My Sister's Keeper

Twice in the novel, characters discuss a lack of money in relation to Kate. The first time, Anna struggles to save enough money to pay a retainer fee for Campbell Alexander to represent her in her petition for medical emancipation. The second time, Sara discusses how the family medical insurance provider is refusing to pay for Kate’s bone marrow transplant, forcing her and Brian to take on a payment plan to cover it. Moreover, Brian takes money from Kate’s college fund to pay the hospital. In other words, he is literally and symbolically taking from Kate’s future in the hopes of saving her in the present; either way, money is directly tied to Kate’s life.

For both Anna and her parents, money is insufficient for their intended goals—but both times, a solution is found. In other words, money is only a brief obstacle in their attempts to save Kate (or in Anna’s case, allowing Kate the choice to die), reinforcing the theme of Desire for Control. Anna is lucky enough that Campbell sympathizes with her and chooses to forego payment; her parents are forced to rely on solutions that are ultimately unsustainable. While bleak, the Fitzgeralds’ situation speaks to the real-life interplay between maintaining one’s health and the price for doing so. On the other hand, the characters’ determination to succeed despite a lack of money speaks to the power of human will—something that cannot be measured monetarily.