Kendra Heitrich answers “Why did Michael decide to marry Kay? I get...”

Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) asked this question about The Godfather (The Godfather, #1):

Why did Michael decide to marry Kay? I get the impression he never really loved her, they just slept together when he was in college and immediately after. What did he think he could gain from marrying a woman so completely outside his own culture and experience?

Kendra Heitrich I don’t think it was really a matter of what he could gain. A lot of it, I think, had to do with their history. When him and Kay were first together, …moreI don’t think it was really a matter of what he could gain. A lot of it, I think, had to do with their history. When him and Kay were first together, he was dead-set against the family business, on a path to the legitimate career he wanted, and his family was intact. He did love Kay—including the fact that she was outside of the Sicilian nature that he felt confined by. She was the life that he truly wanted.
So, yes he goes to Sicily and falls in love with Apollonia. A very romantic, sexual love—while his love with Kay I think is less of a lustful affection. He falls in love with a Sicilian, and, in a way, with the Sicilian way of life that he wanted so badly to avoid.
When he comes back to America, so much has changed: Michael killed two men face-to-face (“bada-bing! You blow their brains all over your nice Ivy League suit.”-Sonny), his brother died brutally, his trusted bodyguard set a trap for him, and the woman he loved beyond anything died in front of his eyes, taking the child that was in her stomach too—his first child. So, when he returns to America, he’s broken beyond any way he’s ever been broken. Kay, in turn, is familiar. She’s a reminder of life before his pain, before his loss. She’s the embodiment of all that he aspired to be, but failed to become. She’s also the only one who still *saw him* as all he aspired to be. I think Michael did love her, but not in the love-at-first-sight way. He loved her, partially for who she truly was, and partially for who she was *to him.* It was a way of holding on to the past.
I hope that makes sense :) That’s just how I saw/interpreted it. (less)

flag

Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) Good thoughts! I guess I got caught in seeing Kay as his rebellion against his father's way of life and stopped there. ...more
May 23, 2022 10:40PM · flag

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more