Susan Barton
Susan Barton, an Englishwoman stranded on Cruso’s island, is the narrator and protagonist of Foe. Upon being rescued and returning to London, Susan is desperate to profit off her narrative, and she outlines…
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Friday
In both J. M. Coetzee’s novel Foe and Daniel Defoe’s novel Robinson Crusoe, Friday is Cruso’s manservant and primary companion. In both stories, the two spend years together eking out a life…
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Mr. Foe
Mr. Foe based on the real author Daniel Defoe; historically, Foe lived and worked at the turn of the 18th century, making his living as a novelist, a journalist, and occasionally as a spy. Historically…
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Cruso
Cruso is Robinson Crusoe, the famed adventurer at the heart of Daniel Defoe’s 1719 novel of the same name. In both Foe and Robinson Crusoe, Cruso is an Englishman who gets stranded on…
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Young girl
Though she claims to be Susan Barton’s daughter (and to share her name), it is never clear who this girl actually is—or even who she actually believes herself to be. What is clear, though…
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Amy
Amy is the servant girl that the young girl claims used to work for Susan Barton (in the girl’s version of events, Amy stayed on to raise her after her mother departed). It is unclear…
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Mrs. Thrush
Mrs. Thrush is Mr. Foe’s maid at Stoke Newington, though she does not transition with him to his new Whitechapel house. When Susan comes to Stoke Newington in search of Foe, Mrs. Thrush is…
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Wilkes
Wilkes is the lead bailiff who takes up residence in Mr. Foe’s house, hoping to arrest Foe as soon as he returns; in the 1700s, this was common practice for bailiffs, who were the…
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Minor Characters
Jack
Jack is a servant-boy in Mr. Foe’s second London house; Mr. Foe befriended him when Jack was living on the street and committing petty theft. Jack is clever and good-natured, and his relationship with Mr. Foe simultaneously demonstrates Mr. Foe’s generosity and his shrewd pragmatism.
Captain Smith
Captain Smith is the captain of the ship that rescues Susan, Cruso, and Friday. Though he is the person who suggests that Susan should take Cruso’s name and present herself as his wife, he also subtly propositions Susan for sex.
