How does Olivia remember her childhood, and how does that differ from how her father remembers her childhood? How have Olivia’s and Vincent’s pasts affected their actions and relationship?
Her father remembers the good times. Olivia remembers the sad times when her father sent her away to school and she felt he had no time for her. My heart broke for Vincent when we learned the reason he sent Olivia off to school. She reminded him so much of Poppy and his heartache was just too much. He loved his sister. They had a special relationship.
Olivia remembers her childhood initially with happiness, but then felt deserted by her mother and then by her father. Her father felt he was protecting her from his own sadness and unhappiness. I think we forget that sometimes parents have a burden that is so heavy for them that they cannot function as a loving parent and they make bad choices, even out of love.
Obviously both parents’ actions affected Olivia’s relationship with them both. Thus her rational for her new identity.
Olivia remembers her father as distant, and cold. And probably the fear and suspicion that he may have murdered his siblings. I think she felt isolated and an outsider in her own family.
Vincent believes he loved Olivia. I think he sees himself damaged and doing the best he could. Not uncaring just not very affectionate. With the treasure hunts I think he thought he was connecting with her. Truth is oftentimes fragmented and more so when a family is shaped by trauma of some sort.
Vincent carried so much baggage, despair, loss and guilt that he could not be the parent his daughter needed. He did behave selfishly and what appears as without remorse until later, when looking to tell the story. But that was a high wall to try to get over. Olivia felt abandoned and angry her whole life and she was certainty justified in those feelings. The fact that they could come together even the little bit that they did was quite remarkable.
Their reconciliation was based on knowing the truth, sharing feelings, and not looking backwards. This ending was important.
The entire situation was sad. Vincent was trying to do what he thought was right for Olivia, but the way he went about it was awful. Then he compounded that mistake with years of addiction and neglect. It’s no wonder she worried he’d killed his siblings. Add his abandonment to her mother’s and Olivia was ripe for issues. It’s no wonder she walked away and never came back. But with honest conversation and talking about the reasons for why her parents acted as they did, she was able to move forward.
Again, everyone’s memories are different. You tend to forget what you don’t want to remember and then embellish what you remember fondly. I believe that most father want to remember their children, especially their daughters, as having had a great childhood - regardless of what it was actually like. I would go with Olivia’s memory as more true to life - although possibly a bit harsher than was actually the case.
Her father remembers the good stuff. Olivia remembers being abandoned by her mother and sent away by her father. They both hold their secrets close. If Vincent had shared the truth at the time of the murders, his life, and ultimately Olivia’s would have been so different. Olivia wouldn’t have become so isolated from her family. There still would have been trauma, but maybe they would have dealt with it better if they had each other.
Olivia remembers good times when she was younger. Until her mother abandoned her and then her father sent her away to school. She has mixed feelings about the treasure hunt games that her father played. Her memory of them differs from her father’s.
Also, she had always thought that her father had invented Lionel Foolhardy as a way to entertain her, when it turns out Olivia had written those stories.
Her father had kept a box with several of the stories, and other small items from her childhood. She is amazed he kept them, and he asks why wouldn’t he have kept them.
Olivia remembers her childhood with both happiness and sadness. There is the rejection of the neighborhood children, but the fun of the games with her father. She remembers the rejection of her mother, then her father’s sending her away. Vincent remembers the love he had for Olivia and enjoyed the games and seems to remember the good times. Both characters are leading such traumatized lives, with so many unanswered questions, any reuniting would be difficult and carry the same wounds.