Discussion on Kaylee's character

Originally posted by Momaw:
>There's just an acre of you ain't there!

I'm prone to playing Devil's Advocate to anything just for the sake of being argumentative, and besides, you haven't convinced me yet. <

Astriana:
>> like Inara in not having a Puritanical view of sex <<

>I think it's rather significant that not two minutes after she delivers this comment, we find Inara weeping and heartbroken. Perhaps that was simply her Companion training kicking in and putting Mal at ease. She obviously has regrets about his actions though she acts blithe to his face.<

Okay, I have to concede the point that Inara does lie about being okay and try to put her shields up, only to end up crying her eyes out; however, *speculation alert* it could very well be that she's not upset about the sex so much as the connection/intimacy involved there - and jealous that Mal doesn't let his guard down with her. Easily a reaction to her assumptions about Mal's views on sex - i.e., only in relationship - and his willingness to let his guard down enough to sleep with Nandi, when that's the very thing Inara wants - intimacy as opposed to sex.

LJC:
>> She's described as "young, zaftig - as cheery as she is sexy." <<

>That's what prompted me to post this discussion. This little one-line description of her. Young is fine. Zaftig does apply, after I finally figured out what it meant (at first I waved a friend in Austria and he said closest was "saftig", "juicy"; young and juicy? She's a cut of veal?). Cheery, absolutely. But 'sexy' tripped my mental circuit breakers.<

Zaftig, as defined by Webster's:
Etymology: Yiddish zaftik juicy, succulent, from zaft juice, sap, from Middle High German saf, saft, from Old High German saf
of a woman : having a full rounded figure : pleasingly plump

I'm guessing we're looking at the full-rounded bit here, considering that Jewel had to gain weight for this role.

>> I mean--my God, have you seen the way this girl eats strawberries? <<

>If you hadn't eaten a real, fresh strawberry in months or possibly years, you'd eat them like that too. Don't even try and deny that the first in-season strawberry you find (cross-country freight doesn't count, they don't taste the same), you eat sloooowly.<

This is actually a good argument for Kaylee being sexually free. Pleasure for its own sake, enjoying the moment. As with the strawberry.

Browncoat1:
>> I truly get the feel that she holds sex as something that is natural and enjoyable and not necessarily taboo. <<

>Oh yes, I totally agree with you there. But just she's not got issues with people having sex doesn't mean that she herself participates. For example, if you had a homosexual friend, and truly accepted their orientation: you'd not have a problem wishing them well in their relations, but that doesn't mean that you'd participate. That seems to be Kaylee all over, non-judgemental and always wishing everybody would be happy.<

You'd be a pretty big hypocrite if you were totally free and non-judgemental about others' sex lives and then turned around and denied yourself one, wouldn't you? If that particular person doesn't float your boat, you don't participate; however, if you are in congruence with the idea, then if it presents itself and you're interested, you don't get all mucked up in the guilt factors involved any more than you would expect those you support non-judgementally to do.

Saint Jayne:
>> I'm recalling Heart of Gold where Kaylee wonders whether the boy whores service women. <<

>We never get any sort of indication that she actually took advantage of the establishment's sevices... If casual sex was in-character for her, wouldn't they have shown or alluded to it?

Come to think of it... Mal we see, Inara (obviously), Wash and Zoe, Jayne ("That one is sort of horrific")... Book won't because he's a shepard or at least is putting up that facade, Simon's too traditional, and who'd want to bed River with her raving and oddness. Kaylee is the only one left who hasn't h

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Saint Jayne, do you really see tension between Kaylee and Simon? To me there is affection, but nothing remotely resembling physical/sexual tension. I think that Kaylee has incredible potential for a kind of lazy-earth-mother-sexuality as we can see in lines like "have good sex" or when she's with Fester in the engine room (any possibility his name was Bester? thats what it sounded like to me) but a blazing tension of passion? I just can't see it.

Those who restrain desire, do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained.
-William Blake

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Quote:

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Originally posted by Nur:
Saint Jayne, do you really see tension between Kaylee and Simon?

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I'm not trying to state anything more than what is happening on the screen. By tension, I just mean the awkwardness we observe when they interact.

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Quote:

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Originally posted by Momaw:

So you're saying that Kaylee may have, at one time, been somewhat promiscuous. But now that she's found Simon, she's finding herself feeling differently about the issues of love and romance? Am I understanding your point?

Or are you approaching this from a pure metastory angle: she can't do anything because it ruins a writing possibility.

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Does that follow given Kaylee's obvious attraction to Tracey in The Message? Clearly there is something there between her and Simon, but I don't think its changed Kaylee is a person, not yet.

Given the social standing of companions, I'm not sure the idea of promiscuity can scan in the Firefly 'verse.

My take on the Kaylee character, as played by Jewel Staite is that she is (really should reply to one thread at a time - else I mess up), on the surface, both overtly sexual and yet innocent. There's no artifice there - I've just raised this point in a reply about Jubal Early, maybe its true here - Kaylee doesn't censor her thoughts.

"I threw up on your bed"

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Quote:

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We never get any sort of indication that she actually took advantage of the establishment's sevices... If casual sex was in-character for her, wouldn't they have shown or alluded to it?

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I think this was a poorly written moment, myself. Her not partaking in the establishment's services is what *I* saw as being "out of character". It just didn't fit with her open attitude and non-puritanical ways of past episodes.

I absolutely LOVED the moment in "Jaynestown" when she is deeply offended by Simon's "I would never...not with Kaylee" comment. He meant it as a compliment; to mean that he respected her. But her interpretation of it was literal, very much in keeping with her take-everyone-at-face-value attitude. To her withholding sex just means you don't think the person is desirable. It doesn't have all of the "it's only good when you're in love" BS that too many of us desperately try to convince ourselves of when we aren't getting any.

One of my "If only..." wishes for more Firefly is that if only we could have gone further to an episode in which Kaylee gets sick of waiting around for Simon and gets herself some. The writer's avoided that in "Heart of Gold" likely because there was already so much going on.

I think if the intention was to have Kaylee as an unrealistic good girl who always waits and knows how sad casual sex is, they woulda put Marti Noxon on the writing staff. Thank the gods they didn't.

--Kala

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