Sociology in Under The Attic

Sociology relates to this novel in so many different ways. The family in the story, Flowers in the Attic, written by V.C. Andrews, starts off as a family of procreation, a family established through marriage, which includes the mother (Mrs. Dollanger), the father (Mr. Dollanger), and the four children: Cathy (the oldest daughter), Chris (the second oldest son), Carrie and Corey (the young twins). A conflict begins when the father dies in a car wreck, so the mother and her four children must move in her rich parents estate because they have no money and nowhere to stay. After the father's death, the norms of the children changed. The norms of the children were to stay hidden in the basement by them selves because Mrs. Dollanger may only earn back the right to inherit her father's estate by falsifying that she has no children by her husband who was also her half-uncle. The original agreement was that they can leave the basement when their grandfather dies. The rules of the house were given by the dying grandfather that stated if Mrs. Dollanger was found to have children that she would be disinherited again.

The most important value of the family was to not have children out of sin and to not marry within the family, which was why Mrs. Dollanger was initially disinherited.

The grandmother had the highest status of the family because she ordered and punished the four grandchildren and Mrs. Dollanger. The grandmother at that point was now of authority status to the grandfather because he was sick in his dying bed. This goes against the definition of sexism, stating that men are believed to be superior to women. The oldest sister Cathy begins to encounter a role conflict within herself. She takes on the role of a sister and she also depicts a mother, because she is the one that cares for her young sister and brother. Strangely, she takes on the role as the sexual partner of her brother, Chris, because they do not yet understand that this is wrong because of their entrapment from society. Mrs. Dollanger then receives a sanction when her father dies, which is to inherit her father's estate. This was her reward for her father thinking that she hadn't had children. Her sanction at the beginning of the novel was the punishment of marrying her half uncle by her father disinheriting her.