The Perfect Cell
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Graduation Year
2024
Writing Track
Fiction
Degree
Master of Fine Arts
Program
Creative Writing
Program Director
Judy Halebsky, PhD
First Reader
Marianne Rogoff
Second Reader
Kim Culbertson
Description
The idea for this book, The Perfect Cell, began when I first heard about Dolly the sheep being successfully cloned. Immediately I wondered: what would it be like to be the clone of a dead child? How would she establish her own identity? Especially if that sibling died by suicide. It’s a question of nature versus nurture. When clones are referred to in literature and film, they are usually scary beings who intend to do harm to others. I had never seen the story told from the clone’s perspective.
I used the world of gymnastics to introduce the father and the dead sister, Elena. In this world, there is no room for imperfection. In many cases, gymnastics’ coaches and doctors have been found to be abusive. The pressure of the sport and, especially, of her coach father is too much for Elena and, when she fails to make the Olympic team, the sense of failure is crushing. Raising the perfect child is one of the themes of the book.
Bella, the protagonist, is haunted by her sister’s death and her inability to do gymnastics due to “breakable bones.” She feels like her parents only wanted a do-over by cloning Elena. Her parents keep the cloning information to themselves, causing her to feel duped, and even more like a freak. She confides in the teacher she’s having an affair with who sells her story to a tabloid, causing her to steal his windfall and take off for Morocco/Europe.
The Perfect Cell, then refers to both biology and to prison. It’s a prison Bella tries to escape from in exercising her freedom to travel and love whom she wants.