Paternity (1981) Plot Summary Explained

Buddy is described as a confirmed bachelor who is comfortable with his routine and shows little interest in commitment. After coming into contact with several children, he decides he wants to be a father but doesn't want to deal with the complications of a romantic relationship. The surrogate arrangement allows him to experience parenthood without committing to a partner.

Foreshadowing: The film establishes early on that Buddy lives comfortably with his housekeeper Celia and prefers his isolated lifestyle.

• surrogate mother
• single father
• bachelor
• parenthood without marriage

Maggie is an aspiring musician who works as a waitress to make ends meet. She agrees to bear Buddy's child specifically to get the money he is offering, which she plans to use to move to Paris and pursue her music career. It's a purely practical arrangement for her.

Foreshadowing: Maggie reveals she is an aspiring musician with goals of moving to Paris during their first meeting at the coffee shop.

• surrogate
• money
• aspiring musician
• paris
• dreams

Once Maggie becomes pregnant and moves in, Buddy obsessively supervises her exercise and diet, hoping to optimize the pregnancy for the son he wants. This reflects his transactional approach to the arrangement and his lack of understanding about healthy relationships. He treats the pregnancy like a project to be managed rather than a natural process involving another person.

Foreshadowing: Buddy's lack of experience with pregnancy and relationships is hinted at during the awkward interview process.

• pregnancy
• control
• supervision
• diet
• exercise

Maggie begins to want to keep her baby because she feels ignored and trapped by Buddy's controlling behavior. As she resents being treated as merely a vessel for his child, she develops an emotional attachment to the baby and wants to keep it rather than hand it over to someone who dismisses her feelings.

Foreshadowing: Maggie resents being ignored and feelings of being trapped intensify as Buddy continues to date other women while neglecting her.

• baby
• emotional attachment
• resentment
• keeping child
• mother

Buddy continues to date other women throughout the pregnancy because he views the arrangement purely as a business deal rather than a relationship. He pays little attention to Maggie beyond supervising her pregnancy, not recognizing or caring that this behavior is hurtful. His emotional immaturity prevents him from seeing Maggie as anything more than a surrogate carrying his child.

Foreshadowing: Buddy's confirmed bachelor lifestyle and comfort with superficial connections are established from the start.

• dating
• affairs
• pregnancy
• neglect
• emotional immaturity

Buddy's romantic feelings develop gradually as Maggie resists his control and pushes back against his treatment of her. Her determination to keep the baby and her refusal to be dismissed trigger Buddy to confront his own feelings. He realizes he fears losing both the child and Maggie, and his affection grows beyond the practical arrangement they started with.

Foreshadowing: Maggie's resistance and desire to keep the baby forces Buddy to see her as more than just a surrogate.

• love
• romance
• emotional growth
• falling in love
• feelings develop

Buddy fears losing the child because he has grown attached to the idea of being a father. Though he initially wanted a son, his emotional investment in the pregnancy and the developing relationship with Maggie make him realize how much the child means to him. The birth amplifies his fear of losing what he has finally achieved.

Foreshadowing: His earlier anger at the thought of losing the son he wants shows his deep desire for parenthood.

• child birth
• fear
• losing child
• parenthood
• attachment

Buddy and Maggie marry because their relationship evolves from a business arrangement into genuine love. After Maggie gives birth, Buddy's romantic feelings have deepened, and he wants to commit to her and their family. The marriage provides stability for raising the child together and formalizes the unexpected pairing that developed from their original agreement.

Foreshadowing: The emotional shift during the birth scene shows Buddy's desire for a future together.

• marriage
• commitment
• wedding
• family
• reconciliation

Buddy mistakes interior decorator Jenny Lofton for a surrogate applicant because he is conducting interviews so haphazardly and without proper screening. His blunt questions and lack of sensitivity during the process highlight his inexperience with women and relationships, creating comedic mishaps.

Foreshadowing: The interview process reveals Buddy's lack of experience with pregnancy and relationships from the beginning.

• jenny lofton
• mistake
• interview
• confusion
• comedy

After their first child is born, Buddy and Maggie's relationship develops into a solid marriage. They go on to have three daughters together, showing that their initial arrangement evolved into a full family. The three daughters represent the completion of the family Buddy initially sought to build, now surrounded by genuine family connections rather than just a biological arrangement.

Foreshadowing: The marriage formalizes their commitment and sets the foundation for growing their family.

• three daughters
• family
• children
• girls
• outcome