My Sister's Keeper

Sara Fitzgerald is Jesse, Kate, and Anna’s mother and the antagonist of the novel. Trained as a trial lawyer, Sara gave up her career in order to care for her (then) two children, Jesse and Kate. She admits to spending sleepless nights imagining all the things that could possibly harm her children in order to protect them. Unfortunately, she couldn’t protect Kate from being diagnosed with leukemia. Not only is Kate diagnosed with cancer at the age of two, but she’s diagnosed with one of the more virulent types of leukemia, APL. As a lawyer, Sara is accustomed to fighting and swears to keep Kate alive—no matter the cost.

Sara becomes the antagonist of the novel, not because she is necessarily a bad mother or person, but because she ferociously fights to keep Anna from being granted medical emancipation. She becomes so hyper-focused on Kate that she’s unwilling to stop fighting, even if it means fighting her own daughter in court (and later, denying Kate’s own wish to pass in peace). While she does have a moment when she accuses Anna of signing “her sister’s death sentence” (91), she tries to reiterate her love for both daughters. However, it is clear that Sara’s promise to keep Kate alive prevents her from seeing to her other children’s needs (which is one of the factors behind Jesse’s arson).

In the end, Sara is not a traditional villain. She is simply a mother who made a promise yet is in an impossible situation where she must compromise one child’s physical and mental well-being for another. She believes she is doing what is morally right, but any choice she makes could be criticized by those who have never been in her situation.

Brian Fitzgerald is Sara’s husband and Jesse, Kate, and Anna’s father. Brian is a fireman, someone who rescues strangers for a living. For him, this role is ironic, as he feels disconnected from his wife Sara and powerless to help his dying daughter Kate. When Anna files her petition and Brian realizes she is serious about it, he steps in and offers her the space she needs to think things through. In this way, Brian expresses doubt in Sara’s steadfast belief that Kate’s next treatment will help. He is both a trained fireman and a trained paramedic, so he recognizes that Kate is once again on the verge of death. He understands that Kate’s life will likely continue to be one crisis after another; he also recognizes that Anna should have the right to choose whether or not she continues to donate to Kate.

However, Brian later remembers a time when everyone was convinced Kate was going to die but Sara insisted on following through with a controversial treatment—and Kate survived. Brian ultimately testifies against Anna in court, holding on to hope even though it means turning his back on her (making him equally complicit in her years of medical procedures). Like Sara’s determination to keep fighting for Kate, Brian makes the decision to keep fighting for Sara. But even as Brian chooses Sara, he finally realizes the damage he and Sara have caused their son Jesse—who has been committing arson in order to combat his own guilt and grief in being unable to help Kate—and ends up being the one to find a fatally-wounded Anna after her car accident. While the narrative strikes a balance between framing Sara as a conflicted parent and a callous antagonist, Brian is overall framed as the more “understanding” parent; but in the end, his indecision also contributes to Jesse and Anna’s neglect.