Vivian Charles, better known as Aunt Vivian, is the aunt of Charlotte "Chuck" Charles, who Vivian raised with her sister, Lily, after the death of Charles Charles. Vivian and Lily were the members of a synchronized swimming duo called the Darling Mermaid Darlings, who claim the reason they disbanded was the loss of Lily's right eye while cleaning the cat's litter box.
Like her sister, Vivian suffers from personality disorders and social phobias, which have left the sisters shut-ins of their Coeur d'Coeurs house.
Biography[]
Born five years after Lily, Vivian was born with a small hole in her heart, which caused her to require special medical care. Lily was told to look after her younger sister and put her needs first, a characteristic which she retained through her adult life. [1]
The Darling Mermaid Darlings[]
During their teenage years, Vivian and Lily performed as underwater artists as a two-woman act called the Darling Mermaid Darlings. The sisters were a celebrated and renowned pair that drew large crowds, especially by synchronized swimming event standards. However, as they continued to perform well past their mid-life years, their crowds grew lower and lower. Nevertheless, they clung to their fading glory as long as possible. [2]
The Darling Mermaid Darlings came to an end when Lily accidentally got dust in her eyes while cleaning the cat's litter box. This resulted in the loss of her right eye and the end of Lily's life as a synchronized swimmer and, as Vivian did not wish to continue without her sister, the team was disbanded. [2]
Life with Chuck[]
Following the death of Chuck's father, the eight-year-old Chuck moved in with her Aunts Vivian and Lily. Before long, however, the personality disorders they long suffered had blossomed into incapacitating social phobia, especially following the disbandment of the Darling Mermaid Darlings. As a result, the two practically never left the safety of their home and became increasingly reliant on Chuck, who they gradually came to depend upon as a caretaker. [2]
Chuck and the aunts formed a strong connection, although Chuck's restlessness and the social anxieties of the aunts did create rough patches. Lily and Chuck, in particular, had difficulty getting along during the years when Chuck was going through puberty and Lily was experiencing menopause. Vivian also grew nervous eating her food because Chuck threatened to bake antidepressants into the meals she prepared for them. [2]
Life after Chuck's death[]
During the immediate days following Chuck's death, Vivian and Lily felt their fears of the outside world were affirmed and they were even less anxious to leave their house, although they did welcome Ned and Emerson Cod into their house. During that visit, Lily went upstairs to retrieve a suitcase full of two plaster monkeys that had belonged to Chuck. Lily was then attacked by the Shiny Shoes Killer, the man who murdered Chuck. Lily escaped from his attack and shot him to death with a shotgun. [2]
Although the newly resurrected Chuck was standing next to Ned at the time, Lily failed to see her because she was outside of the one-eyed woman's peripheral vision, and thus Lily and Vivian had no idea she was back from the dead. As a result of Lily's actions, she and Vivian collected the $50,000 reward that was offered for the capture of Chuck's killer. With the new finances and a newly found confidence, the sisters, arm in arm, left the sanctuary of their home and went traveling. [2]
The new found optimism quickly disappeared before they were about to go back on tour as the Darling Mermaid Darlings when a postcard from Charlotte's cruise saying "Wish you were here" arrived in the mail.[3]
Chuck's plan of sunshine[]
Since Ned brought her back to life, Chuck has been finding ways to spread a little sunshine into her aunts' life.
Phase one[]
The first phase was keeping true to her threat of baking antidepressants into her aunts' food, in the form of Ned's pies. She was given a sample pack from Alfredo Aldarisio. She often bakes cheese onto the crust of the pies. Darling Mermaid Darlings fan and Pie Hole waitress Olive Snook has been the deliverer of those pies.[3] Because of those pies, moods of both aunts have been random. For example, Vivian would often giggle for no reason.[4] Both Olive and Ned know of the pies but don't know about the antidepressants.
Phase two[]
The second phase involved persuading Vivian and Lily to get back into the water. Once again, Olive was the messenger, but this time, she was more involved with Chuck. Methods include taking out Darling memorabilia and putting chlorine into the Aunts' drinking water. (Both of which failed due to Lily's refusal to have anything to do with water). However, one rainy day, Vivian decided now was the time to get back into the swim of things. She and Lily did a swimming routine at the stadium that used to be the home of the Darling Mermaid Darlings' to an imaginary audience.[5]
Personality and traits[]
Vivian Charles, like her sister, has had a debilitating personality disorder since early life, which only became worse later in life. Although both developed social disorders, Vivian possesses a slightly friendly demeanor than her sister. However, she often fails to recognize when best to keep quiet, as demonstrated by her willingness to discuss Lily's menopause in front of Ned and Emerson Cod. [2]
Vivian developed a newly found interest in travel after Chuck's death, but that interest quickly disappeared the moment Lily was reminded of Chuck, just as the sisters were about to start traveling.[3] Vivian has a strong distaste of being touched.[2]
She shares with sister a love of fine cheese so strong that Chuck comes to refer to the refrigerator as the "Cheese Box" and the basement as the "Cheese Floor."[6]
Bird lovers[]
Lily and Vivian used to be cat people until the kitty litter incident. After that, they became lovers of birds, dozens of which are kept in cages within their homes. [2] After their birds die, to avoid looking at an empty birdhouse, Vivian often taxidermies them with sand, thread and little marble eyes.[4]
Known Family[]
- Charles Charles - step-brother/ex-fiancé
- Lily Charles - sister
- Charlotte Charles - niece