Me Before You

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2012

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapter 5

Chapters 6-11

Chapters 12-17

Chapters 18-23

Chapter 24-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Themes

The Right to Die

Through her exploration of Will Traynor’s decision to end his life, Jojo Moyes offers a nuanced glimpse into the controversial topic of euthanasia. Defined as the choice to end one’s life through assisted suicide, euthanasia is a topic that draws opposing views based on religion, morality, and law. As Moyes documents Will’s journey toward euthanasia, she presents characters with different perspectives to offer a balanced overview of the topic. Ultimately, through her positive portrayal of Will’s choice, she highlights the possibility of euthanasia bringing peace and empowerment—even if this choice isn’t approved of by all family and friends.

In the Prologue, Moyes introduces Will as a confident businessman before his life-altering accident. As a result, he struggles to adapt to life as a quadriplegic man. When Louisa meets him, he has resigned himself to dying by euthanasia to regain the control he lost over his life. Moyes positions Louisa in direct opposition to Will. While Will is a cultured and educated, albeit pessimistic figure, Louisa is sheltered and optimistic. As opposites, the two come to embody the enemies-to-lovers trope, albeit to a frustrated degree rather a hateful one; they harbor different opinions of a life well lived. Through their relationship, Louisa learns about the realities of Will’s disability and gains a firsthand account of the difficulties that consume his life. A representative of readers unfamiliar with the topics of disability and euthanasia, Louisa undergoes a journey of education that ultimately leads her to respect Will’s decision to end his life. She learns through online interactions with other survivors of spinal cord injuries that there are a range of reactions to life after injury. She also gains a deeper understanding of the need for compassion and support for survivors. Despite his love for Louisa, Will remains steadfast in his goal to reclaim his power. When Will ultimately rebuffs Louisa’s advances, Moyes clarifies that Will’s story is one about self-determination and power and not about love alone.

To offer a thorough look into life as a caregiver, Moyes incorporates chapters from the perspectives of secondary characters like Will’s mother, Camilla; his father, Steven; and his nurse, Nathan. These chapters explore the impact of a spinal cord injury not only on the survivor but also their support system. Camilla, Steven, and Nathan all care for Will but exhibit complex feelings regarding their physical care for Will. Moyes’s depiction of life as a quadriplegic person is meant to justify Will’s decision to end his life. Through her depiction of Will, she provides a voice for survivors like Will who seek freedom from the often traumatic experience of living as a person with disabilities in an unaccommodating society.

Personal Growth Through Challenges

As Moyes documents Will’s journey, she also chronicles Louisa’s journey of personal growth through challenges. A sheltered woman, Louisa embarks on a journey of transformation inspired by Will. Through Will’s encouragement, she confronts her painful past and learns to trust her own power. She gains an invaluable independence that empowers her to forge a new life for herself outside of the restrictive limits of her small hometown.

A dutiful daughter, Louisa financially supports her family, including her younger sister Katrina (or Treena), a single mother. Restricted by her family’s choices and circumstances, Louisa refuses to allow herself to consider a future for herself. She continues a relationship with her incompatible long-term boyfriend and resigns herself to an ordinary life. A survivor of sexual assault, she retreats from life’s challenges and unpredictability and establishes a safe routine that protects her from harm. However, Moyes disrupts Louisa’s reliance on safety early in Me Before You, as Louisa loses her job at a local café and is forced to seek employment elsewhere. These circumstances lead her to meet Will and begin a journey of transformation over six months. As Will exposes her to new music, books, and movies, she begins to expand her worldview. As Louisa challenges herself to explore new interests, she and Will even get tattoos together—permanently marking their bond and shared desire to help each other.

Louisa long refused to return to the place of her sexual assault, a local castle maze, but Will challenges her to enter it. Will is unaware of the assault, but she still chooses to brave the maze, which is uncharacteristic of her. Will’s confidence in her emboldens her to take action. Louisa translates her deep sense of empathy into a relentless pursuit to create meaningful experiences for Will. However, it is not only Will who garners meaning from these experiences but also Louisa, who pushes herself to explore and enjoy new environments. This change is also represented by her breaking up with her long-term boyfriend Patrick, who once represented stability but now seeks to tie her down out of jealousy. By the novel’s end, Louisa respects Will’s wish to end his life and does not allow her fear to stop her from supporting him in his final moments. The novel concludes with her in Paris, guided by Will’s letter to complete an itinerary. A free woman, she no longer hesitates to write new chapters in her life.

Navigating Love in the Face of Adversity

In her portrayal of Will and Louisa’s relationship, Moyes depicts a unique love story centered on mutual respect and support. She presents a distinct situation that leaves Will and Louisa forever separated despite their undeniable attraction and influence on each other. Though the couple do not end the novel together, they represent a triumphant story of navigating love in the face of adversity. In the face of trauma and death, their connection endures and irrevocably changes them—as explored in subsequent novels featuring Louisa’s journey on her own.

Moyes chooses not to confirm Will and Louisa’s romantic connection until the last few chapters. For most of the novel, Will and Louisa navigate their tumultuous relationship and overcome emotional and logistic hurdles together. They begin the novel as “enemies” whose differences threaten to separate them forever. The pessimistic Will initially rejects the optimistic Louisa’s attempts to connect out of resentment of her role as his caregiver. Eventually, their easy chemistry and witty banter lead them to form a unique friendship. However, Will’s health struggles and desire to die create obstacles to their growing connection. Ignorant of the topics of disability and euthanasia, Louisa must learn the reality of Will’s condition and adapt to his way of life in order to continue building their relationship. This is a difficult journey that leads her to make multiple mistakes that undermine Will’s sense of control and humanity. She must learn how to balance her enthusiasm with a respect for Will’s empowerment.

Louisa adapts and allows Will to take the lead in planning their activities. Through these outings, they grow closer, as Will begins to view Louisa as different from his controlling family members, whose protectiveness limits his ability to make his own choices; in this respect, Will’s family also embodies the theme of navigating love. The couple’s journey is long and turbulent as Louisa’s moral conditioning leads her to judge Will’s desire to end his life. It is only when faced with the reality of Will’s impending death that she regrets her disapproval of his decision. Desperate to see Will one last time, Louisa embraces the opportunity to travel to Switzerland and support him on his journey to end his life. Through their brief romance, she gains a deeper understanding of life as a person with disabilities and learns the importance of respecting autonomy in a relationship. After overcoming adversity, Will ends his life in Louisa’s arms, fulfilling his goal while she discovers the limitless nature of love.