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* BrotherSisterIncest: Isabelle Angelfield (the twin's mother) and her brother, Charlie.
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* BrotherSisterIncest: Isabelle Angelfield (the twin's mother) and her brother, Charlie. It's heavily implied to be non-consensual.
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* RoomFullOfCrazy: Charlie had a part of the grounds which was adorned with necklaces and other feminine objects, where he would rape Isabel. Later on, [[spoiler:Vida finds him there, dead of a self-inflicted shotgun blast.]]
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* OnceMoreWithClarity: [[spoiler:Late in the adaptation, the scene where Adeline and Emmeline are playing by the fallen tree is shown again, but there is a third girl there, who would become Vida. The scenes of the doctor's wife and the deaths of Missus and John-the-dig are shown again, with the real Adeline as the perpetrator.]]
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* TheCharmer: Ambrose Proctor. He manages to convince the solicitor that there's nothing to worry about and later tells [[spoiler:Vida]] that what he said to the solicitor was completely false. At some point soon after, he seduces and impregnates [[spoiler:Emmeline.]]
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* HairTriggerTemper: Adeline is very easily set off. [[spoiler:When she gets [[ClingyJealousGirl jealous]], she is downright murderous. Just ask Missus and John-the-Dig.]]
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* HowWeGotHere: Vida tells Margaret the story of her life from her birth to the fire at Angelfield when she was 17.
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* PenName: Vida Winter is a pen name for Adeline March. [[spoiler:This isn't actually true; Vida doesn't appear to have a name until after the fire.]]
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** It shouldn't be too hard to figure out which twin died in the fire, as [[spoiler:Emmeline]] had given birth no more than a few months before the fire...
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* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler:Ambrose Proctor is never mentioned again after Vida dismissed him from the household after he impregnated Emmeline.]]
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* BoomHeadshot: [[spoiler:Charlie, [[DrivenToSuicide self-inflicted]].]]
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* NoNameGiven: [[spoiler:Vida when she was younger.]]
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* ClingyJealousGirl: [[spoiler:The real Adeline takes this to murderous levels.]]
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* ClingyJealousGirl: [[spoiler:The real Adeline takes this to murderous levels.levels, killing Missus, John the Dig and attempting to do the same to Emmeline's baby.]]
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* TheEndingChangesEverything: The EurekaMoment that Margaret gets after hearing that [[spoiler:bones were found at Angelfield]]: Vida is [[spoiler:neither Adeline nor Emmeline, but a third girl-child, Charlie's daughter born out of wedlock, whom the Missus and John took in. She left Aurelius on Mrs. Love's doorstep after Adeline tried to kill Aurelius as a baby, for his safety.]]
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* TheEndingChangesEverything: The EurekaMoment that Margaret gets after hearing from Aurelius Love that [[spoiler:bones were found at Angelfield]]: Vida is [[spoiler:neither Adeline nor Emmeline, but a third girl-child, Charlie's daughter born out of wedlock, whom the Missus and John took in. She left Aurelius on Mrs. Love's doorstep after Adeline tried to kill Aurelius as a baby, for his safety.]]
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* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:Adeline tried to kill Emmeline's baby by setting him on fire before Vida took him away from Angelfield for his safety. Adeline then dies in the fire that she lit.]]
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* ScarsAreForever:
** Vida has a key-shaped burn on her hand from the fire at Angelfield. [[spoiler:Said burn is from locking Adeline in a burning room.]]
** [[spoiler:Emmeline]] has burn scars on her face from the fire as well, caused by [[spoiler:Adeline]] shoving her face-first onto a burning chair.
* ScreamingBirth: [[spoiler:Emmeline when she gives birth to her baby.]]
** Vida has a key-shaped burn on her hand from the fire at Angelfield. [[spoiler:Said burn is from locking Adeline in a burning room.]]
** [[spoiler:Emmeline]] has burn scars on her face from the fire as well, caused by [[spoiler:Adeline]] shoving her face-first onto a burning chair.
* ScreamingBirth: [[spoiler:Emmeline when she gives birth to her baby.]]
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* WomanInWhite: [[spoiler:Emmeline after the fire, driven insane by the loss of Adeline and her baby.]]
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* ClingyJealousGirl: [[spoiler:The real Adeline takes this to murderous levels.]]
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* TeenPregnancy: [[spoiler:Emmeline, giving birth to Aurelius Love, the bastard offspring of her and Ambrose Proctor.]]
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* TeenPregnancy: [[spoiler:Emmeline, giving [[spoiler:Emmeline (age 17) gives birth to Aurelius Love, the bastard offspring of her and Ambrose Proctor.]]
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* LookBothWays: [[spoiler:How Margaret's twin died in the adaptation.]]
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* RailingKill: [[spoiler:Poor Missus, thanks to Adeline.]]
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* TeenPregnancy: [[spoiler:Emmeline, giving birth to Aurelius Love, the bastard offspring of her and Ambrose Proctor.]]
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->"All children mythologize their birth. It is a universal trait. You want to know someone? Heart, mind and soul? Ask him to tell you about when he was born. What you get won't be the truth: it will be a story. And nothing is more telling than a story."
->-Vida Winter
->-Vida Winter
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->-Vida Winter
-->-- '''Vida Winter'''
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'''This novel contains:'''
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* CreatorsBreakdown: In-universe, this is why Vida never [[spoiler:finished or published her thirteenth tale; it was a retelling of her birth and abandonment, which ended with a toddler left at the estate of her mother's rapist.]]
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* CreatorsBreakdown: CreatorBreakdown: In-universe, this is why Vida never [[spoiler:finished or published her thirteenth tale; it was a retelling of her birth and abandonment, which ended with a toddler left at the estate of her mother's rapist.]]
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* CreatorsBreakdown: In-universe, this is why Vida never [[spoiler:finished or published her thirteenth tale; it was a retelling of her birth and abandonment, which ended with a toddler left at the estate of her mother's rapist.]]
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* DarkSecret: [[spoiler: The Missus and John-the-dig can't let anyone know there is a third girl in Angelfield, or else Charlie's rapes and incest will become open public knowledge.]]
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* DarkSecret: [[spoiler: The Missus and John-the-dig can't let anyone know there is a third girl in Angelfield, or else Charlie's rapes and incest will become open public knowledge.knowledge, and Vida points out that she would have no right to stay.]]
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* DontSplitUsUp: Adeline and Emmeline react very badly to being separated. [[spoiler: Vida helps Emmeline through this, though. Vida later has this with Emmeline.]]
* DoorstopBaby: [[spoiler: Aurelius Love.]] And [[spoiler: Vida Winter.]]
* DoorstopBaby: [[spoiler: Aurelius Love.]] And [[spoiler: Vida Winter.]]
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* DontSplitUsUp: DontSplitUsUp:
** Charlie didn't react well to the doctor sending Isabelle to the asylum, so much that when [[spoiler:they find Charles has gone, and Vida finds his body, John-the-dig vows to tell no one because the doctor could send the Missus away just as easily.]]
** Adeline and Emmeline react very badly to beingseparated. separated. [[spoiler: Vida helps Emmeline through this, though. Vida later has this with Emmeline.]]
* DoorstopBaby: [[spoiler: AureliusLove.Love, which Vida did to save his life.]] And [[spoiler: Vida Winter.]]
** Charlie didn't react well to the doctor sending Isabelle to the asylum, so much that when [[spoiler:they find Charles has gone, and Vida finds his body, John-the-dig vows to tell no one because the doctor could send the Missus away just as easily.]]
** Adeline and Emmeline react very badly to being
* DoorstopBaby: [[spoiler: Aurelius
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* TheEndingChangesEverything
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* TheEndingChangesEverythingTheEndingChangesEverything: The EurekaMoment that Margaret gets after hearing that [[spoiler:bones were found at Angelfield]]: Vida is [[spoiler:neither Adeline nor Emmeline, but a third girl-child, Charlie's daughter born out of wedlock, whom the Missus and John took in. She left Aurelius on Mrs. Love's doorstep after Adeline tried to kill Aurelius as a baby, for his safety.]]
* FrameUp: It's implied that [[spoiler:Adeline or Vida hit the doctor's wife with a violin, knocking her out, and Adeline's mother Isabelle took the fall by virtue of being in the house at the time and dressed in white.]]
* {{Grimmification}}: In-universe, Vida's thirteen tales are dark fairy tale rewrites, the last being [[spoiler:of Cinderella getting raped and impregnated, never marrying her prince, and eventually abandoning her child to be raised by him.]]
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* InTheBlood: Madness seems to be a family trait. George, Charlie, Isabelle, and the twins are all off.
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* InTheBlood: Madness seems to be a family trait. George, Charlie, Isabelle, and the twins are all off. [[spoiler:Vida is the OnlySaneMan as Charlie's daughter and even she has instances of it.]]
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* KidsAreCruel: Emmeline and Adeline have zero empathy for other people and casually destroy things and endanger infants.
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* KidsAreCruel: Emmeline and Adeline have zero empathy for other people and casually destroy things and endanger infants. [[spoiler:Averted with Vida, who causes no harm while in the house apart from GreenEyedMonster moments.]]
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* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: John-the-dig appears to have fallen from his ladder. [[spoiler: Adeline pushed him.]]
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* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: John-the-dig appears to have fallen from his ladder. [[spoiler: Adeline pushed him.fiddled with the safety catch.]]
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* MeaningfulName: Both Vida and Winter point to a theme of emptiness and death.
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* MeaningfulName: MeaningfulRename: Both Vida and Winter point to a theme of emptiness and death.death, though Vida means "life" in Spanish. [[spoiler:Vida admits she doesn't know what her real name is when Margaret realizes that Vida isn't Adeline.]]
* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: Downplayed with Dr. Mordesley, who immediately sent off Isabelle to the asylum for ostensibly attacking his wife (which is understandable if an abrupt course of action). With Hester they concocted an experiment to rehabilitate the twins by separating them, without paying mind to the twins' mutual HeroicBSOD. [[spoiler:Vida subtly chews him out for this later when she has to go to him for help after John-the-dig's death.]]
* OccamsRazor: Subverted; no one except [[spoiler:Margaret]] comes to the simple conclusion after Hester thinks she's seen one of the girls running around when they're both locked up: that [[spoiler:Angelfield has three girls instead of two]]. Hester instead thinks she's going mad.
* OccamsRazor: Subverted; no one except [[spoiler:Margaret]] comes to the simple conclusion after Hester thinks she's seen one of the girls running around when they're both locked up: that [[spoiler:Angelfield has three girls instead of two]]. Hester instead thinks she's going mad.
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* OnlySaneMan: John-the-dig, especially considering that Missus becomes blind and raving as time goes by. In Margaret's story, Dr. Clifton qualifies.
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* OnlySaneMan: John-the-dig, OnlySaneMan:
** John-the-dig and [[spoiler:Vida as a girl-child]], especially considering that Missus becomes blind and raving as time goes by. In Margaret's story, Dr. Clifton qualifies.
** Hester presents herself as one in her diary, but this could be conflated arrogance due to her intellect.
** John-the-dig and [[spoiler:Vida as a girl-child]], especially considering that Missus becomes blind and raving as time goes by. In Margaret's story, Dr. Clifton qualifies.
** Hester presents herself as one in her diary, but this could be conflated arrogance due to her intellect.
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* ParentalAbandonment: Aurelius was left on a doorstep as a baby.
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* ParentalAbandonment: ParentalAbandonment:
** Aurelius was left on a doorstep as a baby.
** Aurelius was left on a doorstep as a baby.
** Vida writes about this in [[spoiler:her "thirteenth tale," about Cinderella leaving her daughter at the estate of her rapist.]]
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* ParentalSubstitute: The twins [[spoiler: and Vida]] were raised by the Missus and John-the-dig.
to:
* ParentalSubstitute: The twins [[spoiler: and Vida]] were raised by the Missus and John-the-dig. John-the-dig vows to be this when [[spoiler:Charlie goes missing, and he starts to teach Vida how to care for the garden.]]
* ProperlyParanoid: John-the-dig about Hester and her approach to running the house.
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* TheReveal: An epic one, via an EurekaMoment on Margaret's part; specifically, [[spoiler:that there were three little girls at Angelfield and Vida Winter isn't exactly the ''real'' Adeline March.]]
to:
* TheReveal: An epic one, via an EurekaMoment on Margaret's part; specifically, [[spoiler:that there were three little girls at Angelfield and Vida Winter isn't exactly the ''real'' Adeline March.]]]]
* SamusIsAGirl: When John-the-dig and Missus rescued [[spoiler:the then-nameless Vida, they mistook her for a boy because she was wearing trousers, a hat, and many layers of dirt. After bathing her, they realized the child was a girl, and Charlie's.]]
* SamusIsAGirl: When John-the-dig and Missus rescued [[spoiler:the then-nameless Vida, they mistook her for a boy because she was wearing trousers, a hat, and many layers of dirt. After bathing her, they realized the child was a girl, and Charlie's.]]
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* SuspiciouslySpecificTense: More Suspiciously Specific Pronoun when Vida starts saying I instead of referring to Adeline in the third person. [[spoiler: As it turns out, this is a clue that she and Adeline are different people.]]
to:
* SuspiciouslySpecificTense: More Suspiciously Specific Pronoun when Vida starts saying I instead of referring to Adeline in the third person. [[spoiler: As [[spoiler:As it turns out, this is a clue that she and Adeline are different people.]]
* TooCleverByHalf: Hester. A governess with medical and psychological knowledge wanting to "save" two mentally-stunted twin girls by engaging in a controversial experiment . . . and she doesn't think through the emotional consequences of such an experiment, or the mundane possibilities after seeing one out of the house.
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* UnreliableNarrator: Both in and out of universe. Vida has a reputation for lying to people about her life story, so much so that Margaret refuses to work on this project without independently verifiable sources. Also, certain details of Vida's story raise questions for the reader [[spoiler: such as whether it was Emmeline or Adeline she saved]].
to:
* TwinSwitch: Averted; [[spoiler:even if Vida were Adeline and Emmeline's half-sister through Charlie, assuming they all shared the same father, she was certainly not a twin. Even so, she was able to pose as either of them at various times, namely as Adeline by acting a bit wilder.]]
* UnreliableNarrator: Both in and out of universe. Vida has a reputation for lying to people about her life story, so much so that Margaret refuses to work on this project without independently verifiable sources. Also, certain details of Vida's story raise questions for the reader[[spoiler: such [[spoiler:such as whether it was Emmeline or Adeline she saved]].
* UnreliableNarrator: Both in and out of universe. Vida has a reputation for lying to people about her life story, so much so that Margaret refuses to work on this project without independently verifiable sources. Also, certain details of Vida's story raise questions for the reader
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* WhatTheHellHero: As children, Adeline and her twin Emmeline completely destroy John-the-dig's garden, leaving him heartbroken. The Missus too doesn't understand, and demands the girls explain why they did it. [[spoiler: As it turns out, Vida had nothing to do with this and in fact helps John restore the garden.]]
to:
* WhatTheHellHero: WhatTheHellHero:
** As children, Adeline and her twin Emmeline completely destroy John-the-dig's garden, leaving him heartbroken. The Missus too doesn't understand, and demands the girls explain why they did it. [[spoiler: As it turns out, Vida had nothing to do with this and in fact helps John restore the garden.]]
** Margaret to Vida for [[spoiler:abandoning Aurelius, even though Vida knows that it's like to be abandoned.]]
** As children, Adeline and her twin Emmeline completely destroy John-the-dig's garden, leaving him heartbroken. The Missus too doesn't understand, and demands the girls explain why they did it. [[spoiler: As it turns out, Vida had nothing to do with this and in fact helps John restore the garden.]]
** Margaret to Vida for [[spoiler:abandoning Aurelius, even though Vida knows that it's like to be abandoned.]]
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* WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler: Adeline is so jealous of Emmeline's baby that she's almost certainly going to kill him if they're kept in the same house.]]
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* WouldHurtAChild: WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Margaret writes one: [[spoiler:Hester moved to America, where the doctor found and married her after becoming a widow; Aurelius has reunited with his sister and her family, and she has decided to go on a holiday with Dr. Clifton]].
* WouldHurtAChild:
** Hester and the doctor do psychological damage to the twins that isn't easily undone by separating them.
** [[spoiler: Adeline is so jealous of Emmeline's baby that she's almost certainly going to kill him if they're kept in the same house.]]
* WouldHurtAChild:
** Hester and the doctor do psychological damage to the twins that isn't easily undone by separating them.
** [[spoiler: Adeline is so jealous of Emmeline's baby that she's almost certainly going to kill him if they're kept in the same house.]]
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* CreepyTwins: Adeline and Emmeline.
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* CreepyTwins: Adeline and Emmeline.Emmeline, due to ParentalNeglect.
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* ReclusiveArtist: Vida Winter, very much so. She never allows anyone into her home, and whenever she speaks to reporters, she concocts elaborate lies about her childhood. No one knows anything about her, despite her outselling every book except for the Bible.
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* ReclusiveArtist: Vida Winter, Winter is very much so.an InUniverse example. She never allows anyone into her home, and whenever she speaks to reporters, she concocts elaborate lies about her childhood. No one knows anything about her, despite her outselling every book except for the Bible.
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* LoveTriangle: [[spoiler: Dr. Maudsley leaves his wife for Hester Barrow.]]
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* LoveTriangle: [[spoiler: Dr. Maudsley leaves his wife for falls in love with Hester Barrow.Barrow while he is still married. He later joins her in America after his wife's death.]]
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* StrongFamilyResemblance: The Angelfields' children share red hair and green eyes.
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* UncannyFamilyResemblance: The Angelfields' children share red hair and green eyes.
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* WhamLine: Once upon a time there were two baby girls... [[spoiler: Or, alternatively: once upon a time there were ''three''.]]
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* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Through Margaret, the raeder learns that Vida is one of the most acclaimed writers in history, she never tells the truth about her own past, and her house is dead silent. Then we meet the woman and in the first conversation:
-->'''Vida Winter:''' Don't be so polite. If there's one thing I can't abide, it's politeness.
-->'''Vida Winter:''' Don't be so polite. If there's one thing I can't abide, it's politeness.
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* SwitchingPOV: The retelling of Hester's time at Angelfield via her diary.
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* HollywoodHomely: Hester is repeatedly stated to look like "a potato".
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* HollywoodHomely: Hester is repeatedly stated to look like "a potato".
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* GreenEyedRedhead: The Angelfield family.
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* UglyGuysHotDaughter: Isabelle has her [[EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench mother's beauty]] and [[GreenEyedRedhead her father's coloring]], making her extraordinarily beautiful.
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* UglyGuysHotDaughter: Isabelle has her [[EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench mother's beauty]] and [[GreenEyedRedhead [[SignificantGreenEyedRedhead her father's coloring]], making her extraordinarily beautiful.
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* DifferentAsNightAndDay: The twins -- one is totally passive, the other wickedly violent.
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* PolarOppositeTwins: The twins -- one is totally passive, the other wickedly violent.
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The title comes from the first book that Vida Winter ever published - ''Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation'', which only contained twelve stories.
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The title comes from the first book that Vida Winter ever published - ''Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation'', which only contained twelve stories.
stories. The title of subsequent editions of the book was ''Tales of Change and Desperation'', but that didn't stop readers from wanting to know what had happened to that thirteenth tale and what it was about.
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* LoveTriangle: [[Dr. Maudsley leaves his wife for Hester Barrow.]]
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* LoveTriangle: [[Dr.[[spoiler: Dr. Maudsley leaves his wife for Hester Barrow.]]
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* BeautyBrainsAndBrawn: [[Emmeline, the soft feminine one; Vida, the only one who isn't touched in the head, but beyond that is highly intelligent and manages to conceal her existence and run Angelfield at the same time; and Adeline, who can and will mess you up. Quite possibly also a FreudianTrio with Adeline and Emmeline as id and sugerego and Vida as ego]].
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* BeautyBrainsAndBrawn: [[Emmeline, [[spoiler: Emmeline, the soft feminine one; Vida, the only one who isn't touched in the head, but beyond that is highly intelligent and manages to conceal her existence and run Angelfield at the same time; and Adeline, who can and will mess you up. Quite possibly also a FreudianTrio with Adeline and Emmeline as id and sugerego and Vida as ego]].
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* AngstySurvivingTwin: Vida Winter [[spoiler: sort of, anyway]]. As well, the book's narrator, Margaret Lea.
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* AngstySurvivingTwin: Vida Winter [[spoiler: sort of, anyway]].anyway. Played straight with whichever surviving twin she's keeping in her house]]. As well, the book's narrator, Margaret Lea.
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* BeautyBrainsBrawn: [[Emmeline, the soft feminine one; Vida, the only one who isn't touched in the head, but beyond that is highly intelligent and manages to conceal her existence and run Angelfield at the same time; and Adeline, who can and will mess you up. Quite possibly also a FreudianTrio with Adeline and Emmeline as id and sugerego and Vida as ego]].
to:
* BeautyBrainsBrawn: BeautyBrainsAndBrawn: [[Emmeline, the soft feminine one; Vida, the only one who isn't touched in the head, but beyond that is highly intelligent and manages to conceal her existence and run Angelfield at the same time; and Adeline, who can and will mess you up. Quite possibly also a FreudianTrio with Adeline and Emmeline as id and sugerego and Vida as ego]].ego]].
* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Averted. Actually, the prettier a character is, the more likely they are to be insane.
* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Averted. Actually, the prettier a character is, the more likely they are to be insane.
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* IdiotBall: [[spoiler: Even horribly burned and mentally fragile, it shouldn't be that hard to identify which twin survived as Emmeline had recently given birth.]]
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* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: John-the-dig appears to have fallen from his ladder. [[spoiler: Adeline pushed him.]]
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* SuspiciouslySpecificTense: More Suspiciously Specific Pronoun when Vida starts saying I instead of referring to Adeline in the third person. [[spoiler: As it turns out, this is a clue that she and Adeline are different people.]]
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* WhatTheHellHero: As children, Adeline and her twin Emmeline completely destroy John-the-dig's garden, leaving him heartbroken. The Missus too doesn't understand, and demands the girls explain why they did it. [[spoiler: As it turns out, Vida had nothing to do with this and in fact helps John restore the garden.]]
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* WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler: Adeline is so jealous of Emmeline's baby that she's almost certainly going to kill him if they're kept in the same house.]]
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* BeautyBrainsBrawn: [[Emmeline, the soft feminine one; Vida, the only one who isn't touched in the head, but beyond that is highly intelligent and manages to conceal her existence and run Angelfield at the same time; and Adeline, who can and will mess you up. Quite possibly also a FreudianTrio with Adeline and Emmeline as id and sugerego and Vida as ego]].
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* FramingDevice: Though the frame is Margaret's story in its own right as she goes through her own discovery and development, the business of writing a biography is mainly to tell the story of Vida's past.
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* LoveTriangle: [[Dr. Maudsley leaves his wife for Hester Barrow.]]
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* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: The ghost of Angelfield. [[spoiler: This turns out to be a perfectly ordinary third girl living in the house.]]
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* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: John-the-dig's legal name is John Digence, but Vida insists that if you really knew him, you knew that John-the-dig was his real name.
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* BerthaInTheAttic: Both Charlie Angelfield and his father, George, go mad after the death of their loved ones, and enter into a sort of self inflicted {{Bertha In The Attic}} where they lock themselves in their rooms for extended periods of time. George gets better, [[spoiler: Charlie doesn't.]]
* BigBrotherBully: Charlie.
* BigBrotherBully: Charlie.
to:
* DisappearedDad: The twins' father dies sometime around their birth.
* InsaneEqualsViolent: Isabelle attacks the doctor's wife. [[spoiler: It is implied that this was actually Adeline or even Vida.]]
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* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoiler: Margaret and Dr. Clifton]].
to:
* MaybeEverAfter: MadwomanInTheAttic: Both Charlie Angelfield and his father, George, go mad after the death of their loved ones, and enter into a sort of self inflicted imprisonment where they lock themselves in their rooms for extended periods of time. George gets better, [[spoiler: Margaret and Dr. Clifton]].Charlie doesn't.]]
* MamasBabyPapasMaybe: From the start there is speculation as to whether the father of Isabelle's children is Charlie or her husband.
* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoiler: Margaret and Dr. Clifton]].
* MeaningfulName: Both Vida and Winter point to a theme of emptiness and death.
* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoiler: Margaret and Dr. Clifton]].
* MeaningfulName: Both Vida and Winter point to a theme of emptiness and death.
Changed line(s) 43 (click to see context) from:
* ParentalAbandonment: [[spoiler: Vida's mother is implied to have abandoned her by the Angelfield house.]]
to:
* ParentalAbandonment: Aurelius was left on a doorstep as a baby.
** [[spoiler: Vida's mother is implied to have abandoned her by the Angelfield house.]]
** [[spoiler: Vida's mother is implied to have abandoned her by the Angelfield house.]]
* PlatonicLifePartners: The Missus and John-the-dig. Vida believes that they'd have [[DecemberDecemberRomance been lovers]] if they'd lived in a different time, but she was older and social conventions got in the way.
* PromotedToParent: [[spoiler: Vida ends up having to run Angelfield after Adeline kills John-the-dig.]]
* PromotedToParent: [[spoiler: Vida ends up having to run Angelfield after Adeline kills John-the-dig.]]
Changed line(s) 55 (click to see context) from:
* ThroughHisStomach: Aurelius Love will befriend pretty much anyone by giving them food first. Helps that he's a ChefSupreme.
to:
* ThroughHisStomach: Aurelius Love will befriend pretty much anyone by giving them food first. Helps that he's a ChefSupreme.SupremeChef.
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[[quoteright:290:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TheThirteenthTale_3781.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:290:Once upon a time, there were twins.]]
->"All children mythologize their birth. It is a universal trait. You want to know someone? Heart, mind and soul? Ask him to tell you about when he was born. What you get won't be the truth: it will be a story. And nothing is more telling than a story."
->-Vida Winter
''The Thirteenth Tale'' is a 2006 novel written by Diane Setterfield. The story is about [[{{Bookworm}} Margaret Lea]], an unassuming young biographer who lives with her bookstore owner father. One day she receives a letter from Vida Winter, one of the most prolific and well loved writers alive. Vida Winter has spent all of her public life inventing various stories about her past, but she's close to death, and has chosen Margaret to write the true story of her youth. Margaret has never read any of her books before, and so initially decides to turn her offer down, but after reading some of Vida Winter's books, reconsiders.
What follows is a story of incest, of child abuse and neglect, of a [[BigScrewedUpFamily once rich and prosperous family slowly decaying]], and the story of two [[CreepyTwins twin girls]]: Adeline and Emmeline. Margaret becomes entranced by her tale, but finds that as the story is told the truth about Vida Winter's past becomes more and more shrouded in mystery.
The title comes from the first book that Vida Winter ever published - ''Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation'', which only contained twelve stories.
----
'''This novel contains:'''
* AngstySurvivingTwin: Vida Winter [[spoiler: sort of, anyway]]. As well, the book's narrator, Margaret Lea.
* BerthaInTheAttic: Both Charlie Angelfield and his father, George, go mad after the death of their loved ones, and enter into a sort of self inflicted {{Bertha In The Attic}} where they lock themselves in their rooms for extended periods of time. George gets better, [[spoiler: Charlie doesn't.]]
* BigBrotherBully: Charlie.
* BigFancyHouse[=/=]OldDarkHouse: Angelfield before and after it falls into decay.
* BrotherSisterIncest: Isabelle Angelfield (the twin's mother) and her brother, Charlie.
* ClockKing: Hester the governess.
* ConjoinedTwins: [[spoiler: It turns out that Margaret was born a conjoined twin; her sister didn't survive the operation to separate them.]]
* CreepyTwins: Adeline and Emmeline.
* DarkSecret: [[spoiler: The Missus and John-the-dig can't let anyone know there is a third girl in Angelfield, or else Charlie's rapes and incest will become open public knowledge.]]
* DifferentAsNightAndDay: The twins -- one is totally passive, the other wickedly violent.
* DontSplitUsUp: Adeline and Emmeline react very badly to being separated. [[spoiler: Vida helps Emmeline through this, though. Vida later has this with Emmeline.]]
* DoorstopBaby: [[spoiler: Aurelius Love.]] And [[spoiler: Vida Winter.]]
* DysfunctionalFamily: The Angelfields, very, very much so.
* TheEndingChangesEverything
* FamedInStory: Vida Winter.
* FreeRangeChildren: Emmeline and Adeline go wherever they want to in the village because the Missus and John-the-dig are too busy taking care of a huge house and too old to keep up with them.
* GentleGiant: Aurelius Love.
* GreenEyedRedhead: The Angelfield family.
* HeroicBastard: [[spoiler: Aurelius Love.]] And [[spoiler: Vida Winter.]]
* InTheBlood: Madness seems to be a family trait. George, Charlie, Isabelle, and the twins are all off.
* KidsAreCruel: Emmeline and Adeline have zero empathy for other people and casually destroy things and endanger infants.
* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoiler: Margaret and Dr. Clifton]].
* MamaBear: [[spoiler: When Adeline threatens Emmeline's baby, Emmeline goes on the attack for the first time in her life.]]
* MissingMom: Isabelle's mother died giving birth to her; [[spoiler: Isabelle herself vanishes from her children's lives]]. Margaret's mom is emotionally absent.
* [[spoiler: MySiblingWillLiveThroughMe]]
* OnlySaneMan: John-the-dig, especially considering that Missus becomes blind and raving as time goes by. In Margaret's story, Dr. Clifton qualifies.
* TheOphelia: Isabelle. Highlighted by an incident where she falls into a lake at a picnic.
* ParentalAbandonment: [[spoiler: Vida's mother is implied to have abandoned her by the Angelfield house.]]
* ParentalFavoritism: George very much preferred Isabelle over Charlie.
* ParentalIncest: It's implied that George Angelfield at least had a sexual interest in his daughter. Certainly when she ran off, his reaction was more like a spurned lover than a father.
* ParentalNeglect: Charlie was ignored by both his parents. The twins were ignored by Isabelle.
* ParentalSubstitute: The twins [[spoiler: and Vida]] were raised by the Missus and John-the-dig.
* PerspectiveFlip: On the story within a story.
* ReclusiveArtist: Vida Winter, very much so. She never allows anyone into her home, and whenever she speaks to reporters, she concocts elaborate lies about her childhood. No one knows anything about her, despite her outselling every book except for the Bible.
* TheReveal: An epic one, via an EurekaMoment on Margaret's part; specifically, [[spoiler:that there were three little girls at Angelfield and Vida Winter isn't exactly the ''real'' Adeline March.]]
* ShoutOut: Both explicitly and implicitly to ''Literature/JaneEyre''.
* TheSpock: Hester Barrow.
* StoryWithinAStory: The Angelfield family's decay alongside Margaret's tenuous friendship with Vida Winter.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: The Angelfields' children share red hair and green eyes.
* ThroughHisStomach: Aurelius Love will befriend pretty much anyone by giving them food first. Helps that he's a ChefSupreme.
* {{Twincest}}: Emmeline and Adeline's relationship has very strong incestuous overtones, as does [[spoiler: the relationship between Emmeline and (nameless during that time) Vida Winter, where there are hints of KissingCousins instead.]]
* UglyGuyHotWife: Mathilde is said to be incredibly beautiful while George is nothing special, as emphasized by their first child Charlie being something of a potato.
* UglyGuysHotDaughter: Isabelle has her [[EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench mother's beauty]] and [[GreenEyedRedhead her father's coloring]], making her extraordinarily beautiful.
* TheUnfavorite: Charlie.
* UnreliableNarrator: Both in and out of universe. Vida has a reputation for lying to people about her life story, so much so that Margaret refuses to work on this project without independently verifiable sources. Also, certain details of Vida's story raise questions for the reader [[spoiler: such as whether it was Emmeline or Adeline she saved]].
* TheUnsolvedMystery: Margaret never figures out how the treasure box was taken safely from the house. Likewise, the true parentage of [[spoiler:the twins]] is left ambiguous (was the father [[spoiler:Roland or Charlie]], making Vida [[spoiler:their half-sister instead of their cousin]]?) and though it's heavily implied that it was [[spoiler:Emmeline]] who died in the fire, there is plenty of evidence to support the theory that it was [[spoiler:Adeline]]. Furthermore, [[spoiler:Vida]] never finds out who her mother is.
* WhenSheSmiles: A woman in the village commonly called Merrily is very plain, but she is considered beautiful when she laughs because of the sound.
* WriteWhatYouKnow: The reason Vida Winter picked Margaret to write her biography despite the fact that she's relatively unknown and has only written a couple of articles, is because she "seemed to know something about siblings", namely, twin siblings.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Vida Winter [[spoiler: can never return to Angelfield because of her guilt over what occurred there, and her possible responsibility for Adeline's death and Emmeline's disfigurement. She legally changes her name to Vida Winter to separate herself from Angelfield entirely.]]
[[caption-width-right:290:Once upon a time, there were twins.]]
->"All children mythologize their birth. It is a universal trait. You want to know someone? Heart, mind and soul? Ask him to tell you about when he was born. What you get won't be the truth: it will be a story. And nothing is more telling than a story."
->-Vida Winter
''The Thirteenth Tale'' is a 2006 novel written by Diane Setterfield. The story is about [[{{Bookworm}} Margaret Lea]], an unassuming young biographer who lives with her bookstore owner father. One day she receives a letter from Vida Winter, one of the most prolific and well loved writers alive. Vida Winter has spent all of her public life inventing various stories about her past, but she's close to death, and has chosen Margaret to write the true story of her youth. Margaret has never read any of her books before, and so initially decides to turn her offer down, but after reading some of Vida Winter's books, reconsiders.
What follows is a story of incest, of child abuse and neglect, of a [[BigScrewedUpFamily once rich and prosperous family slowly decaying]], and the story of two [[CreepyTwins twin girls]]: Adeline and Emmeline. Margaret becomes entranced by her tale, but finds that as the story is told the truth about Vida Winter's past becomes more and more shrouded in mystery.
The title comes from the first book that Vida Winter ever published - ''Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation'', which only contained twelve stories.
----
'''This novel contains:'''
* AngstySurvivingTwin: Vida Winter [[spoiler: sort of, anyway]]. As well, the book's narrator, Margaret Lea.
* BerthaInTheAttic: Both Charlie Angelfield and his father, George, go mad after the death of their loved ones, and enter into a sort of self inflicted {{Bertha In The Attic}} where they lock themselves in their rooms for extended periods of time. George gets better, [[spoiler: Charlie doesn't.]]
* BigBrotherBully: Charlie.
* BigFancyHouse[=/=]OldDarkHouse: Angelfield before and after it falls into decay.
* BrotherSisterIncest: Isabelle Angelfield (the twin's mother) and her brother, Charlie.
* ClockKing: Hester the governess.
* ConjoinedTwins: [[spoiler: It turns out that Margaret was born a conjoined twin; her sister didn't survive the operation to separate them.]]
* CreepyTwins: Adeline and Emmeline.
* DarkSecret: [[spoiler: The Missus and John-the-dig can't let anyone know there is a third girl in Angelfield, or else Charlie's rapes and incest will become open public knowledge.]]
* DifferentAsNightAndDay: The twins -- one is totally passive, the other wickedly violent.
* DontSplitUsUp: Adeline and Emmeline react very badly to being separated. [[spoiler: Vida helps Emmeline through this, though. Vida later has this with Emmeline.]]
* DoorstopBaby: [[spoiler: Aurelius Love.]] And [[spoiler: Vida Winter.]]
* DysfunctionalFamily: The Angelfields, very, very much so.
* TheEndingChangesEverything
* FamedInStory: Vida Winter.
* FreeRangeChildren: Emmeline and Adeline go wherever they want to in the village because the Missus and John-the-dig are too busy taking care of a huge house and too old to keep up with them.
* GentleGiant: Aurelius Love.
* GreenEyedRedhead: The Angelfield family.
* HeroicBastard: [[spoiler: Aurelius Love.]] And [[spoiler: Vida Winter.]]
* InTheBlood: Madness seems to be a family trait. George, Charlie, Isabelle, and the twins are all off.
* KidsAreCruel: Emmeline and Adeline have zero empathy for other people and casually destroy things and endanger infants.
* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoiler: Margaret and Dr. Clifton]].
* MamaBear: [[spoiler: When Adeline threatens Emmeline's baby, Emmeline goes on the attack for the first time in her life.]]
* MissingMom: Isabelle's mother died giving birth to her; [[spoiler: Isabelle herself vanishes from her children's lives]]. Margaret's mom is emotionally absent.
* [[spoiler: MySiblingWillLiveThroughMe]]
* OnlySaneMan: John-the-dig, especially considering that Missus becomes blind and raving as time goes by. In Margaret's story, Dr. Clifton qualifies.
* TheOphelia: Isabelle. Highlighted by an incident where she falls into a lake at a picnic.
* ParentalAbandonment: [[spoiler: Vida's mother is implied to have abandoned her by the Angelfield house.]]
* ParentalFavoritism: George very much preferred Isabelle over Charlie.
* ParentalIncest: It's implied that George Angelfield at least had a sexual interest in his daughter. Certainly when she ran off, his reaction was more like a spurned lover than a father.
* ParentalNeglect: Charlie was ignored by both his parents. The twins were ignored by Isabelle.
* ParentalSubstitute: The twins [[spoiler: and Vida]] were raised by the Missus and John-the-dig.
* PerspectiveFlip: On the story within a story.
* ReclusiveArtist: Vida Winter, very much so. She never allows anyone into her home, and whenever she speaks to reporters, she concocts elaborate lies about her childhood. No one knows anything about her, despite her outselling every book except for the Bible.
* TheReveal: An epic one, via an EurekaMoment on Margaret's part; specifically, [[spoiler:that there were three little girls at Angelfield and Vida Winter isn't exactly the ''real'' Adeline March.]]
* ShoutOut: Both explicitly and implicitly to ''Literature/JaneEyre''.
* TheSpock: Hester Barrow.
* StoryWithinAStory: The Angelfield family's decay alongside Margaret's tenuous friendship with Vida Winter.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: The Angelfields' children share red hair and green eyes.
* ThroughHisStomach: Aurelius Love will befriend pretty much anyone by giving them food first. Helps that he's a ChefSupreme.
* {{Twincest}}: Emmeline and Adeline's relationship has very strong incestuous overtones, as does [[spoiler: the relationship between Emmeline and (nameless during that time) Vida Winter, where there are hints of KissingCousins instead.]]
* UglyGuyHotWife: Mathilde is said to be incredibly beautiful while George is nothing special, as emphasized by their first child Charlie being something of a potato.
* UglyGuysHotDaughter: Isabelle has her [[EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench mother's beauty]] and [[GreenEyedRedhead her father's coloring]], making her extraordinarily beautiful.
* TheUnfavorite: Charlie.
* UnreliableNarrator: Both in and out of universe. Vida has a reputation for lying to people about her life story, so much so that Margaret refuses to work on this project without independently verifiable sources. Also, certain details of Vida's story raise questions for the reader [[spoiler: such as whether it was Emmeline or Adeline she saved]].
* TheUnsolvedMystery: Margaret never figures out how the treasure box was taken safely from the house. Likewise, the true parentage of [[spoiler:the twins]] is left ambiguous (was the father [[spoiler:Roland or Charlie]], making Vida [[spoiler:their half-sister instead of their cousin]]?) and though it's heavily implied that it was [[spoiler:Emmeline]] who died in the fire, there is plenty of evidence to support the theory that it was [[spoiler:Adeline]]. Furthermore, [[spoiler:Vida]] never finds out who her mother is.
* WhenSheSmiles: A woman in the village commonly called Merrily is very plain, but she is considered beautiful when she laughs because of the sound.
* WriteWhatYouKnow: The reason Vida Winter picked Margaret to write her biography despite the fact that she's relatively unknown and has only written a couple of articles, is because she "seemed to know something about siblings", namely, twin siblings.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Vida Winter [[spoiler: can never return to Angelfield because of her guilt over what occurred there, and her possible responsibility for Adeline's death and Emmeline's disfigurement. She legally changes her name to Vida Winter to separate herself from Angelfield entirely.]]
