54 pages • 1 hour read
Freida McFaddenThe Coworker
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Intricacies of Office Politics
The title of McFadden’s novel emphasizes its workplace setting. Placing a spotlight on corporate culture, The Coworker explores the uniquely challenging and often deceptive nature of relationships in a high-pressure corporate environment. Through her characters’ various machinations, the author illustrates the power plays, alliances, and rivalries that often unfold between those who work together.
Dawn’s experience at Vixed underlines the unspoken rules and complex social pressures that characterize a standard office setting. Work life demands a level of conformity that is unachievable for her, and the emails between Dawn and her colleagues demonstrate that she is always out of step with the company’s culture. McFadden humorously contrasts the formal tone of Dawn’s messages with her boss’s casual responses. Similarly, when Dawn enthusiastically responds to a group bridal shower invitation, Natalie sharply corrects her email etiquette, responding, “For God’s sake, Dawn, you don’t need to always hit “reply all” on emails!!!” (165). Meanwhile, Dawn’s observations of Natalie and Kim chatting in the office convey her unspoken envy at witnessing their casual social ease: a skill that continuously eludes her.
Dawn’s accounts of working in the office highlight how workplace culture encourages a sameness of register and outlook that excludes differences. Consequently, she is socially isolated and experiences constant low-level victimization. While Dawn does invent descriptions of incidents featuring Natalie’s bullying behavior, it is nonetheless clear that most coworkers do treat her as a figure of ridicule. Throughout the text, the author illustrates how the social dynamics of school are often replicated in the workplace. Natalie, who was “queen of […] high school” (256), is also Vixed’s most popular employee, while Dawn continues to be ostracized in every social setting.
Despite emphasizing the importance of sociability in the workplace, McFadden also underlines the strained nature of office relationships. The novel’s title also emphasizes the subtle difference between a friend and a “coworker.” While friends are carefully selected, the work environment requires spending time with those whom one may not ordinarily choose to interreact with or befriend. However, as most individuals spend a significant portion of their lives at work, personal and professional boundaries often become blurred. Natalie demonstrates this dynamic by declaring, “Kim Healey is my best friend at work, which sadly means that she’s my best friend in general since work has increasingly become my entire life” (8).
Natalie and Kim’s interactions illustrate how the close proximity of coworkers can intensify interpersonal conflicts and power struggles. An unspoken rivalry exists between the two women because Kim covets Natalie’s reputation as an excellent salesperson, while Natalie envies Kim for her advantageous marriage. Their ostensibly friendly conversations are therefore undercut by petty jealousy and passive-aggressive behavior.
The novel also emphasizes the role of power dynamics in office politics. Despite her professional efficiency in her role, Dawn’s innovative ideas are often dismissed out of hand, largely due to her blunt and awkward presentation style. For example, her assertion that Natalie’s expensive client lunches are not profitable is valid, but because she delivers this observation in a way that publicly embarrasses Natalie, she is ignored. Additionally, the scene demonstrates how Natalie and Seth’s clandestine affair skews the power relationships in the office. Seth takes advantage of his role as Natalie’s boss when he becomes sexually involved with her. He also rewards her by allowing her greater leeway than other employees. Meanwhile, Natalie uses their relationship to manipulate Seth, stealing company money from under his nose. However, Natalie’s abrupt fall from grace at Vixed during the police investigation demonstrates the fickle nature of office relationships. Once the poster girl for the company, she quickly becomes its scapegoat and the sole focus of public accusations of Vixed’s toxic workplace culture. As her coworkers turn against her, Natalie learns that a professional status built on popularity and power play is easily lost.
The Fine Line Between Victim and Perpetrator
The blurred boundary between victim and perpetrator is central to the novel’s plot. Throughout the narrative, the author strategically shifts the perceived attributes of the two protagonists, for Natalie and Dawn are alternately portrayed as predators and prey at different points in the story. Consequently, the line between innocence and guilt becomes increasingly difficult to discern. At the beginning of the novel, Dawn represents a seemingly vulnerable protagonist who suffers the cruelty of her coworkers and struggles with a general sense of isolation. Her emails reveal her to be the target of Natalie’s frequent bullying, and she also appears to be a murder victim, with Natalie emerging as the likely perpetrator. By highlighting Dawn’s apparent defenselessness, McFadden evokes sympathy for the character, compelling readers to become emotionally invested in her story as she describes hurtful events that impact her psychological well-being. The author also implies that Dawn unwittingly places herself in physical danger, and the combination of her disappearance and the discovery of a woman’s body is designed to confirm this impression.
As the narrative progresses, however, the differentiation between victim and perpetrator becomes less clear-cut. The possibility emerges that Natalie is being framed as she is tormented by an unknown person and pursued by Detective Santoro. By Part 2 of the novel, Dawn emerges as a ruthless individual who would go to any lengths to frame Natalie. She is also revealed to have brutally beaten Tara Wilkes to death. Meanwhile, Natalie is shown to be innocent of the crime of murder, just as she claimed. Even so, shades of gray exist throughout McFadden’s portrayal of innocence and guilt. While Natalie is not guilty of bullying Dawn or of causing her death, she is responsible for doing both in the case of Mia Hodge, from a certain point of view. Meanwhile, Dawn’s crimes are shown to be inextricably linked to the victimization she has experienced throughout her life. She and her friend Mia are portrayed as victims of a society that is intolerant of differences. While Dawn’s criminal actions cannot be justified, they are motivated by a belief in a retrospective form of justice.
In the Epilogue, the author engineers a further shift of perspective in relation to victimhood and perpetration. The assumption that Natalie is innocent of stealing from Vixed is shattered by her admission that she is in fact guilty of embezzlement. In the novel’s final pages, Dawn and Natalie are both painted as powerful and “dangerous” characters, and they both embody the antithesis of victimhood given that they ruthlessly manipulate and deceive the men in their lives. Dawn and Natalie encourage Caleb and Seth to think of themselves as “white knights” while remaining firmly in charge of events. McFadden therefore subverts traditional tropes of women as crime victims, for in The Coworker, the male characters emerge as the unwitting victims of female perpetrators. Thus, McFadden challenges rigid perceptions of victimhood and perpetration, suggesting that the reality of guilt and innocence is rarely as unambiguous as it seems. By blurring these moral boundaries, The Coworker confronts the capacity for darkness that exists within every human being.
The Deceptive Nature of Appearances
The deceptive nature of appearances is a common theme in psychological thrillers. By presenting a world in which nothing is quite as it seems, authors create an atmosphere of ambiguity and unease. The Coworker uses this conceit extensively by presenting a series of plot twists based on the contrast between appearance and reality. McFadden also expands on this theme to deliver a sharp critique on societal norms and values that condone the marginalization of people whose appearance and behavior does not conform to the mainstream. The novel therefore depicts the flaws of a superficial culture that is characterized by a shallow fixation upon outward impressions.
In psychological thrillers, characters commonly adopt masks or false identities. On the surface, they appear trustworthy, but they conceal secrets or ulterior motives beneath this façade. The trope creates a sense of disquiet as outward appearances contrast with inner realities. The Coworker exemplifies this concept by portraying several characters who project a deliberately false image. For example, Dawn creates the illusion of herself as Natalie’s naive victim, going so far as to fake her own death. Likewise, Natalie’s hard-working and generous veneer conceals the fact that she is stealing from her employer and the charity for which she organizes fundraisers. Caleb also has a hidden agenda, presenting himself as the ideal boyfriend to Natalie even as he frames her for murder. The protagonists’ untrustworthy natures are emphasized by their unreliable narratives, which often present a version of events that highlights their positive traits and conceals their flaws and darker secrets. As the narrative progresses, the main characters undergo a process of transformation. Gradually stripped of their superficial guises, they are forced reveal their true selves.
Even on a broader scale, McFadden’s exploration of the superficiality of appearances critiques a culture that places excessive importance on image. Significantly, Vixed—the employer of both protagonists—is a nutritional supplement company that directly caters to appearance-obsessed consumers. Vixed creates supposedly age-defying products while neglecting important ethical considerations, such as product’s safety and efficacy—both of which are highly questionable.
Within this framework, Natalie also embodies the stereotypical employee who prioritizes style over substance. The protagonist’s carefully cultivated exterior is emphasized in her dyed blond hair, manicured nails, and designer high heels. However, while her perfect veneer suggests that “she’s an angel” (83), she is revealed to lack moral principles. The downward trajectory of her life after Dawn’s disappearance signals the fragile nature of a social status that is built on such shallow attributes. Ultimately, by highlighting the disparity between appearances and reality, McFadden creates a deliberately unsettling environment and a constantly shifting sense of who her characters really are beneath their masks.
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