Jory Marquet: The Moral Compass of VCA

It is easy to say that out of everyone in this messed up family across five books and four films, Jory Marquet is the one will the best head on his shoulders. He is the son of Cathy and Julian. Cathy named him Jory as "J" was for Julian and the "-ory" part was for her brother Cory, but unlike his abusive father or his emotionally unstable mother - Jory has a emotional maturity that many members of his family lack.

He loved to dance since he was a young child and became a dancer like his parents. During his childhood, he had a shaky relationship with his half-brother Bart, but later marries fellow ballerina Melodie, and together they achieve fame as ballerina partners. During If There Be Thorns. Jory takes on the role of narrator alongside his half-brother Bart - this was also the first time that a V.C. Andrews book starred male narrators instead of female narrators.

It is safe to say, Jory is the voice of reason in this novel. Whether it's voicing subjects his parents choose to ignore or flat out confronting the fact Bart's mental health is spiralling to the point where this child needs professional help. After an episode where Bart tries to drown his adopted sister, Jory finally puts his foot down with Cathy:

"Mom," I said as she calmed Cindy down and put her to bed "Bart's very sick in the head. You let Dad take him to any shrink he wants, but make him stay there until he's well!"

While Bart proves to be an unreliable narrator, having the reader constantly question the accuracy of what Bart's chapters rely - Jory's voice is much clearer and concise. While chaos basically ensues around him, Jory is the only character who refuses to ignore the elephants in the room. From confronting Cathy's denial of Bart's need for professional care, to confronting the fact that Chris assaulted Cathy in the attic - in many ways, Jory is way more mature than Chris and Cathy combined. Even with the revelations and the return of his maternal grandmother bringing all types secrets to light, Jory is the only character to actually process the information he's being given.

In the film adaptation, Jory is a bit more teen angst-ridden - more interested in sneaking off with his girlfriend and initially withdrawing from the conflict rather than confronting it head-on. Jedidiah Goodacre was a good casting, but this is a prime example of two different screenwriters interpretation of the same character - Anthony Konechny's portrayal had more of Jory's sensitive book characteristics in the final film.

Another trait that stands out is Jory's ability to genuinely be a forgiving person. He decides to love his parents, in spite of what he knows and makes a name for himself in the ballet industry. Even going as far as standing up to his paternal grandmother in his firm decision to stay with his family, In Seeds of Yesterday, Jory and Melodie bring much joy when they announce to Chris and Cathy that they are expecting twins (later named Deirdre and Darren). However, after an accident that leaves him paralyzed from the waist down, Melodie becomes depressed and has an affair with Bart, but eventually leaves Jory so she can continue dancing.

Instead of becoming bitter and resentful - like others in his family - Jory throws himself into being a good father to his twins and learning to adapt with his new life in a wheelchair. This really does show the contrast in both brothers - whereas one takes what life has dealt him and thrives to make the best of it, the other is literally living in privilege and can't shake his own hateful behaviours towards others and himself.

For Seeds, director Shawn Ku forbade Konechny from lifting or sneaking in a workout once they were filming Jory's disability storyline. As well as this visually showing the character losing his muscle definition throughout the film, this also played into the Konechny's performance:

"In the book, Jory does become paralyzed. I was able to get a wheelchair a couple weeks before we started filming, take that out and just get a feel for what that means, how that feels in the body, what that means for people around you and just get the mechanics for it. You work so hard, many hours in the gym, dieting, [but] to lose that all, it works. It played into the character - I was feeling the effects of just depleting and deteriorating and the downward spiral both physically and mentally. After we finished filming, it was cool to get back in and find the mechanics again."

Jory is probably one of the purest characters in the VCA universe and a prime example of someone who stays true to their morals, never losing sight of who they are even in their darkest hours.