Love, Sex, and Friendship Theme Analysis

As Helen’s life is characterized by sexual promiscuity and her cynical attitude toward love, Jo often feels alienated from her mother’s affection. As a result, she finds herself forced to search elsewhere for the intimacy and affection that is so blatantly lacking in her home. She initially believes she has found love in her relationship with a young sailor, but soon becomes disappointed with the experience. As time goes on and she becomes pregnant, she is forced to face the practical consequences of her relationship. However, instead of enduring this ordeal alone, she finds comfort in the presence of her friend Geoffrey, who moves in with her and takes care of the practical details of her life. Soon, she realizes that the love of a committed friend can be infinitely more valuable and reliable than romantic or familial love.

Sex and seduction are prominent parts of Helen’s life. Described as a “semi-whore” in the stage directions, Helen depends financially on “fancy men”—that is, lovers who give her money. Helen’s promiscuous lifestyle sets her and her daughter apart from the traditional, sexually conservative norms of society. When Peter asks Helen to marry him, Jo asks: “You’re not going to marry her, are you? She’s a devil with the men.” Her comment suggests that Helen has no interest in committing to a serious relationship. It soon becomes evident that Helen is interested in men not only for sexual pleasure, but even more importantly because of the money they give her. This leads Jo to consider her mother’s earnings “immoral.”

Despite Jo’s negative opinion of her mother’s interest in sex over love, Jo, too, has sex with men without building committed relationships. Helen worries about leaving her daughter in the house alone, knowing that she would probably invite her boyfriend Jimmie to the apartment. When Helen worries aloud that Jo might “ruin [herself] for good,” Jo replies: “I’m already ruined.” Both women thus see themselves and each other as disreputable because of their sexual behavior—which does not conform to the double standards held by society for women. After Jo’s boyfriend, a sailor, leaves for the Navy, Jo discovers that she is pregnant. When Helen and Peter learn of Jo’s pregnancy, Peter calls Jo “a bloody slut” and Helen tells her daughter that everyone is calling her “a silly little whore.” Instead of feeling shame, Jo provocatively replies: “Well they know where I’m getting it from, too.” Because she is pregnant at a young age and single, it begins to seem that Jo is going to end up living a life of emotional and financial insecurity just like her mother.

Jo’s cynical attitude toward sex does not preclude her from seeking the joys of love. Yet after her boyfriend abandons her, she becomes disillusioned and decides that romantic love only brings trouble. When Jo meets her boyfriend in the street, the scene offers a refreshing glimpse into the innocence of adolescent love, in stark contrast to the relationship between Helen and Peter, which is motivated by the desire for money and sex. When her boyfriend mentions a sexual experience, Jo says ironically that “[t]his is the sort of conversation that can colour a young girl’s mind.” Given her knowledge of her mother’s sexual life, it is unlikely that she is sincerely outraged at the mention of sex. Instead, her words can be taken as a joking comment about the innocence and chastity that society assumes young women should display.

At the same time, Jo also harbors a sincere longing for the intimacy of a loving relationship. This desire is visible in the simplicity and honesty with which she tells her boyfriend that she loves him: “I don’t know why I love you but I do.” When he tells her he loves her and will come back, however, Jo reacts with skepticism. Their dialogue reveals that, while Jo might be able to give her love freely, she is skeptical of others’ intentions, since she has never benefited from the support and commitment that love can bring. This time, her distrust is not proven wrong, since it soon becomes clear that her boyfriend has no real intention of coming back and taking care of her. This period of youthful elation thus gives way to a cynical, disappointed understanding of the tricky nature of love and commitment. “I don’t know much about love,” Jo reflects. “I’ve never been too familiar with it. I suppose I must have loved him. They say love creates. And I’m certainly creating at the moment. I’m going to have a baby.” Jo’s definition of love has become practical instead of spiritual or emotional, as she now defines love purely in terms of its effect on her body: her pregnancy. She has given up on the idea that love can create anything beyond the purely physical.

Yet this experience does not keep Jo from experiencing love in other forms. Instead of finding trust and reliability in romantic love, Jo discovers that the love of her friend Geoffrey is infinitely more reliable and fulfilling than any love she has experienced to date. During Jo’s pregnancy, when Geof asks Jo if she wishes her boyfriend were here, she responds that she doesn’t—and that, anyway, she is sick of love. She tells Geof that the main reason she enjoys having him by her side is because she knows he will not try to start a romantic relationship with her. Her intense hatred of love can be understood as an expression of disappointment in the two people—her mother and her boyfriend—who were supposed to provide for her and take care of her. Her experiences in life have forced her to give up on both romantic and familial love and, instead, invest her energy in her friendship with Geof.

She realizes that Geof’s presence makes her feel secure. She calls him a “big sister,” an affectionate term that emphasizes their closeness as well as the asexual nature of their relationship. Jo appreciates the effort Geof puts into taking care of the house and making sure she is well. “[Y]ou make everything work. The stove goes, now we eat. You’ve reformed me, some of the time at any rate.” The seemingly transformative effect that Geof has had on Jo’s life demonstrates that simply being present and accompanying her through the emotional and practical concerns of everyday life is an act of love that can be much more powerful than a family tie, and stronger too than elevated but ultimately false promises of romantic commitment. In this way, Jo realizes that the forms of love that are most widely celebrated and recognized as legitimate may not necessarily be the most abiding.