Why is the story called Breakfast at Tiffany’s?

Talking about her hopes and dreams, Holly tells the narrator, “I want to still be me when I wake up one fine morning and have breakfast at Tiffany’s.” The fanciful idea of having breakfast at a high-end jewelry store (which at the time had no in-store café) conveys the level of affluence Holly aspires to. Throughout the novella, the reader sees the artifice and inauthenticity of the wealthy and those aspiring to be a part of the upper class. A core part of Holly’s character is the intensity with which she values and strives to maintain her own authenticity. The narrative asks whether it is possible to become a part of the social elite and still remain true to one’s sense of oneself.

Does Holly Golightly get pregnant?

Yes, Holly briefly carries the child of José Ybarra-Jaegar, the Brazilian diplomat she becomes engaged to. Holly expresses happiness and hope when she announces the news of her pregnancy to the narrator. After her arrest, she later nearly dies during a miscarriage. Holly believes that the miscarriage happened because of the physical strain of her heroics saving the narrator from his runaway horse. She expresses gratitude for the miscarriage after learning that José has called off their engagement.

What happens to Holly’s brother Fred?

Holly’s brother Fred dies overseas in combat during World War II, after being drafted into the U.S. military. Fred seems to be the person Holly is closest to, as she frequently speaks of him with fondness and takes to calling the narrator Fred when he shows her kindness by letting her seek shelter in his apartment. Holly’s dream throughout much of the novella is to buy some land by the sea in Mexico where she would raise horses with Fred. When Holly finds out in a telegram from Doc that Fred has died, she is distraught and has a desperate breakdown, during which she breaks the belongings in her apartment.

Why did Holly run away from Texas?

Holly ran away from her life with Doc Golightly, her brother Fred, and her stepchildren because of her desire for freedom and autonomy. According to Doc, Holly had no reason to run away, because she was treated well and didn’t have many responsibilities. However, Holly’s treatment was not the source of her discontent. Holly was only fourteen when she was married to Doc. Very likely, she entered into the marriage at such a young age only because Doc took her and Fred in when they were on their own, and showed them kindness. Holly is framed as a wanderer throughout the novella, and being tied down was an unhappy situation for her. She also often expresses the need to find a place where she belongs, which suggests that she did not believe she belonged with Doc in Texas.

What happens to Holly at the end of the story?

Holly is arrested for carrying information from Sally Tomato to his right-hand-man on how to run Sally’s narcotics-smuggling ring. After O.J. Berman bails her out of prison, she is hospitalized for several days after becoming violently ill during the miscarriage of her pregnancy. Upon finding out that José Ybarra-Jaegar has ended their engagement, Holly decides that she is still going to fly to Brazil. She does so in part to avoid testifying against Sally Tomato in court. Holly leaves the country, and the narrator loses touch with her. The narrator never finds out with certainty what happened to Holly, so Holly’s fate is left unknown to the reader, as well.

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