Fay Lillman Character Analysis in Flowers for Algernon

A young, attractive woman who lives in Charlie’s apartment building. Fay represents the exact opposite of the scientific establishment that “creates” Charlie: she’s casual, anti-intellectual, and intuitive. Although Charlie never feels love for Fay, he’s highly attracted to her, not least because she’s a welcome alternative to his academic pursuits. Fay recedes from view toward the end of the novel—when Charlie begins to lose his intelligence, she shuns him.

Fay Lillman Quotes in Flowers for Algernon

The Flowers for Algernon quotes below are all either spoken by Fay Lillman or refer to Fay Lillman. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Ignorance, Intelligence, and Happiness Theme Icon

Then, with a violent effort of the will, I was back on the couch with her, aware of her body and my own urgency and potency, and I saw the face against the window, hungrily watching. And I thought to myself, go ahead, you poor bastard—watch. I don't give a damn any more. And his eyes went wide as he watched.

Related Characters: Charlie Gordon (speaker), Fay Lillman

Related Symbols: Charlie’s Hallucinations (younger Charlie)

Page Number and Citation: 210

Explanation and Analysis:

As Charlie becomes more intelligent and self-aware, he begins to hallucinate a young boy--the childhood version of Charlie himself. This young version of Charlie "watches" Charlie almost constantly, but especially when Charlie is engaging in behavior that he couldn't have managed when he was mentally disabled. In this scene, Charlie is about to have sexual intercourse with Fay Lillman, his neighbor. Although Charlie feels "young Charlie" watching him, he decides that he doesn't care--he continues having sex, daring his young self to do anything about it.The presence of "young Charlie" in Charlie's mind suggests that he's still haunted by his Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesci

Fay Lillman Character Timeline in Flowers for Algernon

The timeline below shows where the character Fay Lillman appears in Flowers for Algernon. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

June 19. Charlie meets his neighbor, a woman named Fay Lillman, when he accidentally locks himself out of his apartment. Fay lets Charlie into her... (full context)

Fay lets Charlie into his apartment via the fire escape. Charlie lets Fay into his place,... (full context)

...teaching Algernon how to navigate through mazes. Algernon solves every maze he’s given. One evening, Fay comes to Charlie’s apartment with a female mouse named Minnie—a companion for Algernon. Charlie finds... (full context)

June 23. Late one night, Charlie hears a knock on his door—it’s Fay, accompanied by a dancer named Leroy. Fay invites Charlie over for a drink, but neither... (full context)

Later that night, Fay stops by Charlie’s apartment again, saying that she’s sent Leroy home after he tried to... (full context)

Pride, Hubris, and the Tragic Hero Theme Icon

The next morning, Charlie wakes up lying next to Fay, who says that he acted odd last night—they didn’t have sex, but he said that... (full context)

...way to perform with Alice. He turns off the lights and imagines that Alice is Fay, the one woman who doesn’t provoke feelings of anxiety. Charlie imagines himself kissing Fay’s body,... (full context)

...buys a bottle of gin, and then goes back to his apartment. He knocks on Fay’s door, but finds that she isn’t there. (full context)

A short while later, Fay returns to her apartment, and Charlie comes to see her. He immediately wraps himself around... (full context)

June 30. Charlie gives Fay the keys to his place. He enjoys spending time with her, and makes love to... (full context)

July 5. Charlie finishes a piano concerto he’s been working on, and dedicates it to Fay. While Charlie doesn’t think much of Fay’s aesthetic tastes, he’s impressed by Fay’s openness and... (full context)

...has too much to drink, and in his drunkenness he behaves like the “old Charlie.” Fay is confused by Charlie’s behavior, but finds it funny. Charlie also notes that Algernon’s behavior... (full context)

July 9. Algernon bites Fay while Fay is trying to play with him. Shortly afterwards, Charlie finds that Algernon has... (full context)

Charlie devotes all his attention to studying Algernon’s mental deterioration. He doesn’t contact Fay for fear that Fay would run into Alice. He also plans to visit the Warren... (full context)

...erratic and frustrating to work with. To relax himself, Charlie drinks and goes dancing with Fay. He becomes irritated with Fay for showing no interest in his research. Fay is only... (full context)

...his apartment—Burt has told her about Algernon’s mental deterioration. While Alice is at Charlie’s apartment, Fay comes by, carrying a bottle of alcohol. To Charlie’s surprise, Fay and Alice get along... (full context)

...downstairs with Alice to hail a cab for her. Alice tells Charlie that she likes Fay. Charlie insists that he doesn’t love Fay—Alice is the only woman he’s ever loved. Charlie... (full context)

July 28. Charlie learns that Fay has a new boyfriend, but he isn’t hurt—in fact, he’s relieved. He continues working hard... (full context)

...grateful for “clearing the way” for future researchers in this subject. Charlie also mentions that Fay’s new boyfriend works as a dance instructor. (full context)

Charlie goes to his apartment. He considers knocking on Fay’s door, but he hears a man’s laugh, and decides that he’s too late. At 4:30... (full context)

Charlie sees Fay in his apartment building, but she avoids Charlie as much as possible—she seems frightened of... (full context)

...on Algernon’s grave, even though Mrs. Mooney finds this silly. Finally, Charlie tries to visit Fay, but she tells him to leave her alone. (full context)

Fay Lillman Character Analysis

Fay Lillman Quotes in Flowers for Algernon

Progress Report 14 Quotes

Fay Lillman Character Timeline in Flowers for Algernon