A significant
portion of Kathy’s memories surround a trip when she and four others go out
searching for Ruth’s ‘possible.’ While we know Kath searches for her own
possible among the porn magazines in Chapter Eleven, she never does more than
imply she often thought about who her possible might be. However, Kath was not likely
to find her possible in this sort of magazine, as she was cloned from Jo March,
and Tommy from Teddy Laurence.
Both books begin
with the female character approaching the male figure, and extending a gesture
of friendship. While it is uncertain whether Kath had talked much to Tommy
before, she seemed determined to tell him there was mud on his shirt (11) and had
hopes of calming him down. Both Tommy and Laurie had incredible tempers and
both female characters made sure to mention it throughout both stories.
In addition, both
sets of characters got along in very similar ways. Kath and Tommy would often
share secrets they wouldn’t even tell Ruth, because she was ‘different’ from
them (284). In a similar way, Jo and Laurie often shared very personal,
intimate secrets no one else would quite understand. The reunion between Kath
and Tommy on page 220 was likely very similar to the reunion between Jo and
Laurie when Jo finally came back from New York.
Both couples are also kept apart and never allowed to actually be together. In Little Women, this was because Alcott never wanted the two to marry, for whatever reason. However, Kazou gets so close as to letting the two have the closest thing to marriage possible, but since they are clones simply meant to donate their organs, they still do not attain the “Happily Ever After” the star-crossed lovers deserve. In the end of Never Let Me Go, Kath dreams of seeing Tommy walk across the field where she stands. While Jo did not seem to struggle rejecting her Teddy, Kath doesn’t want to let Tommy go, and perhaps, somewhere in the future, an author will finally let the two come together properly.
Both couples are also kept apart and never allowed to actually be together. In Little Women, this was because Alcott never wanted the two to marry, for whatever reason. However, Kazou gets so close as to letting the two have the closest thing to marriage possible, but since they are clones simply meant to donate their organs, they still do not attain the “Happily Ever After” the star-crossed lovers deserve. In the end of Never Let Me Go, Kath dreams of seeing Tommy walk across the field where she stands. While Jo did not seem to struggle rejecting her Teddy, Kath doesn’t want to let Tommy go, and perhaps, somewhere in the future, an author will finally let the two come together properly.
Your theory is very intriguing and I agree that there are many parallels, but I would also argue that there is a major difference between Kathy and Jo: passivity. Within Never Let Me Go, Kathy is very passive and accepting of her fate. Kathy says “I won’t be a carer any more come the end of the year, and though I’ve got a lot out of it, I have to admit I’ll welcome the chance to rest – to stop and think and remember” (37). Kathy is only thirty-one when she says this, but she has already accepted her fate of being a donor instead of doing anything she can to avoid it (however little that may be). Unlike Kathy, Jo never accepts her fate in Little Women as a good little housewife. She fights against the norm of being a little woman for years, becomes a writer, and decides to build a school for boys so that she may be “one of the boys” finally and live the life she always wished she could. Although the circumstances are different, both women grew up in lives of “oppression”, but Kathy passively accepted her fate while Jo avoided hers to the best of her ability.
ReplyDeleteOne issue with comparing the relationship between Kathy and Tommy to Jo and Laurie is that the Kathy and Thomas might actually be a good match for one another (in a different life) compared to Jo and Laurie. While many people agreed that Jo and Laurie should have been together, Jo herself believes that they would not make a good couple due to the fact that they were almost too good for one another. Kathy and Thomas have more of a relationship-iy type bond which we can briefly notice quick flashes of throughout the story, up until the end when they do get together. It is not right to say that Jo and Laurie were “never allowed to be together” because Jo herself rejects Laurie’s proposal when she could have just as easily accepted it. This obviously disregards the author’s motive for the books, but rather thinks of the story as a world of its own where the characters are free to make decisions and do not have a puppet master in the form of an author controlling their every move.
ReplyDeleteI think that you have made an interesting connection between Kathy and Jo. In the book, Kathy is the first to extend a gesture of friendship to Tommy similar to Jo reaching out to Teddy first. It does also appear that in both books, the boy begins to improve in character due to this friendship and there is a strong bond between the two friends. However, I believe this example may be the only component that connects the character Kathy to the character, Jo. The major difference I see between Kathy and Jo is within the acceptance of their fates. Jo never accepts her fate and believes that she has control over her own destiny. She goes against what is expected of her in most way including, appearance and marital status. Jo makes her own choices, and this is what allows her to lead a fulfilling life. Kathy lives her life in quite a different way. At the end of her life, Kathy is happy and even proud of the life she lived even though she had no control over it. When talking about her job, she says, "My donors have always tended to do much better than expected" (3). She is given no other choice than to donate her organs, however, she demonstrates pride and satisfaction of her job. This creates a clear divide between Kathy and Jo and demonstrates how the two characters differ.
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