cleaning strongly imply that she viewed Audrina as defiled, though Damian later says that she occasionally agreed with Ellsbeth that gaslighting Audrina was damaging and that they should just help her cope with her trauma normally]].

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* DefiledForever: The First Audrina's opinion of herself after being raped, ''upheld by her father,'' who consistently refers to the First Audrina as having been "spoiled."
**
"spoiled". Lucky is implied to have upheld it to, though to a lesser extent. [[spoiler:The scalding-hot scalding hot bath and the rather vicious cleaning strongly imply that she viewed Audrina as defiled, though Damian later says that she occasionally agreed with Ellsbeth that gaslighting Audrina was damaging and that they should just help her cope with her trauma normally]].normally.]]



* EmpathicEnvironment: Rain plays a significant factor in many scenes--the First Audrina's rape, the Second Audrina and Arden's wedding night (which promptly makes her even ''more'' terrified of consummating their marriage), Audrina and Arden's graveyard sex, and Damian finally explaining to Audrina [[spoiler: that she's the only one]].

to:

* EmpathicEnvironment: Rain plays a significant factor in many scenes--the First Audrina's rape, the Second Audrina and Arden's wedding night (which promptly makes her even ''more'' terrified of consummating their marriage), Audrina and Arden's graveyard sex, and Damian finally explaining to Audrina [[spoiler: that [[spoiler:that she's the only one]].



* FateWorseThanDeath: In its [[RapeIsASpecialKindofEvil original usage]], and treated as such by Audrina's parents, [[spoiler:who "kill off" the First Audrina as if to underscore that it is better to have a dead daughter than one DefiledForever. This belief is so ingrained that pre-brainwashing Audrina states outright that she wishes she had been murdered rather than raped.]]

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* FateWorseThanDeath: In its [[RapeIsASpecialKindofEvil original usage]], and treated as such by Audrina's parents, [[spoiler:who "kill off" the First Audrina as if to underscore that it is better to have a dead daughter than one DefiledForever. This belief is so ingrained that pre-brainwashing Audrina states outright that she wishes she had been murdered rather than raped.]]raped]].



* {{Foreshadowing}}: In one scene, an angry Vera threatens to "tell" if Damian ever hits her again. In a similar scene, Ellsbeth assures him, "I wouldn't tell her, Damian, really, I wouldn't" during an argument. [[spoiler: For those who haven't figured it out yet, these are HUGE hints at TheReveal.]]

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* {{Foreshadowing}}: In one scene, an angry Vera threatens to "tell" if Damian ever hits her again. In a similar scene, Ellsbeth assures him, "I wouldn't tell her, Damian, really, I wouldn't" during an argument. [[spoiler: For [[spoiler:For those who haven't figured it out yet, these are HUGE ''huge'' hints at TheReveal.]]



* GhostMemory: [[spoiler:Subverted]]. Damian wants Audrina to gain the memories and talents of the First and Best Audrina, [[spoiler:but the two Audrinas turn out to be the same person]].

to:

* GhostMemory: [[spoiler:Subverted]]. [[spoiler:Subverted.]] Damian wants Audrina to gain the memories and talents of the First and Best Audrina, [[spoiler:but the two Audrinas turn out to be the same person]].



* ICouldaBeenAContender: Billie was a former ice-skater who lost both legs to diabetes just as she was about to hit the big time.

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* ICouldaBeenAContender: ICouldaBeenAContender:
**
Billie was a former ice-skater who lost both legs to diabetes just as she was about to hit the big time.



* IdiotSavant: Sylvia, who despite her severe intellectual disability is presented as preternaturally wise and [[spoiler:comes up with a very clever solution for rescuing Audrina from Vera, who was about to switch off Audrina's life support machine.]]
** There's also a bit where she knocks a cup of tea Vera has prepared for Audrina out of Audrina's hands. Vera later reveals to comatose Audrina that she's been drugging her. Sylvia's actions indicate that she knew this and was trying to protect her.

to:

* IdiotSavant: Sylvia, who despite her severe intellectual disability is presented as preternaturally wise and [[spoiler:comes up with a very clever solution for rescuing Audrina from Vera, who was about to switch off Audrina's life support machine.]]
**
machine]]. There's also a bit where she knocks a cup of tea Vera has prepared for Audrina out of Audrina's hands. Vera later reveals to comatose Audrina that she's been drugging her. Sylvia's actions indicate that she knew this and was trying to protect her.



* IncorruptiblePurePureness: The general definition of the First and Best Audrina's alleged "gift," a quality that made her particularly loving, lovable, and trusting. Damien believed the First Audrina's "gift" was destroyed by her rape, and he became obsessed with recreating it in the second Audrina, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero only to make her doubt her own sanity]]. [[spoiler: Ironically, once Audrina breaks free of Damien's control, it turns out the IncorruptiblePurePureness really ''was'' incorruptible and [[ItWasWithYouAllAlong had been there the whole time]]. More ironic still, it drives her to return home to her controlling father.]]

to:

* IncorruptiblePurePureness: The general definition of the First and Best Audrina's alleged "gift," a quality that made her particularly loving, lovable, and trusting. Damien believed the First Audrina's "gift" was destroyed by her rape, and he became obsessed with recreating it in the second Audrina, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero only to make her doubt her own sanity]]. [[spoiler: Ironically, [[spoiler:Ironically, once Audrina breaks free of Damien's control, it turns out the IncorruptiblePurePureness really ''was'' incorruptible and [[ItWasWithYouAllAlong had been there the whole time]]. More ironic still, it drives her to return home to her controlling father.]]



* ImAManICantHelpIt: Arden's excuse for pretty much everything, including why he didn't remain a virgin until marriage even though he was engaged to Audrina, why he slept with Vera, why he raped Audrina on their honeymoon, and, of course, why he slept with Vera ''again''--even ''Damian'' tells Audrina that "you can't really blame him for what he did with her", telling her that he was clearly unhappy with their sex life.
* IronicNurseryTune: Audrina's playroom song, the lyrics of which, sadly, prove that Audrina always knew her father's ultimate plans for her.
-->'''Cause my Papa wants me to always stay at home''\\
''Safe in my playroom, safe in my home''
** Audrina overhears Vera playing/singing the same song that reveals how [[SourOutsideSadInside incredibly sad she is underneath all her vitriol]] and how desperately she envies Audrina.
* InspirationallyDisabled: Arden's mother Billie was an [[GloryDays ice-skating champion]] who [[ICouldaBeenAContender might have competed in the Olympics]] until she [[CareerEndingInjury lost both legs to diabetes]].
** She then becomes a DisabledLoveInterest for [[spoiler: Audrina's father]]. Audrina finds this repulsive.

to:

* ImAManICantHelpIt: Arden's excuse for pretty much everything, including why he didn't remain a virgin until marriage even though he was engaged to Audrina, why he slept with Vera, why he raped Audrina on their honeymoon, and, of course, why he slept with Vera ''again''--even ''again'' -- even ''Damian'' tells Audrina that "you can't really blame him for what he did with her", telling her that he was clearly unhappy with their sex life.
* IronicNurseryTune: Audrina's playroom song, the lyrics of which, sadly, prove that Audrina always knew her father's ultimate plans for her.
-->'''Cause my Papa wants me to always stay at home''\\
''Safe in my playroom, safe in my home''
**
her. Audrina overhears Vera playing/singing the same song that reveals song, revealing how [[SourOutsideSadInside incredibly sad she is underneath all her vitriol]] and how desperately she envies Audrina.
-->'''Cause my Papa wants me to always stay at home\\
Safe in my playroom, safe in my home''
* InspirationallyDisabled: Arden's mother Billie was an [[GloryDays ice-skating champion]] who [[ICouldaBeenAContender might have competed in the Olympics]] until she [[CareerEndingInjury lost both legs to diabetes]].
**
diabetes]]. She then becomes a DisabledLoveInterest for [[spoiler: Audrina's [[spoiler:Audrina's father]]. Audrina finds this repulsive.



* IntimatePsychotherapy: After several ''years'' of marriage, Arden finally gives Audrina an orgasm. This not only erases all their previous sexual dysfunction, but also seems to cure Audrina of her childhood fear of sex.
** In the movie, learning that it's SHE who was gang-raped finally breaks her out of her sexual fears, leading to her and Arden finally consummating their marriage.

to:

* IntimatePsychotherapy: After several ''years'' of marriage, Arden finally gives Audrina an orgasm. This not only erases all their previous sexual dysfunction, but also seems to cure Audrina of her childhood fear of sex.
**
sex. In the movie, learning that it's SHE [[spoiler:it's ''she'' who was gang-raped gang-raped]] finally breaks her out of her sexual fears, leading to her and Arden finally consummating their marriage.



* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Ellsbeth acts cold and mean to Audrina, but she is also the only person who shoots straight with her most of the time and encourages her to become independent of her father, who Ellsbeth foresees will try to control Audrina for the rest of her life. [[spoiler: After Lucky's death and Vera's departure,]] Ellsbeth and Audrina develop a much closer, warmer relationship, to the point that Audrina is allowed to call her "Ellie," a name she had previously only permitted Damian to call her.

to:

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Ellsbeth acts cold and mean to Audrina, but she is also the only person who shoots straight with her most of the time and encourages her to become independent of her father, who Ellsbeth foresees will try to control Audrina for the rest of her life. [[spoiler: After [[spoiler:After Lucky's death and Vera's departure,]] departure]], Ellsbeth and Audrina develop a much closer, warmer relationship, to the point that Audrina is allowed to call her "Ellie," a name she had previously only permitted Damian to call her.



* KarmicDeath [=/=] LaserGuidedKarma: Vera falls down the same stairs that she shoved Ellsbeth, Billie, and Audrina down, fatally injuring herself.

to:

* KarmicDeath [=/=] LaserGuidedKarma: Vera KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:Vera falls down the same stairs that she shoved Ellsbeth, Billie, and Audrina down, fatally injuring herself.]]



* LockedOutOfTheLoop: In addition to the big Reveal, Audrina is shocked to learn that Billie's been concealing the fact that she is a former Olympic figure skater who lost both legs to diabetes. Turns out that this was a famous sports tragedy that made headlines before Audrina was born and that everyone in town is aware of their local celebrity and her loss.
* MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Vera and Arden [[spoiler: ''on the floor in front of Arden's comatose wife's hospital bed and her mentally disabled sister'']].
** Audrina and Arden [[spoiler: in the garden after he finally helps her let go of her sexual anxiety, and on top of/in Audrina's "dead" sister's empty grave in the middle of an electrical storm. The movie shifts it to the slightly more respectable garden shed.]]
* MamasBabyPapasMaybe: During Audrina's coma, she overhears Vera telling Arden that she might be pregnant "again". Arden insists that "it was only one time", but it's still possible that ''he'' was the father of the child that she was claiming was Lamar Rensdale's.

to:

* LockedOutOfTheLoop: In addition to the big Reveal, Audrina is shocked to learn that Billie's been concealing the fact that she is a former Olympic figure skater who lost both legs to diabetes. Turns It turns out that this was a famous sports tragedy that made headlines before Audrina was born and that everyone in town is aware of their local celebrity and her loss.
* MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces:
**
Vera and Arden [[spoiler: ''on [[spoiler:''on the floor in front of Arden's comatose wife's hospital bed and her mentally disabled sister'']].
** Audrina and Arden [[spoiler: in [[spoiler:in the garden after he finally helps her let go of her sexual anxiety, and on top of/in Audrina's "dead" sister's empty grave in the middle of an electrical storm. The movie shifts it to the slightly more respectable garden shed.]]
shed]].
* MamasBabyPapasMaybe: MamasBabyPapasMaybe:
**
During Audrina's coma, she overhears Vera telling Arden that she might be pregnant "again". Arden insists that "it was only one time", but it's still possible that ''he'' was the father of the child that she was claiming was Lamar Rensdale's.



* MisplacedRetribution: Vera is justifiably incensed about her father ignoring her in favor of Audrina, but takes it out on ''Audrina'', [[spoiler: setting her up to be raped and making her life hell otherwise.]]

to:

* MisplacedRetribution: Vera is justifiably incensed about her father ignoring her in favor of Audrina, but takes it out on ''Audrina'', [[spoiler: setting [[spoiler:setting her up to be raped and making her life hell otherwise.]]otherwise]].



* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler: Damien's decision to brainwash Audrina and never give her a chance to deal with her trauma normally arguably ends up making her even worse off than she would have been]].
* NotAllowedToGrowUp: Damian does his damndest to keep Audrina this way by essentially confining her to the house and keeping her emotionally and financially dependent upon him. When she manages to elope behind his back, he simply takes up where he left off when she returns--and starts to work on putting her new husband in the same position.
** Arden may be guilty of this too. It's implied that he picks out her clothes for her, choosing white dresses so that she will look more childlike.

to:

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler: Damien's [[spoiler:Damien's decision to brainwash Audrina and never give her a chance to deal with her trauma normally arguably ends up making her even worse off than she would have been]].
* NotAllowedToGrowUp: Damian does his damndest to keep Audrina this way by essentially confining her to the house and keeping her emotionally and financially dependent upon him. When she manages to elope behind his back, he simply takes up where he left off when she returns--and starts to work on putting her new husband in the same position.
** Arden may be guilty of this too. It's implied that he picks out her clothes for her, choosing white dresses so that she will look more childlike.
been]].



* OnlySaneMan: Ellsbeth Whitefern. She's the only person who [[spoiler: objected to the {{Gaslighting}} Audrina goes through and only went along when Damian threatened to turn her and her daughter onto the streets without a penny.]]

to:

* OnlySaneMan: Ellsbeth Whitefern. She's the only person who [[spoiler: objected [[spoiler:objected to the {{Gaslighting}} Audrina goes through and only went along when Damian threatened to turn her and her daughter onto the streets without a penny.]]penny]].



* ParalyzingFearOfSexuality: Between the horror stories she's been told about her older sister and the fact that [[spoiler: the gang-rape really happened to HER]], Audrina has this big time.
* PrematurelyMarkedGrave: Every Sunday, Audrina is taken to visit the First Audrina's grave and is chilled to see a gravestone with her own name on it. In an example of particularly callous if unintended cruelty, Damien often says that when he dies, he wants to be buried between the two women he loved most: his first Audrina and his wife Lucky, leaving Audrina to wonder where ''she'll'' be. [[spoiler: The grave, of course, is empty; Damien had the marker erected to further the illusion that there was a First Audrina.]]
* PoliceAreUseless: In a rare example of the police actually being called to investigate a crime in a V.C. Andrews novel, they somehow determine [[spoiler: that a double-amputee with no legs tripped on the stairway carpet and fell to her death.]]

to:

* ParalyzingFearOfSexuality: Between the horror stories she's been told about her older sister and the fact that [[spoiler: the [[spoiler:the gang-rape really happened to HER]], ''her'']], Audrina has this big time.
big-time.
* ParentInducedExtendedChildhood: Damian does his damndest to keep Audrina this way by essentially confining her to the house and keeping her emotionally and financially dependent upon him. When she manages to elope behind his back, he simply takes up where he left off when she returns -- and starts to work on putting her new husband in the same position.
* PrematurelyMarkedGrave: Every Sunday, Audrina is taken to visit the First Audrina's grave and is chilled to see a gravestone with her own name on it. In an example of particularly callous if unintended cruelty, Damien often says that when he dies, he wants to be buried between the two women he loved most: his first Audrina and his wife Lucky, leaving Audrina to wonder where ''she'll'' be. [[spoiler: The [[spoiler:The grave, of course, is empty; Damien had the marker erected to further the illusion that there was a First Audrina.]]
* PoliceAreUseless: In a rare example of the police actually being called to investigate a crime in a V.C. Andrews novel, they somehow determine [[spoiler: that [[spoiler:that a double-amputee with no legs tripped on the stairway carpet and fell to her death.]]death]].



* RapeAsDrama: Though it [[spoiler: supposedly]] takes place well before the events of the book, the rape of the First Audrina is described in detail ''three times.'' The first time we are treated to listening to the rape of a nine-year-old girl described by another nine-year-old girl.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: A theme of the entire book.
** [[spoiler: Vera]] is set up to be a horrible person throughout the entire story, but her rage is portrayed as justified and even sympathetic due to her long-running status as TheUnfavorite. But the moment we learn that [[spoiler: she set up Audrina to be gang-raped]], [[MoralEventHorizon all of that goes right out the window.]]
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: With her dying breath, Vera whispers to the police that her fall downstairs was an accident, thus freeing the rest of the family from the suspicion of murder. For someone who's spent her entire life (and the entire book) seeking revenge, this is a pretty big deal: she could have easily used that same breath to say one of them pushed her, then died and been beyond reprisal.]]

to:

* RapeAsDrama: Though it [[spoiler: supposedly]] [[spoiler:supposedly]] takes place well before the events of the book, the rape of the First Audrina is described in detail ''three times.'' The first time we are treated to listening to the rape of a nine-year-old girl described by another nine-year-old girl.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: A theme of the entire book.
** [[spoiler: Vera]]
book. [[spoiler:Vera]] is set up to be a horrible person throughout the entire story, but her rage is portrayed as justified and even sympathetic due to her long-running status as TheUnfavorite. But TheUnfavourite. However, the moment we learn that [[spoiler: she [[spoiler:she set up Audrina to be gang-raped]], [[MoralEventHorizon all of that goes right out the window.]]
window]].
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: With [[spoiler:With her dying breath, Vera whispers to the police that her fall downstairs was an accident, thus freeing the rest of the family from the suspicion of murder. For someone who's spent her entire life (and the entire book) seeking revenge, this is a pretty big deal: she could have easily used that same breath to say one of them pushed her, then died and been beyond reprisal.]]



** Vera tries to make herself this to Audrina, with her frequent, almost desperate attempts to make Damian love her--she even tells Audrina at one point that ''she'' is the First Audrina. Audrina herself notices that "It's as if she'd sell her soul to the devil to be me". Her seducing Lamar and later Arden demonstrates this also. At the end, when she leaves Audrina to die, she's wearing her clothes, perfume, and makeup.
* SeductionAsOneUpmanship: Among the many ways Vera spends most of the book tormenting Audrina is repeatedly seducing her boyfriend and later husband Arden, taunting her about the fact that ''she'' can provide him with the satisfying sex that Audrina can't, thanks to the latter's ParalyzingFearOfSexuality, all out of revenge for being TheUnfavorite.
* SettleForSibling: Both Arden and Lamar Rensdale sleep with Vera because they can't have Audrina. Damian refused to marry Ellsbeth after she got pregnant with Vera, and married Lucky, whom he'd wanted all along; but after [[spoiler:Lucky dies in childbirth]] he resumes his affair with Ellsbeth [[spoiler:now that her sister's gone.]]
* SexIsViolence: Audrina and Arden get into a huge verbal and physical altercation, with her enraged at his infidelity and for perpetuating the [[spoiler: lie that some non-existent older sister was gang-raped and murdered rather than HER]]. Somewhere along the line, the fight turns into, as she described it, "the greatest passion of my life, brutal passion that devoured and demanded."

to:

** Vera tries to make herself this to Audrina, with her frequent, almost desperate attempts to make Damian love her--she her -- she even tells Audrina at one point that ''she'' is the First Audrina. Audrina herself notices that "It's as if she'd sell her soul to the devil to be me". Her seducing Lamar and later Arden demonstrates this also. At the end, when she leaves Audrina to die, she's wearing her clothes, perfume, and makeup.
* SeductionAsOneUpmanship: Among the many ways Vera spends most of the book tormenting Audrina is repeatedly seducing her boyfriend and later husband Arden, taunting her about the fact that ''she'' can provide him with the satisfying sex that Audrina can't, thanks to the latter's ParalyzingFearOfSexuality, all out of revenge for being TheUnfavorite.
TheUnfavourite.
* {{Seers}}: Audrina displays a mild (and mostly unremarked upon) gift for seeing the past and future, which her father tries to channel through the rocking chair. For example, she uses her intuition to play the stock market, [[spoiler:she predicts Lucky's death around the moment it's happening]], and at the end of the book, she [[spoiler:believes she receives a warning against leaving Sylvia alone with Damian]]. Some of Audrina's apparent clairvoyance may be conflated with [[spoiler:the gaslighting that has caused her to forget her past; she believes her own memories are actually those of her dead sister]]. Other times, the clairvoyance is played straight.
* SettleForSibling: Both Arden and Lamar Rensdale sleep with Vera because they can't have Audrina. Damian refused to marry Ellsbeth after she got pregnant with Vera, and married Lucky, whom he'd wanted all along; but after [[spoiler:Lucky dies in childbirth]] he resumes his affair with Ellsbeth [[spoiler:now that her sister's gone.]]
gone]].
* SexIsViolence: Audrina and Arden get into a huge verbal and physical altercation, with her enraged at his infidelity and for perpetuating the [[spoiler: lie that some non-existent older sister was gang-raped and murdered rather than HER]].''her'']]. Somewhere along the line, the fight turns into, as she described it, "the greatest passion of my life, brutal passion that devoured and demanded."



* [[ShrineToTheFallen Shrine to the Fallen, Western Edition]]: The First Audrina's playroom is kept exactly as it was the day she died.

to:

* [[ShrineToTheFallen Shrine to the Fallen, Western Edition]]: ShrineToTheFallen: The First Audrina's playroom is kept exactly as it was the day she died.



* SouthernGothic : DysfunctionalFamily? Check. CreepyChild? Check. The South? Check. A mix of horror and romance? Got it. UnreliableNarrator? Yep. OldMaid? Aunt Ellsbeth and, to a lesser extent, Billie. Decaying mansion/old money? Check. And probably several other examples of the genre.
* StaircaseTumble: And ''how''. [[spoiler:Ellsbeth, Billie, Audrina, and Vera all fall down the stairs (or more accurately, Vera shoved the first three), with only Audrina surviving.]]
** In ''Whitefern'' we continue the theme: Damien has a close call on the same set of stairs, [[spoiler: while Arden eventually dies after falling down them. (He isn't pushed, but both Audrina and Sylvia, who are within easy grasp of saving him, [[MurderByInaction conveniently fail to do so.]])]]

to:

* SouthernGothic : SouthernGothic: DysfunctionalFamily? Check. CreepyChild? Check. The South? Check. A mix of horror and romance? Got it. UnreliableNarrator? Yep. OldMaid? Aunt Ellsbeth and, to a lesser extent, Billie. Decaying mansion/old money? Check. And probably several other examples of the genre.
* StaircaseTumble: And ''how''. [[spoiler:Ellsbeth, Billie, Audrina, and Vera all fall down the stairs (or more accurately, Vera shoved the first three), with only Audrina surviving.]]
**
]] In ''Whitefern'' ''Literature/{{Whitefern}}'', we continue the theme: Damien has a close call on the same set of stairs, [[spoiler: while [[spoiler:while Arden eventually dies after falling down them. (He them (he isn't pushed, but both Audrina and Sylvia, who are within easy grasp of saving him, [[MurderByInaction conveniently fail to do so.]])]]so]])]].



* ThereAreNoTherapists: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-Zagged.]] [[spoiler: The First Audrina ''is'' taken to a psychologist after her rape and suicide attempts, but ''her father'' finds the electroconvulsive treatment so traumatic that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero he takes her home and resolves to brainwash her.]]]]
** Sylvia likewise spends the first two years of her life in a care facility for the mentally disabled, only to be taken home by Damian. Part of his reasoning is that she would be better cared for at home. [[spoiler: After all, it worked so well the first time...]]
* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:Audrina learns that ''she'' is the First and Best Audrina and that the rape happened to ''her.'' The entire family conspired to keep this from her until adulthood, and even then her father only revealed it when directly confronted.]]
* TookALevelInKindness: Ellsbeth to Audrina [[spoiler: after Lucky dies.]]
** Arden in the movie. While he participates in the ruse along with everyone else, it's shown that he actually tried to stop Audrina's rape, rather than running like a coward, before being overpowered by her assailants, ''doesn't'' force himself on Audrina on their wedding night and in fact patiently waits until she's ready to have sex, and finally, although clearly tempted, with the exception of one kiss that he immediately regrets, ultimately resists Vera's attempts at seducing him rather than succumbing immediately.
* TraumaInducedAmnesia: [[spoiler: Aside from the relentless brainwashing she's been put through, this is probably the other reason Audrina doesn't realize that the rape happened to her rather than a non-existent older sister.]]

to:

* ThereAreNoTherapists: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-Zagged.]] [[spoiler: The Zig-Zagged]].
** [[spoiler:The
First Audrina ''is'' taken to a psychologist after her rape and suicide attempts, but ''her father'' finds the electroconvulsive treatment so traumatic that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero he takes her home and resolves to brainwash her.]]]]
her]].]]
** Sylvia likewise spends the first two years of her life in a care facility for the mentally disabled, only to be taken home by Damian. Part of his reasoning is that she would be better cared for at home. [[spoiler: After [[spoiler:After all, it worked so well the first time...]]
* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:Audrina learns that ''she'' is the First and Best Audrina and that the rape happened to ''her.'' The entire family conspired to keep this from her until adulthood, and even then then, her father only revealed reveals it when directly confronted.]]
* TookALevelInKindness: Ellsbeth to Audrina [[spoiler: after [[spoiler:after Lucky dies.]]
** Arden in the movie. While he participates in the ruse along with everyone else, it's shown that he actually tried to stop Audrina's rape, rather than running like a coward, before being overpowered by her assailants, ''doesn't'' force himself on Audrina on their wedding night and in fact patiently waits until she's ready to have sex, and finally, although clearly tempted, with the exception of one kiss that he immediately regrets, ultimately resists Vera's attempts at seducing him rather than succumbing immediately.
dies]].
* TraumaInducedAmnesia: [[spoiler: Aside [[spoiler:Aside from the relentless brainwashing she's been put through, this is probably the other reason Audrina doesn't realize that the rape happened to her rather than a non-existent older sister.]]



* TheUnfavorite: Audrina to the First Audrina, and Vera to both. Ellsbeth was the unfavorite to Lucky as well.

to:

* TheUnfavorite: TheUnfavourite: Audrina to the First Audrina, and Vera to both. Ellsbeth was the unfavorite to Lucky as well.



** Public masturbation (again, in front of the cousin)

to:

** Public masturbation (again, in front of the cousin)cousin).
* VillainHasAPoint: Vera's a loathsome person, but she's absolutely right in everything she blasts Damian for at the end of the book. She also says that Arden is "weak" and given what we've seen of his behavior, she's right about that too.



* VillainHasAPoint: Vera's a loathsome person, but she's absolutely right in everything she blasts Damian for at the end of the book. She also says that Arden is "weak" and given what we've seen of his behavior, she's right about that too.
* VirginInAWhiteDress: Audrina often wears white to highlight her childlike innocence. [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by Arden who chooses her clothes for her after they're married and buys her white dresses.
* WhamLine: [[spoiler: For those who haven't figured it out yet:]]
--> [[spoiler: "Vera is not my First Audrina, YOU are."]]
* WhatTheHellHero: Pretty much everyone but particularly Damian and Arden [[spoiler:and even Audrina in the final paragraph of the book.]]
** The entire family's efforts to "protect" Audrina are a combination of drugs, brainwashing, electroconvulsive therapy, and decades of convincing her that she is mentally ill.
** Damian's motivation is revealed to be his attempt to keep Audrina forever as his caretaker.
** Arden not only cheats on Audrina [[spoiler:while she's in a coma,]] he is later revealed to have run away while the First Audrina was being gangraped [[spoiler:as well as perpetuating the lie that there was a First Audrina.]]
** [[spoiler:Audrina is on the verge of leaving Damian and Arden forever and starting her own life when she is overcome with guilt and goes back in the very last paragraph. Mind that the guilt isn't so much what Arden or Damian will do without her, but not wanting to [[AbandonTheDisabled Sylvia]].]]
* {{Yandere}}: Vera Whitefern [[spoiler: set up Audrina to be raped and later tried to kill Audrina while she was in a coma]].

to:

* VillainHasAPoint: Vera's a loathsome person, but she's absolutely right in everything she blasts Damian for at the end of the book. She also says that Arden is "weak" and given what we've seen of his behavior, she's right about that too.
* VirginInAWhiteDress: Audrina often wears white to highlight her childlike innocence. [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] {{Invoked|Trope}} by Arden Arden, who chooses her clothes for her after they're married and buys her white dresses.
* WhamLine: [[spoiler: For [[spoiler:For those who haven't figured it out yet:]]
--> [[spoiler: "Vera -->''[[spoiler:"Vera is not my First Audrina, YOU are."]]
* WhatTheHellHero: Pretty much everyone but particularly Damian and Arden [[spoiler:and even Audrina in the final paragraph of the book.]]
** The entire family's efforts to "protect" Audrina are a combination of drugs, brainwashing, electroconvulsive therapy, and decades of convincing her that she is mentally ill.
** Damian's motivation is revealed to be his attempt to keep Audrina forever as his caretaker.
** Arden not only cheats on Audrina [[spoiler:while she's in a coma,]] he is later revealed to have run away while the First Audrina was being gangraped [[spoiler:as well as perpetuating the lie that there was a First Audrina.]]
** [[spoiler:Audrina is on the verge of leaving Damian and Arden forever and starting her own life when she is overcome with guilt and goes back in the very last paragraph. Mind that the guilt isn't so much what Arden or Damian will do without her, but not wanting to [[AbandonTheDisabled Sylvia]].]]
"]]''
* {{Yandere}}: Vera Whitefern [[spoiler: set [[spoiler:set up Audrina to be raped and later tried to kill Audrina while she was in a coma]].

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