Never Let Me Go

Tommy is a student at Hailsham, a clone, and the friend of Ruth and Kathy. As a child, he is known for his anger issues and his violent tantrums as a result of the other children bullying him. He overcomes these tantrums with support from Miss Lucy and Kathy but continues to struggle with his creative endeavors. Tommy’s lack of artistic creativity is established early, but his ability to invent theories about the students’ true predicament shows real invention. He surmises the purpose of the Gallery though he is mistaken about its intention. These theories become a bonding moment for Tommy and Kathy. Their relationship is strong, but Tommy finds himself in a romantic relationship with Ruth rather than Kathy. This moment of misjudgment is both a byproduct of the introversion he and Kathy share and a cruel twist of fate that will haunt the rest of their lives.

Tommy and Ruth’s relationship is combustible. They share very few moments of general affection, or at least Kathy does not witness these moments. Instead, they seem to fight often. Tommy knows that he can hurt Ruth by embarrassing her in front of people she is trying to impress. He does this in Norfolk and creates fractures in their relationship that never truly heal. On that same day, he spends time with Kathy and is given an insight into what his life might be like if she was his girlfriend. Their happy afternoon seems more loving and tender than any time he spends with Ruth. Unfortunately for Tommy, Ruth exploits his affection for Kathy. She conspires against her friends and uses Kathy’s mockery of Tommy’s art to hurt him. Tommy is damaged by this treatment, and the three spend many years apart. His poor decision to enter into a relationship with Ruth rather than Kathy destroys their friendship for a short while.

After Ruth dies, Tommy and Kathy become a couple. Their relationship is loving, but every wonderful moment comes with a pitiable footnote. Tommy and Kathy both realize that their time is limited and that they wasted many years apart. When they visit Madame and their last hope of a deferral is gone, Tommy and Kathy drift apart. The time they spend together becomes a painful reminder of the mistake they made in being apart so long. Tommy dies alone because he cannot stand to die alongside Kathy.

Ruth is one of the most complicated characters in the novel. She is the best friend of Kathy, and she spends years as Tommy’s romantic partner, but she does much to hurt both of them. Ruth is charismatic, scheming, temperamental, and vindictive. She invents wild imaginary games and then uses them to hurt and harm others. Love becomes an extension of these games. She recognizes that Kathy and Tommy love one another but realizes that they lack the confidence to address their feelings. She acts where they do not and seizes on the opportunity to make Tommy her boyfriend. Ruth fears being alone and believes that she will be left out if Tommy and Kathy get together. She becomes Tommy’s girlfriend to prevent herself from being hurt rather than out of genuine affection. In doing so, she denies years of love to her two best friends out of a selfish fear of being alone.

One of Ruth’s defining traits is that she wants to be loved. Perhaps understandably for a girl who grew up without parents, she searches constantly for the approval of the people she looks up to. She wants guardians to consider her their favorite, and she wants the veterans at the Cottage to think that she is privileged and informed, and she wants her peers to acknowledge her as the most important figure in any situation. Ruth seeks approval from others and does anything to achieve this approval. She lies without hesitation if she thinks that people will respect her and bears a grudge against anyone who challenges her. Social embarrassment is Ruth’s worst fear as it means that she loses the respect and love of her peers.

Ruth’s redemption comes just before her death. During a day trip to visit a stranded boat, she apologizes to Tommy and Kathy for everything. She explicitly states what they have felt for years: that they should be together. The irony of Ruth’s confession is that Tommy and Kathy might never have gotten together without her apology. Their natural tendency for introversion and quiet means that they spend years not mentioning what they really want. Ruth robs them of a life together, but she provides them with a short time as lovers. This is Ruth’s parting gift to the world and her way to atone for the mistakes of her past. 

Madame is a middle-aged woman with a cold, stern demeanor who regularly visits Hailsham. She collects the children’s art to exhibit in the Gallery, only taking the best pieces at any one time. She seems scared of the children in the way that a person might be scared of spiders. Madame is later revealed to be a fierce advocate for the rights of clones, and even though she is revulsed by many aspects of the school, she is distraught that she has failed to secure a recognition of the humanity of the clones. 

Miss Emily is the head guardian at Hailsham. She is older than the other staff and presents an intimidating persona to the children. Despite her fearsome appearance, the children respect her fairness and typically obey her requests. Occasionally, she looks down on the children with revulsion or pity. This lapse in attitude is a result of her ongoing battle to force society to recognize the humanity of the clone children at her school. She runs Hailsham as an experimental facility to bring attention to the clones’ humanity, but she eventually fails. Miss Emily is later confined to a wheelchair. She is forced to live with her failure and the massive debts she has accumulated during her fight for clones’ rights.