The Cellar

Lewis is Summer’s boyfriend. He is a year older than her and was friends with Summer’s brother, Henry, before their romance began. Lewis is close with Summer’s parents, who approve of him as a boyfriend, as evidenced by the fact that they allow him to spend the night in Summer’s bedroom (with the door open). Lewis plays football and, in Summer’s estimation, is handsome—with green eyes that “sparkled” and “dark, almost black, hair” (51). His memory of an early trip with Summer and her friends to Pizza Hut demonstrates how smitten he was with her years before the events of the novel begin.

A static character, Lewis is a devoted boyfriend who searches unceasingly for Summer throughout the months of her disappearance. He never gives up hope that she is alive, and he spends his days looking for clues and returning to already-searched areas in case he missed something. Lewis does not have faith in the police because they don’t know Summer and therefore cannot care about her the way he can; this sensitivity does lead indirectly to her rescue. Lewis is immediately suspicious of Colin Brown’s lack of sympathy toward Summer, which primes Lewis’s reaction when he sees Colin with books and yarn; two trips to Colin’s house confirm his suspicions that Colin is involved.

Lewis is ironically far away in London when Summer is rescued, but he is still instrumental in Summer’s “return” to her friends and family, as his presence and use of her name sparks her emotional reconnection to them. His perseverance and faith in Summer’s homecoming help to develop the theme of Resilience in the Face of Dire Circumstances.

Colin, an adult in his late twenties or early thirties, is an accountant. He becomes Clover when he begins abducting young women in 2005. He aims for four perfect “girls” who, like flowers, will show him that purity and beauty still exist in the world. The novel is unclear on what happens to the first Violet (Catherine), the first Poppy (unnamed), and the first Lily and Rose (Bree and Sadie), but since Rose (Shannen) indicates he murdered the first Lily and eight altogether in her time in the cellar, it is logical to infer he killed the other “first” Flowers plus sex workers in the time elapsed.

Colin is a young boy in 1987 when his mother discovers his father in bed with another woman. Colin’s mother kicks Colin’s father out, and his father leaves the marriage. His mother then pursues the “cause” of murdering sex workers, and Colin associates sex workers with the destruction of marriages. Later, he also associates Christy with the potential ruination of Greg Hart’s marriage.

The nature of the relationship between Colin and his mother is unclear from 1987 to her death, but Colin’s fixation on his mother after she dies suggests that he generally sought her approval: “I had made sure I spent more time in their room, getting it perfect for them. I was doing the right thing. Would Mother think so too? Would she want me to be with anyone else?” (92). Colin’s mother’s connection to his present murderous exploits is also implied: “I knew there were still body bags in the cupboard under the stairs. I’d bought no more since Mother died, but I knew now I would have to” (139); “Since her death I hadn’t been as dedicated to her cause as I should have been” (137). These lines from Colin’s interior monologue suggest his mother murdered sex workers she considered “homewreckers” and possibly coached him or initiated his help in the task.

In the narrative present, Clover is both a shadow archetypal character, as his intentions are villainous and evil with no sympathetic qualities, and a shapeshifter, as he has quick mood swings where he jumps from smiling politeness to infuriated rage, threats, and violence within seconds. Lily (Summer) is Clover’s downfall and undoing. He takes her although she is younger than the other flowers and, despite her solid relationship with her family, ignores the fact that she has people who will look for her. His paranoia grows with the lasting searches in the community, and his focus disappears when someone finds Summer’s phone, which leads to the discovery of bodies in the nearby canal. Summer’s boyfriend’s suspicions about him eventually lead to a search warrant of his property, and soon Clover is under lock and key.

Clover drives the action of the story until he joins the search for Summer. Then, he becomes more reactionary in the latter half of the novel; he also demonstrates change as he loses focus and grows increasingly distracted and panicked, making him a dynamic character. Though Clover uses fear and violence to keep the Flowers submissive early in the novel, he loses control and becomes desperate and sloppy later due to his anxiety and fear that result from his mistakes, his paranoia, and his mother’s disappointment. As such, Clover’s characterization develops the theme of The Dynamics of Power and Control in Abusive Situations.

Becca is a Flower whom Summer meets in the cellar. Like most Flowers, she was estranged from her family and living on the streets when Clover abducted her; she was 18 at the time and has lived in the cellar for just over a year. She has a closer bond with Summer by the end of their experience in the cellar, and she survives Clover’s attack on her just before their rescue. Becca and Summer remain friends in the weeks following their rescue, and Summer thinks Becca and Henry may become close.

In the language of flowers, poppies can symbolize both consolation and success; these ideas are evident in Becca’s character as she offers solace to Summer throughout their imprisonment and survives Clover’s attempt to kill her.

Shannen is a Flower whom Summer meets in the cellar. At that time, she has been “down there” the longest (three years) and reports having seen Clover murder eight women. Despite this violence and her lack of freedom, Rose seems to have a genuine concern for Clover; Summer senses a different connection between them. Through Clover’s flashbacks, the narrative reveals that Shannen was an acquaintance he felt he could have a “traditional” relationship with; he loved her and wanted her to share his bed (upstairs, not the cellar) while being the one to fetch the Flowers’s books, yarn, and supplies. Rose tries to soothe Summer when she arrives and Layal when Clover hurts her, demonstrating that she is considerate and caring. Once rescued, Rose steals medication and dies by suicide, showing the severity of her struggle to come to terms with Clover’s impact on her life.

In the language of flowers, roses can symbolize happiness, innocence, and purity—qualities Colin saw in Shannen and mourned when he felt he had no choice but to turn Shannen into Rose.

Jennifer is a Flower whom Summer meets in the cellar. Clover threatens Jennifer when she questions him about his choice to bring someone as young as Summer to the cellar; later, she tries to attack Clover and escape, but he kills her in a rage. Based on her attempt to convince Clover that taking Summer was wrong and her actions against him, Violet is indirectly characterized as courageous and caring.

In the language of flowers, violets can symbolize watchfulness, represented by Jennifer’s attempt to overpower Clover at the right moment.