61 pages • 2 hours read
Forever...
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Character Analysis
Katherine Danziger
Katherine Danziger is the protagonist of the text. At the beginning of the text, Katherine characterizes herself as someone who might “fall apart over important things” (5). Throughout the text, Katherine shows herself that this is not the case as she navigates many significant life milestones, such as falling in love, having sex for the first time, and experiencing her first heartbreak with maturity and responsibility.
As Katherine falls in love with Michael and feels comfortable taking the next step in their sexual relationship, she approaches this with a sense of personal responsibility. Katherine takes it upon herself to start birth control, telling the social worker at Planned Parenthood, “I think it’s my responsibility to make sure I don’t get pregnant” (125). In taking responsibility for her reproductive health, Katherine can engage in a healthy sexual relationship that is physically and emotionally satisfying to her.
Michael and Katherine promise each other that they will be together forever, which causes friction between Katherine and her parents. They are concerned that Katherine is “too young to make lifetime decisions” (81), especially as college looms in the fall. Katherine insists that she is not making lifetime decisions because she does believe that she and Michael will be together forever. When she and Michael separate to work different jobs for the summer, Katherine realizes she is not ready for forever. She becomes enamored with a co-counselor, Theo, and realizes that “I made promises to [Michael] that I’m not sure I can keep” (199). Katherine faces her first heartbreak, breaking up with Michael during his visit to camp.
While Katherine is upset that her relationship is over, when she sees Michael once more before they leave for college, she thinks, “I’ll never regret one single thing we did together because what we had was very special. Maybe if we were ten years older it would have worked out differently. [...] I think it’s just that I’m not ready for forever” (208). Having just experienced an important rite of passage in growing up, Katherine does not fall apart at her first love’s end. The quote illustrates Katherine’s emotional strength and maturity: She does not regret her relationship with Michael because she can acknowledge that their time together was important even though it was not forever. Through her experiences in the text, Katherine learns something important about herself that directly contradicts her initial thoughts about herself: “When it comes right down to it I never do fall apart—even when I’m sure I will” (153). Katherine learns she is far stronger than she gives herself credit for and can handle challenging situations without crumbling.
Michael Wagner
Michael Wagner is Katherine’s boyfriend and first love. After meeting on New Year’s Eve, Michael pursues Katherine to begin a relationship with her. Though Michael is a supportive partner and largely follows Katherine’s lead when it comes to their sexual relationship, there are moments Michael displays behavior that alludes to his immaturity and calls into question the longevity of their relationship. One example of this immature tendency is that he calls his penis Ralph: “Katherine…I’d like you to meet Ralph…Ralph, this is Katherine. She’s a very good friend of mine” (77). The personification of his penis is an indication of his immaturity, as he continues to refer to his penis as “Ralph” throughout the text. Michael also sometimes pressures Katherine to go further sexually than she has expressed comfort with, even trying to employ guilt tactics: “If I didn’t know better I’d think you were a tease” (51). Michael mostly does remain respectful of Katherine’s desire to wait to have sex and honors her wishes to practice safe sex by using condoms. He makes sure to articulate that when he tells her he loves her for the first time, his feelings for her run deeper than sex: “I really meant it…it’s not just the sex thing…that’s part of it…but it’s more than that…you know?” (79). Given that Michael has more sexual experience than Katherine, he also assures her that “everything’s right” (78) when Katherine doubts her ability to satisfy him sexually because of her lack of knowledge.
Michael’s immaturity surfaces again during their breakup. As he drops Katherine back at camp, he attempts to hurt her: “You might as well know…I screwed my way around North Carolina” (206). Katherine intuits that this is a lie, an attempt on Michael’s part to try and hurt her as she has hurt him. Michael’s reaction to their breakup illustrates that he was not ready for forever with Katherine after all.
Erica
Erica is Katherine’s best friend and often plays opposite Katherine regarding their opinions on sex and love. Erica represents the idea that our experiences can change our opinions and our actions. At first, Erica insists that she wants to have sex for the first time before college: “I’ve been thinking [...] that it might not be a bad idea to get laid before college” (30). Erica does not feel especially hung up on the idea that one needs to be in love to have sex, unlike Katherine: “We look at sex differently…I see it as a physical thing and you see it as a way of expressing love” (31). Erica respects Katherine’s view on sex but does not initially share her friend’s ideals.
As Katherine and Michael’s relationship progresses, Erica tries to pursue a romantic and sexual relationship with Artie: “I’ve given him almost five months of my life! And I can’t help him, Kath…it’s no use [...] I’m not going to see him again” (159). The depths of Artie’s mental anguish are unbeknownst to his friends, who are all surprised by Artie attempting suicide. Erica blames herself, saying she should have been more understanding of Artie, but also that “as my mother says, we grow from our experiences. I hope that’s true” (180). Erica grows from her experiences in that she decides that she wants to wait to have sex.
This conviction revises her earlier belief that she should have sex for the first time before college. She tells Katherine in a letter: “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and have decided I don’t want to fuck just for the hell of it. I want it to be special, like you and Michael. So I’m going to wait” (184). Through her experiences with Artie and through seeing Katherine’s relationship with Michael, Erica learns that she wants something different for herself and allows herself the grace and space to pursue something different than what she originally thought she wanted for herself, showing the reader that they have permission to do the same.
Artie
Artie is Michael’s best friend and would-be love interest of Erica. Although the text never explicitly states so, Artie struggles with his sexuality and mental health. Artie is a talented actor who wants to pursue theater professionally. He has depression, and feels hopeless, especially after revealing that his father will not permit him to attend the Academy of Dramatic Arts because it is only a two-year program.
Erica tries to begin a sexual relationship with Artie, but he struggles to respond physically to her affection. When Katherine asks if Michael thinks Artie and Erica are good for one another, Michael responds: “Every girl at school has the hots for him since the play and he’s not interested…that must prove something” (89). For his part, Artie admits that he is questioning his sexuality. After a few weeks without progress in their physical relationship, Erica asks him if he is gay. Artie responds, “I don’t know, Erica, but I’m trying to find out” (57). He and Erica try to experiment in order to help Artie explore his sexuality, but this seems to only drive him further into confusion and depression.
This culminates in a suicide attempt near the end of the text. The night before his suicide attempt, Artie expresses despondence at Michael’s 18th birthday celebration: “Eighteen years […]. A quarter of our lives gone by…over…kaput… just like that. [...] From now on it’s all downhill” (155). This quote illustrates the depths of Artie’s despair and feelings of hopelessness. Erica also breaks up with him, which seems to be in part the catalyst for his attempt. Artie spends the remainder of the text at a mental health facility to treat his depression. As Forever… is a book primarily about teen sexuality and sexual exploration, Artie as a character represents the dangers of not being able to explore one’s sexuality freely. In the 1970s, being gay was still largely a cultural taboo. Artie’s questioning contributes to his sense of isolation and feeling of not belonging, which fuel his depression.
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