A Christmas Memory

“A Christmas Memory” depicts a loving friendship between two outsiders, and the story celebrates the pair’s ability to emotionally sustain themselves and each other in an unsympathetic environment. The narrative quickly establishes that Buddy and his friend not only have no say in their house but also are actively chastised and repressed: “Other people inhabit the house, relatives [… who] have power over us, and frequently make us cry” (4). A young child without parents, and an “aging spinster” considered “loony” by her family—both Buddy and his friend would be condemned to loneliness without each other.

While the pairing of a seven-year-old boy and a “sixty-something” woman might initially appear humorous or improbable, Buddy and his friend share a deep, loving friendship that sustains them both; the two share every task and plan, they sacrifice for each other and comfort each other, and they have fun together. Buddy and his friend have no desire to recreate a “family” relationship; they could easily have referred to each other as aunt and nephew or even as cousins. That they do not adopt such familial titles—preferring the simple names “Buddy” and “my friend”—perhaps reveals how deeply both have been disappointed by their families, and their desire for a less oppressive bond.