I voted "other" because of the following reasons:

In my opinion, Kay was a good choice for Michael BEFORE he decided to join up with the family business. He was different then. He was a war hero, a soldier, had average morals and ideals, was away from the influence of the family long enough to develop his own set of morals & rules, and he probably couldn't envision himself with someone like Appollonia (or even his own mother!) at that time. He was completely Americanized. Along with his "Americanization" came his "American dream": the wife, small family of 3 children with a house with a white picket fence around it, and all the other typical American ideas that other American men had at that time. After all, he spent very little time with his family members while in the service--and certainly not while he was becoming a hero! Naturally, he was going to be attracted to a woman who also shared those same ideals. When the whole curtain of American ideals came crashing down ontop of him, he had nothing else to hold onto except what he was taught at home by his father. As I mentioned, he was totally brainwashed by the U.S. Army by then that it was no surprise to me that he completely embraced the lifestle, which included Kay.

Now, Kay being the "modernized" woman that she was, fell in love with him for various obvious and common reasons, but was unable to separate the man she loved from the reality of his family. And that is why she, like sooooooooooo many other American women wind up not just accepting a relationship that is so far down her own olive branch but also PURSUES it! She, like countless other women, have this ridiculously false and painfully inevitable idea that either they or their love for the man will CHANGE HIM. They think that somehow, through their faithfulness and perseverance in this man of theirs will somehow, someday wake him up to the error of his ways and help him see that his wife/lover was right all along, see that she is the best thing that has ever happened to him, and make this unbelievable metamorphosis into the man she knew he could be. NOT!! How many times have we either, as women, experienced this very process ourselves (sometimes MANY times!), or have either seen or gone through it with other women (usually very close friends) even though we have tried our very best and with the best of intentions to show her the warning signs along the way?? And what do we get for our good intentions? A lot of grief! That is, until the friend gets completely burned and comes crying back to her senses--and you--looking for an understanding shoulder to cry on.

Well, this is how I perceived Kay. She was hoping upon hope that Michael would not get drawn into his father's business--and she mentions that fact several times in the movie. I think she really knew deep down inside that she was fighting against a force that was much stronger than she, but she loved Michael so much that she would go to any lengths to spare him that horror. Unfortunately, Michael comes back from Sicily after experiencing his new wife's brutal murder (for which he probably blames himself) and a gaping hole in his heart. The hole in his heart can easily be filled with Kay's love. Kay does not realize the absoluteness of his change nor the futility in trying to change him. She doesn't realize this until she fights with him the day she tells him of her abortion. Even then, she approaches Michael as the typical American wife--she thinks that because of all the years of devotion she's given him, that somehow this will aid her in a divorce and in getting custody of their children. I don't think she ever realizes the totality and finalness of his rule until GFIII, and because I saw it only once, I really can't comment any further.

In conclusion, I think that no modern, American woman would have been able to accept and live with the realities of a life with Michael Corleone--or any mobster for that matter. They would definitely have to have come from the same fabric as Mama Corleone or Mrs. Clemenza, etc. Even Sandra, Sonny's wife, seemed to have more of what was needed to have a successful marriage than any of the other women, but specifically Kay.

I actually think that Coppolla and Puzo picked the correct type to play Kay. I think Diane Keaton was probably the best pick for this part. Diane Keaton was exactly what Coppolla and Puzo wanted for the part of Kay. I don't know too much about Diane Keaton, but the little I know of her really does fit the bill in this instance. No where in the movie is there an explanation of the movement of Kay or why she was moving (when she was leaving Michael). It is what other women like Kay do--they have reached the end of their rope of sanity and just cut it from the thread!

That's about all I can comment on regarding my opinion of Kay's inability to accept the totality of Michaels change.

~~ Lollie