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• Insecure.
• Independent.
• Critical of her mother.

Jo’s insecurities are mostly a result of the relationship she has with her mother. Through leaving her alone to spend nights with a variety of men, Helen has made Jo feel insecure and as a result Jo expects little from others.

Even when her boyfriend proposes marriage, Jo seems unable to believe that he will actually return to her when he is next on leave in six months’ time, telling him, I’ll probably never see you again. I know it.

This feeling of insecurity along with the knowledge that her mother pays more attention to her male friends than to her, has encouraged Jo to become independent and self-reliant. She realises from a young age that the only person she can truly rely on is herself and so she becomes quite isolated.

The fact that Jo and Helen move around so much also contributes to Jo’s lack of friends and later in the play she admits that Geof is the only friend she has, Look, he’s the only friend I’ve got, as a matter of fact.

This causes Jo to spend a great deal of time trying to live in the moment, without worrying too much about the future. Her boyfriend notices this when he points out, You mean it too. You’re the first girl I’ve met who really didn’t care.

Insecure

How is Jo like this?

Jo has been left alone by Helen many times, even at Christmas. Her mother has never put Jo first. Instead she has put her own needs first and abandoned Jo so that she can enjoy herself on nights out with boyfriends.

Evidence

Analysis

This comment to Helen is made by Jo when she realises that Helen has made plans for a future with Peter that does not include her. As much as Jo dislikes Peter and as much as she struggles to be independent from Helen, she only feels like this because of her insecurity, which has been caused by Helen’s casual neglect of her.

Jo is torn between needing Helen’s care, love and attention and trying to prove that she is mature and no longer needs anything from her mother. Lines such as the one above suggest this is not always the case and that she still feels insecure and annoyed that Helen is intent on making a life without her.

Independent

How is Jo like this?

Jo is fiercely proud of her independence, even though it is sometimes compromised by her feelings of insecurity and her need for love and attention from Helen. There is little doubt also that Jo is glad of Geof’s company but her need to prove herself to be an independent person sometimes results in her making hurtful remarks to him.

Evidence

Analysis

Jo is sometimes very rude to Geof and abuses the fact that she knows he would never leave her on her own. At times she is keen to prove that she is the strong one in their relationship and this leads to her making hurtful comments to Geof. It also seems as if she is testing him in order to see how far she can provoke him before he will leave.

Critical of her mother

How is Jo like this?

Jo has every reason to be critical of Helen. She is a selfish mother who throughout Jo’s childhood has always put her own needs first. Jo realises that the local children are only filthy because their parents do not care for them. She is quick to point this out to her boyfriend as she does not want him to blame the children themselves for being dirty.

Evidence

Analysis

When her boyfriend criticises the children for their lack of cleanliness, Jo is quick to come to their defence, reminding him that it is not their fault but the fault of the adult who is meant to be in charge of them.

The lack of care the local children have been shown reminds Jo of the lack of care she has been shown by her own mother. This reinforces the fact that she blames Helen for the lack of care she was shown as a child. Jo remains critical of her mother’s behaviour throughout the duration of the play.

Analysing the evidence