Quote 1
I can see now, too, how the Exchanges had a more subtle effect on us all. If you think about it, being dependent on each other to produce the stuff that might become your private treasures—that's bound to do things to your relationships. (2.19)
At Hailsham, friendships crop up around the art the students create. There's a really important phrase Kathy uses here—"being dependent on each other." To Kathy, this dependency is a good thing and helps build camaraderie. But what do they need each other for, beyond random trinkets? Do they depend on each other emotionally, too?
Quote 2
But in the end I managed it, and the instant I saw her again, at that recovery centre in Dover, all our differences—while they didn't exactly vanish—seemed not nearly as important as all the other things: like the fact that we'd grown up together at Hailsham, the fact that we knew and remembered things no one else did. (1.5)
This is our first introduction to Kathy and Ruth's friendship. Right off the bat, we know their friendship was rocky. But we also learn that they have shared memories of Hailsham, and this binds them together. We'll see this connection to Hailsham resurface a lot throughout the novel, and it seems to be the one thing that always holds these two together.
Quote 3
But at other times, I think that's wrong—that it was just to do with me and Ruth, and the sort of loyalty she inspired in me in those days. (5.30)
Kathy tells us this after Moira has insulted the secret guard. In response, Kathy has defended the secret guard, despite the fact that Ruth has kicked her out. Kathy sure is a loyal pal. What "sort of loyalty" do you think Ruth inspires in Kathy? And why is Kathy so loyal, even when she's been snubbed?
Quote 4
Now, for much the same reasons I'd not been able to talk openly to Ruth about what I'd done to her over the Sales Register business, she of course wasn't able to thank me for the way I'd intervened with Midge. But it was obvious from her manner towards me, not just over the next few days, but over the weeks that followed, how pleased she was with me. (6.19)
Ruth and Kathy are almost telepathic. And sometimes their inability to just talk to each other only causes more problems. But instead of words, it's almost like they have another secret language they use to communicate.
Quote 5
As it happened, I didn't have to go through with it because Tommy found out first. (7.48-49)
Even Kathy has her slip-ups. When she tells Tommy that she'll strap his arm so that his elbow won't "unzip," she knows she's lying to her friend. Not cool, Kath. Years later, Kathy not only remembers this incident, but she still feels the same emotion she felt back then when she betrayed her friend: guilt.
"It's really good you're telling me this," I said eventually. "I probably am the best person. Talking to Tommy and all that." (9.18)
Tommy and Kathy have always had a special bond. So when Ruth asks Kathy to talk to him about getting back together with Ruth, we're not surprised to see a hint of competition in the air. In fact, Kathy will repeat this idea that she's the best person to talk to Tommy a few paragraphs later. Looks like things can get complicated when friendship gets mixed with romance.
Quote 7
Those early months at the Cottages had been a strange time in our friendship. We were quarrelling over all kinds of little things, but at the same time we were confiding in each other more than ever. (11.1)
Kathy and Ruth have a relationship like kettle corn or chocolate covered pretzels. It's a little salty and a little sweet all at once. But somehow, it works for them. They maintain this salty-sweet relationship throughout the entire novel, right to the very end.
Quote 8
"Judy Bridgewater. My old friend. It's like she's never been away." (15.99)
It's almost like Kathy has an imaginary friend in Judy Bridgewater. In some ways, Judy may be Kathy's most loyal friend. But what does it mean for Kathy to be friends with a singer she'll never meet? One who can't challenge her, or talk back?
Quote 9
But just once, as she was twisting herself in a way that seemed scarily unnatural, and I was on the verge of calling the nurses for more painkillers, just for a few seconds, no more, she looked straight at me and she knew exactly who I was. It was one of those little islands of lucidity donors sometimes get to in the midst of their ghastly battles, and she looked at me, just for that moment, and although she didn't speak, I knew what her look meant. (19.142)
How incredible is that? It's pretty cool how Kathy and Ruth can communicate without speaking. We've seen them do this throughout the novel, and it doesn't always work out for the best. But this final look is their last connection. Even without words it seems to give them closure before Ruth "completes."
Quote 10
A part of me keeps wishing we'd somehow been able to share everything we discovered with Ruth. […] The way it is, it's like there's a line with us on one side and Ruth on the other, and when all's said and done, I feel sad about that, and I think she would too if she could see it. (23.39)
The image Kathy gives us here of Ruth on one side of a line with Tommy and herself on the other is a pretty powerful one. It makes Kathy sad that when this trio is divided up into duos, someone inevitably gets left out. Does this image jog your memory of places where Kathy or Tommy is the odd one out?
Quote 11
Certainly, it feels like I always knew about donations in some vague way, even as early as six or seven. And it's curious, when we were older and the guardians were giving us those talks, nothing came as a complete surprise. It was like we'd heard everything somewhere before. (7.27)
How creepy! Kathy can't seem to remember how she learned about donations. This has us wondering if Kathy is fooling herself. Maybe she needs to pay more attention in class. But it also gives her a healthy dose of responsibility for her fate. You could argue that if she and Tommy knew where their lives were headed on some level, well then they had the power to do something about it and chose not to.
Quote 12
My name is Kathy H. I'm thirty-one years old, and I've been a carer now for over eleven years. (1.1)
Kathy tells us three things about herself here: her name, her age, and her job. Right off the bat, we're wondering what the deal is with this "H." Why doesn't Kathy have a last name—just an initial? Plus, it seems pretty important that Kathy mentions being a carer when she first describes herself. Sounds like her job might be a really important part of her identity.
Quote 13
Everything—the walls, the floor—has been done in gleaming white tiles, which the centre keeps so clean when you first go in it's almost like entering a hall of mirrors. Of course, you don't exactly see yourself reflected back loads of times, but you almost think you do. (2.26)
The recovery center at Dover sounds just like a fun house at a fair. Having your image reflected all over the walls might be a little off-putting, but it does point out how important mirrors are. Inside the tiled walls at the recovery center, Kathy can't really escape seeing herself everywhere, which is a constant reminder of her fate.
Quote 14
So you're waiting, even if you don't quite know it, waiting for the moment when you realize that you really are different to them; that there are people out there, like Madame, who don't hate you or wish you any harm, but who nevertheless shudder at the very thought of you—of how you were brought into this world and why—and who dread the idea of your hand brushing against theirs. The first time you glimpse yourself through the eyes of a person like that, it's a cold moment. It's like walking past a mirror you've walked past every day of your life, and suddenly it shows you something else, something troubling and strange. (3.73)
Kathy doesn't like seeing herself through Madame's eyes. It's no fun to realize that other people are disgusted by you. Plus, realizing what Madame thinks of her seems to change the way Kathy thinks about herself.
Quote 15
Nevertheless, we all of us, to varying degrees, believed that when you saw the person you were copied from, you'd get some insight into who you were deep down, and maybe too, you'd see something of what your life held in store. (12.12)
According to this theory, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Or the clone doesn't fall far from her "possible." So finding your model would be like getting a cheat sheet for your own identity. But what part of your identity will you get to discover when you find this model? And what do you think Kathy means by the phrase "deep down"? Maybe she means she'll learn more about her personality. Or her soul. Or her DNA?
Quote 16
Her hair was darker than Ruth's—though it could have been dyed—and she had it tied back in a simple pony-tail the way Ruth usually did. She was laughing at something her friend in the red outfit was saying, and her face, especially when she was finishing her laugh with a shake of her head, had more than a hint of Ruth about it. (14.22)
Kathy and her friends are looking for signs that this woman might be Ruth's possible: her hair color, her mannerisms, even her ponytail. Are these the bits that make up identity? Or are they looking for the wrong clues?
"It's just that sometimes, every now and again, I get these really strong feelings when I want to have sex. […] That's why I started thinking, well, it has to come from somewhere. It must be to do with the way I am." I stopped, but when Tommy didn't say anything, I went on: "So I thought if I find her picture, in one of those magazines, it'll at least explain it. I wouldn't want to go and find her or anything. It would just, you know, kind of explain why I am the way I am." (15.110)
Kathy has questions about her body and she wants answers. So where else would she go looking besides the original body that she was cloned from? But really—what can that body tell her? It seems like Kathy might not realize that your environment has a lot to do with who you are and how you behave. Just look at what an effect Hailsham had on her.
Quote 18
I don't know if she recognised us at that point; but without doubt, she saw and decided in a second what we were, because you could see her stiffen—as if a pair of large spiders was set to crawl towards her. (21.12)
When Madame sees Kathy and Tommy outside her house, she has the same reaction she did so many years before. It's almost as if Madame isn't sure if Kathy and Tommy are human at all. How would this sentence be different if Kathy had replaced the phrase "what we were" with "who we were"?
Quote 19
I realised, of course, that other people used these roads; but that night, it seemed to me these dark byways of the country existed just for the likes of us, while the big glittering motorways with their huge signs and super cafés were for everyone else. (22.86)
Check out how Kathy sets up a contrast here between "other people" and "the likes of us." It's as if she's segregated the roads for different types of people. Well, this kind of thinking makes one thing clear: Kathy sure does see herself as different from the rest of society.
Quote 20
When I think about my essay today, what I do is go over it in some detail: I may think of a completely new approach I could have taken, or about different writers and books I could have focused on. […] It's at that sort of level—daydream stuff. (10.3)
Let's be honest: sometimes rewriting essays isn't that much fun. But here Kathy revels in the fantasies of how she could re-craft her work. She realizes this isn't really going to happen, but she likes daydreaming about the possibilities all the same. What do you think about the fact that Kathy likes to daydream about the past more than the future?