Joanna Kramer leaves her husband before the ice in your 88-ounce Cherry Coke has started to melt. It's the event that sets the film's entire narrative in motion, and it's a doozy that deeply affects everyone in its wake.
Ted's wife is suddenly AWOL, and he's left to take care of their six-year-old son all on his own. The thing is, it can be argued that Ted had already abandoned Joanna—and Billy, for that matter—long before Joanna hit the bricks. Sure, he came home from work every night, but he brought his desk, his clients, and the entire office with him, leaving Joanna isolated, miserable, and with plenty of free time to ponder her future and pack her bags.
Questions about Abandonment
- Are we for real? Is it possible to abandon someone and still have dinner with them most nights and share the same bed?
- Why does Billy miss Joanna so much? We mean, she walked out on him. Why isn't he angrier?
- Why does Ted keep trying to blame Margaret for Joanna's departure?
- We get that she didn't feel like she could be a good mom, but why on Earth would Joanna think that being left alone with Ted was what was best for Billy?
Chew on This
Ted abandoned Joanna long before she packed up her bags and hit the road for California.
At the start of the film, neither Ted nor Joanna has Billy's best interests in mind; they're only thinking about themselves.