Like Mother, Like Daughter

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of rape, graphic violence, and death.

In Like Mother, Like Daughter, the characters’ secrets drive their development and the plot. Protagonist Katrina McHugh is characterized by her tendency to keep secrets from others, while other characters, like Cleo, Aidan, and George, deliberately hold onto information that is damaging, contributes to misunderstanding, and otherwise creates conflict.

Katrina keeps almost everything about her life hidden from others. She does not tell her husband, Aidan, or her daughter, Cleo, about her childhood at Haven House or the trauma she experienced there. Aidan knows only vaguely that Katrina “had a hard life” (73). Withholding this information creates enormous problems in Katrina’s life. It makes her vulnerable to extortion and isolated in confronting it because no one else is aware that she attacked Reed when she was a teenager. It also makes it hard for Cleo to relate to her mother because she does not understand why Katrina is so controlling, particularly around Cleo’s romantic relationships. Overall, Cleo has the persistent feeling that her mother is pulling away from her emotionally, highlighting how Katrina’s secrets resonate through other areas of her life.