| “ | You’re my special boy. | „ |
| ~ Charlie recalling her Aunt's "love" and "affection" towards him. |
Aunt Helen is the overarching antagonist of the coming-of-age novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower and its 2012 film adaptation. Although she was presented as the caring aunt of Charlie whose death caused his depression, it would later be revealed, after Charlie's attempted suicide, that she had been molesting him.
She was portrayed by Melanie Lynskey, who also played Kathleen Coghlan in the 2023 adaptation of The Last of Us and Rose in Two and a Half Men.
Personality[]
On the surface level, Helen appears to be very caring and respectful to Charlie and his family. Being depicted as the "favorite aunt" of the family, she was respected and beloved by her community. However, Helen was secretly suffering from depression and suicidal thoughts due to her past trauma, which she would eventually past on to Charlie. She even showed him her self-harm scars on Christmas.
History[]
Helen is the sister of Charlie's mother. During her childhood, she was sexually abused by a friend of her father's, which caused her to suffer from clinical depression.
She grew up to be a child molester herself, with her primary victim being her nephew Charlie. She would sexually touch Charlie while his mother and father were asleep, and telling him to be quiet was her way of blackmailing Charlie to keep her dark secret. On Charlie's birthday, she constantly reminded him to look for her present in the bathroom, something he rejected. This would later drove her off which eventually caused her to not stop while driving on the crosswalk and accidentally crash with a truck, killing her.
Her abuse would be a constant reminder to Charlie as he often blamed himself for her death. Along with the death of his childhood friend, Michael, and the feeling of isolation during the time, it made him attempt to take his own life, but failed after being interrupted by the police who were called in by his older sister, Candace. It would later be revealed to Charlie's parents that Aunt Helen had sexually assaulted him after his discharge from the hospital.
Trivia[]
- Aunt Helen serves as a symbol for the cycle of abuse.