Daisy and Billy: An analysis of the "Daisy Jones & the Six" Characters by: Ruby Mitchell
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins-Reid is a novel about a band in the late 70’s, how they got together, how they broke up, and everything in between. This book features two main characters, Billy Dunne, the lead singer and guitarist for the band, and Daisy Jones, the other lead singer. Billy is a recovering addict who is desperately trying to be a family man and stay faithful to his wife, Camilla, and his three kids while touring the world. Daisy is an addict, has a natural talent for singing and has no desire to get sober. Throughout the novel, Daisy and Billy have lots of romantic tension, at some points even admitting their love for one another and writing love songs for each other, but they don’t ever go so far as to kiss. I found this strange, a forbidden romance is almost guaranteed to make a story more interesting, so why did Reid specifically choose not to incorporate it into the novel? I think Reid makes a strategic choice by not having them ever get together. Even though the novel might be more entertaining if they did get together, it would completely ruin both of their character arcs, along with one of the main threads through this book, which is staying true to yourself. When the band finally breaks up, Billy and Daisy are in the exact same romantic situations as they were when the band got together, nothing has changed. Throughout the book, it seems as though they might give in to each other and, as a result, the things that could hurt them the most, but they never do. To some, this could seem boring, but to me, this is a very smart choice on the author's side.
Daisy and Billy are almost polar opposites. Daisy is a self-proclaimed free spirit who is hopelessly addicted to almost every drug in the book. She is single throughout most of the book, and when she isn’t single, she’s being taken advantage of by a man who doesn't care about her. On the other end of the spectrum, there’s Billy, a recovering addict desperately trying to stay faithful to his wife and kids who he promised to get and stay clean for. Billy’s wife, Camilla has an interesting perspective on her relationship. Even though she knows that Billy struggles with drugs and alcohol, she lets him stay in the band and continue to tour because she knows it’s what he loves. She gives him her complete faith and even in the rockiest times, letting him decide the fate of their family. Usually, this would completely backfire; he’s a rockstar on tour with his band constantly surrounded by drugs, alcohol, and sex, yet despite everything, he continues to stay faithful. Reading this book had me wondering, how could this work out? How does Billy have that much restraint and how could Camilla have that much faith in him? Camilla knew Billy even better than he knew himself at times, and completely understood the difference between love and desire. She knew that he loved her completely. Sure, he desired things like drugs, alcohol, and Daisy, but he didn’t love those things. At least not as much as he loved her and his children. At the end of the book, right before the band breaks up, Camilla talks to Daisy about their relationships with Billy. She explains to Daisy in a completely polite and level-headed manner that she understands why Daisy is so madly in love with Billy, but that Daisy needs to understand that he will never choose her over Camilla. This gives Daisy and the reader the realization that Camilla had long ago. Billy didn’t truly love Daisy, and Daisy didn’t truly love Billy. The truth is: Billy and Daisy represent what they both want the most. They don’t want to be with each other, they want to be each other.
When Billy talks about Daisy, he doesn’t talk about her with love. He seems annoyed at her presence, at her existence, but he explains that he can’t help but be captivated by her. She is a direct hindrance to his ideal life in the countryside with his wife and kids, but he can’t help but wonder if a life with her would be better. This is exactly the relationship that Billy has with drugs and alcohol. He hates when they’re around, but can’t help but desire them. Daisy represents everything Billy is not; Billy lives his life with so much self restraint, and Daisy does whatever she wants, whenever she wants. When Billy sees Daisy, blackout drunk, on more drugs than she can name, swimming in a pool with a $15,000 dress on, he isn’t worried for her, he isn’t even attracted to her; all he thinks is: This girl knows how to have fun. He wishes that he could be living that life, completely care-free, doing drugs again and having fun. But he knows –or at least is trying to convince himself– that life isn’t the life for him anymore. At a certain level, Billy realizes this parallel too. He actively tries to stay away from Daisy, just like he does with his addictions, and he’s better for it. He knows that he has a wife and kids waiting for him at home, all who have complete faith that he will choose what’s best for him and his family, and he can’t let them down. Giving in to Daisy would directly lead to him giving in to all of his other addictions, and ruining his and his families lives yet again. Daisy is almost a drug to him, and he has to avoid her like any other drug.
Daisy dislikes Billy at first, but slowly realizes that she’s madly in love with him. When he doesn't reciprocate those feelings, she dives even deeper into drugs and alcohol, and makes some of the worst decisions of her life in an attempt to forget him. In Daisy’s mind, her and Billy are one in the same; they’re kindred spirits, meant to be together. The reality is, Billy isn’t the same as her, but he is a better version of her. He’s the possibility of what she could be, and she wants that. She sees Billy, a man so dedicated to his family that he would give up the best thing in the world for them, drugs. Daisy’s whole life, she’s been overlooked, taken advantage of, and pushed away by almost everyone she loves. She thinks that Billy could love her enough to fix her, she thinks that if she’s with Billy, she could become like him. She thinks that they would have the same dedication to each other as Billy does to Camilla, but in reality, this is impossible, because all Billy really sees when he looks at Daisy is her lifestyle full of everything he can’t have. This is so heartbreaking to Daisy in the moment, but in the long run, it's the best possible thing for her.
The only way for either of these people to grow and improve is if they stay far away from each other. If they were to have gotten together, Billy would ruin everything he’s built with his family, and Daisy would have the same loveless, junkie relationships she’s had in the past. Like Camilla said, Billy and Daisy don’t love each other, they love the idea of each other. They love each other’s lives. They represent each other’s greatest desires, but in reality, they would be the worst thing for each other. Reid chooses not to have them get together because it would ruin their characters, if they got together, they wouldn’t be staying true to themselves. Billy is driven by his loyalty, and if his loyalty wavered, even just a little bit, he wouldn’t be able to recover from it, and his life would be over. Daisy is driven by her independence, if she were to have gotten with Billy, he would do nothing but bring her down with him, into a spiral of drugs and alcohol, and neither of them would be able to recover. In the end, the decision to keep them apart is a smart and strategic decision that keeps in mind the limits and needs of each character, and is ultimately the best for both of them.
