Crisis of Identity
When the original Kino arrives in town, Kino is just a hard-working little girl who was preparing to become an adult and help her family at the inn. So how does she change so drastically in such a short period of time? Why does she change everything about herself?
It's clear from the beginning that Kino isn't a particularly defined person when she is young. Her eyes lack the passion and drive that really define her as a traveler. She just goes through the motions of every day life- dealing with bullies, working for her extremely detached parents, and repeat. She doesn't have a purpose, other than to be a tool for her city. When the original Kino arrives, he awakens her from her "fog" almost instantly. She begins to express her own thoughts and feelings on different subject matters. Under the original Kino's nurturing, she grows more in a few days than she had her entire life. It's easy to see what an important person someone like that would be to her.
When she has to watch him die, she goes back into a fog. She can't really think or move- even with Hermes talking to her, she just sits there, in a daze. Finally, she snaps and jumps on the bike and takes off. After she arrives in the flower field, she sees the peg from her calendar, the reminder of her surgery day. It is then that she decides to abandon the old "life" she used to have, throwing it away.
Why would she choose Kino's identity? To my best guess, it was because it was the only thing she knew. All the people in town had the exact same attitude and she didn't have many child friends. She loved Kino and his way of life, so she took it as her own. Part of this was probably guilt over his death, but the other half was definitely admiration. The original Kino was always so happy, describing the joys of traveling, that she wanted to experience it for herself. Part of that included taking his name and gender, to give her the strength she needed to transition from her previous self into this new person.
One thing I always wondered is why Kino, as she grew up, never questioned it. For someone as logical as Kino to pretty much block out the fact that she is trying to live someone elses life, seems kind of weird. The only explanation I have is- why not? Kino loves her life as a traveler. She has abandoned her past, and this is the only her that she knows. She doesn't even remember her old name. There isn't really anything else she can do- she certainly would never go back to being her old self, and this current self is the one that she best associates with. Even then, she has already developed her life around being Kino. To try and change that wouldn't accomplish anything.
Kino's past had a huge impact on the life she currently lives, but I don't think she would change it, and neither would I. Kino's identity is unique to her as a character- the very fact that she took it from someone else is what makes it so unique. Plus, she is not just a derivative of the original Kino- she is still her own person, in her own way. That is what I respect about her so much.