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54 pages 1 hour read

Freida McFadden

The Coworker

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023

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Character Analysis

Natalie Farrell

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses death by suicide.

Natalie Farrell is one of two protagonists and the chief narrator of the novel. It is through her viewpoint that most of the story is told. From the beginning of the narrative, the 30-year-old salesperson is portrayed as “[a] golden girl” (291). Adept at making social connections, Natalie is the most successful salesperson at the nutritional supplement company, Vixed. Her physical attractiveness is also highlighted throughout the novel, and Dawn describes Natalie in terms associated with perfection, stating, “Her hair is very healthy and shiny, and her skin always has this immaculate glow, like she’s an angel” (83).

In her first-person narration, Natalie is eager to present herself as likable and caring. She states that she owes her professional success to hard work, and she also emphasizes her selfless dedication to organizing a fun run for cerebral palsy each year. Expressing concern over Dawn’s disappearance, Natalie initially comes across as “a good coworker” (108). However, as her narrative progresses, cracks appear in the airbrushed portrait she presents of herself. Like her carefully maintained hair and nails, the image is revealed to be a façade, speaking to the novel’s theme of The Deceptive Nature of Appearances. Natalie’s amorality is gradually made apparent in numerous ways, from her infidelity to her boyfriend and her dishonest sales practices to the revelation that her habit of bullying a high school classmate (Amelia) led that student to die by suicide.

By the time Dawn’s emails implicate Natalie in theft and murder, McFadden has created a strong impression that the character is easily capable of both crimes. Even Natalie’s mother believes that her daughter is guilty of killing Dawn, for she declares, “It’s the sort of thing you would do” (287). However, a reassessment of Natalie’s character becomes necessary when Dawn is revealed to have been following an elaborate, months-long plan to frame her coworker for murder. Natalie is therefore recast in the role of a victim rather than a perpetrator, as she seems to be innocent. In the novel’s Epilogue, however, overall perceptions of Natalie’s character shift for a final time as the narrative reveals that she is indeed guilty of embezzlement. Similarly, her willingness to keep quiet about Dawn’s murder of her friend, Tara Wilkes, also demonstrates the essence of her unethical nature.

Dawn Schiff

Dawn Schiff is the second protagonist and narrator of The Coworker. Although she is absent from Part 1 of the novel, the author conveys a strong impression of her through Dawn’s emails and other characters’ descriptions of her. Although she and Natalie are similar in age and work in the same office, Dawn is presented as her coworker’s foil in many different ways. For example, her short hair, cropped nails, and comfortable, oversized clothes contrast sharply with Natalie’s carefully cultivated glamor. Dawn is also the antithesis of Natalie in personality and social status. While Natalie is self-assured and popular, Dawn lacks self-esteem and is socially awkward.

Dawn’s character also highlights The Fine Line Between Victim and Perpetrator. Her emails convey a childlike naiveté that evokes a tone of sincerity and compels belief, allowing her to manipulate the other characters into perceiving her as no more than an awkward amalgam of her quirks and social differences. Her obsession with turtles, monochromatic meals, and obliviousness to “so many social conventions” (171) makes her a target of bullying and ostracization within the office environment. Similarly, Dawn’s emails contain elements of truth and serve as an indictment of society’s attitude toward those who display differences from mainstream expectations and social norms. For example, she describes how “[e]ven at age seven, I was used to being excluded from everything” (257). However, she exploits others’ propensity to mistreat her in order to create a false narrative that incriminates Natalie. While presenting herself as Natalie’s victim, she is really the perpetrator of a manipulative revenge campaign. Dawn ultimately proves to be a ruthless murderer who has likely killed at least two people (Tara Wilkes and Jared Kelahan.) Her character reveals the dangerous role that unexamined biases play in warping common impressions of others.

Mia (Amelia) Hodge

Although she has died long before the novel begins, Mia Hodge exists in two forms in the novel. She is Amelia—the childhood “friend” whom Natalie claims inspired her to organize the charity runs for cerebral palsy. She is also Dawn’s former friend and the addressee of her emails. The minor adjustment of her name is McFadden’s technique to create the misleading impression that Amelia and Mia are two separate characters in the narrative.

Having taken her own life years earlier, Mia serves as a plot device, sparking the revenge plan that underpins the story. Mia had cerebral palsy, and like Dawn, she was a target of persecution in high school due to her differences. In Dawn’s view, Natalie’s instigation of the high school bullying that led to Mia’s death equates to murder. Although Dawn cites her best friend’s memory as her motivation for her current revenge plan, McFadden implicitly raises the question of whether Mia would have approved of her friend’s drastic actions, for the author hints that Mia was the moderating influence in the relationship. For example, Dawn reflects that when she pushed Jared Kelahan off the monkey bars, Mia declared that Dawn “went too far that time” (337).

Caleb McCullough

A recently hired employee at Vixed, Caleb McCullough is introduced as Natalie’s romantic interest. However, his character is at the center of a plot twist when he is later revealed to be both Dawn’s lover and Mia Hodge’s half brother. Natalie’s perception of Caleb as “the perfect boyfriend” (155) underlines The Deceptive Nature of Appearances, for Caleb fools Natalie into believing that he adores her and that his reluctance to sleep with her is a mark of respect. A clue to his true intentions is given before the charity run when he tells Natalie, “I can’t wait to run circles around you” (33).

Caleb loves Dawn and is accommodating of her quirks; for example, he ensures that the sandwich he brings to the motel is monochromatic in color. Although he hates Natalie because of her part in inciting his sister’s death by suicide and agrees to take part in framing her, Dawn is nonetheless frustrated by Caleb’s essential decency. As she reflects, “He was so maddeningly against violence. I got to the point where I was sorry I told him anything in the first place” (334). Caleb is oblivious to Dawn’s murder of Tara Wilkes, naively remarking on the coincidence that an unidentifiable body was discovered just as Dawn disappeared from public view. McFadden likewise imbues the conversation about the brutal murder with dramatic irony when he rhetorically asks Dawn, “What kind of sick person would do something like that?” (252).

Seth Hoffman

Seth Hoffman is the branch manager of Vixed. His extra-marital affair with his employee Natalie highlights the theme of The Intricacies of Office Politics. Seth’s sexual attraction to Natalie causes him to openly favor her over other staff members. Consequently, he gives her “a long rope” (16) and fails to curtail her extravagant expenses, which rack up many losses for the company. Dawn’s discovery of Seth’s sexual relationship with Natalie initially makes him a potential suspect in her apparent murder.

Seth resembles Natalie in his superficial attractiveness and likability. Although Dawn finds him affable at her interview, she soon discovers that “he’s not nearly as charming now that I’ve gotten to know him” (83). Significantly, Natalie instinctively turns to her boss rather than to Caleb when in trouble, knowing that he shares her lack of moral principles. Seth is gullible and easily manipulated by Natalie, a fact that is heavily emphasized when fails to detect the money she has stolen from Vixed and does not suspect that she has also engineered his divorce.

Detective Santoro

Detective Santoro leads the investigation into Dawn’s disappearance. The police officer immediately makes Natalie nervous because he is immune to her charm. His suspicion prompts her to lie about her alibi. Detective Santoro demonstrates the subjectivity of perception, for his own past experiences with bullying compel him to feel a sense of kinship with the missing Dawn. Empathizing with Dawn’s accounts of being picked on at work, he fixates on Natalie as the prime suspect. Santoro’s lack of objectivity leads to errors of professional judgment that work in Dawn’s favor. For example, he arrests Natalie for murder before verifying that the dead woman is Dawn.

Kim Healey

Natalie claims that Kim Healey is her best friend at work. However, the shifting alliance between the two women illustrates the theme of The Intricacies of Office Politics and the fragility of workplace relationships. While Natalie and Kim are outwardly friendly, undercurrents of jealousy and competitiveness characterize their interactions. For example, Natalie envies Kim’s recent marriage to a rich man, observing that it changes their “power dynamic.” Although Natalie formerly deemed herself superior to Kim due to her higher sales figures, she now feels jealous enough of Kim’s romantic success that she starts “to feel like Kim’s loser friend” (220). During the investigation of Dawn’s disappearance, Kim turns on Natalie by telling Detective Santoro that she is a bully (and conveniently forgetting to mention her own bullying behavior toward Dawn in the past). Thus, the growing tension between Natalie and Kim illustrate the hostility lurking just beneath their veneer of overt friendship.

Melinda Hoffman

Seth’s wife, Melinda, is a minor character who serves as a possible suspect. After finding out about Seth’s affair, Melinda threatens Natalie. Her presence in the crowd when Natalie is arrested is also intended to suggest the possibility that she may be responsible for framing Natalie. However, the incident is a red herring.

Rhonda Schiff

Dawn’s mother is present in the text via her emails and Dawn’s recollections of her childhood. When Dawn is young, Rhonda is shown to erode her daughter’s self-esteem by imposing her standards of normalcy upon Dawn. Rhonda is embarrassed by Dawn’s differences and repeatedly critiques her inability to fit in with her peers. Once she is widowed, Rhonda accepts financial assistance from her daughter while continuing to criticize her. Dawn’s inability to believe that Caleb loves her is explained by her mother’s behavior during her formative years.

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