Foe

Part 2 is composed of a series of letters, written by Susan Barton to a man named Mr. Foe.

Susan and Friday live at a home in Long Acre in London. Susan is still pretending that Cruso was her husband. Though she has no regrets about bringing Friday with her, she does mention his regular confusion regarding the chaos of the “great city” (48). She has written a story about her time on the island, and she includes it in a letter to Foe, hoping that he might be able to turn the story into a book.

Foe has sent three guineas to Susan, who thanks him for the money. She writes that she will spend it on clothes for Friday. She asks Foe for work and a home, suggesting that Foe could hire her as a servant and Friday could tend to his gardens. She imagines Foe sitting at his writing desk, telling the story of Cruso’s island. Sometimes, she says, she still dreams about the island. She did not include every single detail in her story, she says, so she hopes that Foe might be able to add “substance” to her account (51).

Susan sends a follow-up letter, apologizing to Foe for potentially making his writing process seem trivial. She speculates as to the great difficulty he must face each time he puts pen to paper. She wishes that she could be of some assistance.

Susan writes in response to Foe. He asked why Cruso did not have a gun. She suggests that, in the panic of the sinking ship, he may not have thought to take hold of a musket. Furthermore, there were no dangerous people on the island who might have necessitated the gun’s use. Foe has asked her some small questions about Cruso, which she answers, and then she mentions how Friday does not leave the house very often. When he does, children mock him in the street. They sing, “Cannibal Friday, have you ate your man today?” (55). She wishes that Cruso had taught Friday more language or other forms of communication. She is trying to help him train to be a laundryman, but this is difficult. Instead, Friday sits around all day eating porridge. Susan hopes that Foe’s book might make them both rich and famous.

Susan receives a letter, written three days earlier, which is returned to her unread. She sends the letter again.

Susan tried to find Foe at his home in Stoke Newington. As she approached the house, however, she discovered that bailiffs were inside. Susan writes that she is pleased that his sudden absence is due to money troubles, not because he has given up on her story. This does leave her with an issue, however, as she has no idea where to send her letters to Foe. Perhaps, she wonders, he might have other potential literary subjects across London. They may also be waiting on him for financial help. If he needs somewhere to stay, Susan writes, Foe is welcome in her house.

In another letter, Susan describes her troubles in finding Foe. Though she has made several visits to his house, the only person she has met is named Mrs. Thrush, who seems similarly concerned for Foe. Mrs. Thrush promises to send Susan’s letters to Foe. The bailiffs seem to be living continually in Foe’s house to serve him with a warrant. Wilkes, one of the bailiffs, threatened Susan when she approached. The house is dirty and falling apart. Susan confesses to Foe that her spirits are low and asks him to hurry with his writing, as her life is “drearily suspended” until he is finished (63).

Susan has now spent all the money he sent to her, and the landlord of the apartment is asking for rent. Susan cannot find anyone to tell her Foe’s location.

Susan describes how she has moved herself and Friday into Foe’s empty house. She is writing this letter at his desk, using his writing materials to pen “The Female Castaway” (67). She remarks on how the house differs from her expectation. Soon, she will tell Friday to tame the overgrown garden. The home feels somehow familiar to Susan. She finds herself in a similar position to her time on the island, whereby she is waiting to be rescued. Since Foe is absent, she has begun writing her story herself. She has included drawings of Friday and Cruso. Now that she examines her sketches, she begins to wonder whether “Cruso cut out Friday’s tongue” (68). She is concerned by Friday’s reaction to these drawings; even though she wants to ask him about Cruso, she tears up the sketches. Susan fears that she is wasting her time and also “wasting her life” on trying to help someone who cannot (or who refuses to) understand her (70).

Mr. Summers visits the house. Susan does not know him, so she tells him that she is Foe’s housekeeper. She claims that Friday is Foe’s gardener. The man leaves. Susan wonders whether Foe might be watching her in his house. She can picture him in her mind, reading each of her letters. During this time, she describes how a little girl has begun watching the house. Eventually, Susan confronts the girl and discovers that the youngster shares her name. Little Susan Barton cries, claiming that she is upset that Susan does not recognize her. The little girl says she has followed Susan everywhere, implying that she is Susan’s daughter. Susan is angry. She slams the door shut. The girl is left outside. Susan’s letter to Foe demands that he reveal why the little girl was sent to the house. The girl must be “more [Foe’s] daughter” than hers (75).

The little girl speaks about her life, even as Susan continues to insist that she does not know her. She cannot recognize the girl, nor see any of her own life or influence on the youngster. The girl is unperturbed and tells an incorrect story about her supposed father. She insists that Susan is her mother. During this time, Friday is increasingly idle and despondent. When Susan talks to Friday, he sits quietly. Susan talks to Friday about their lives, Cruso, and Foe. Speaking about their time on the island, her mind lights on the “mystery” of the terraces, Friday’s torn-out tongue, and Friday’s fate as enslaved to Cruso (83). She also mentions how little sexual interest Friday seemed to take in her. Susan suspects that her future readers will demand the answers to these questions. Now, she believes, she has become a “slave” to the story of what happened on the island (87).

Days later, Susan has not heard from Foe. She has sold a number of his possessions to buy food and other necessities. She writes to Foe, ruminating on Cruso’s reluctance to leave his island. She would have spent more time questioning him if she knew that she would need to tell his story. Susan walks through a forest with the little girl. Susan has said that they are going to visit the girl’s “real mother” (90). In the middle of Epping Forest, they come to a stop. Susan lays her cloak on the ground and tells the girl to sit on it. As they sit on the cloak, Susan tells the girl that Foe must be her father. Since the girl only knows about her parents via stories, then her father must be a storyteller. The following day, the girl disappears.

In another letter to Foe, Susan describes Friday’s latest obsession. Somewhere in Foe’s house, Friday has found a set of robes and a wig. He has put these on and started dancing around the house, following the sunlight through the rooms. When Susan took his costume away, Friday became angry. She was forced to give back the wig and robes. Susan describes how the bailiffs have emptied the house. Susan has also sold a number of items, as she has become increasingly desperate for money. To sell Foe’s possessions, she pretends to be “a widow of forty in straitened circumstances” (93).

In another letter, Susan writes about how she is increasingly afraid and resentful of Friday. She found a recorder in the house and gave it to Friday; he now plays the same simple song that he played on the rudimentary flute he possessed on the island. He plays “the tune of six notes” over and over (95). When Susan tried to play along with him, she hoped that they might be speaking a “language of music” at last (96). One morning, she wakes up and hears him play. She joins him, and they spend an hour playing. When Susan plays a different song, Friday continues to play his own tune. He ignores her, and Susan realizes they are not conversing at all. Now, she suspects that Friday actively dislikes her. She wants to hit him and teach him that he is not alone, but she does not.

Susan is trying to free Friday. She describes to Foe how she has created “a deed granting Friday his freedom and signed it in Cruso’s name” (99), which she hopes can officially grant freedom to Friday. She has created a necklace by sewing this deed into a bag, allowing Friday to hang it around his neck. Susan believes that she is officially permitted to free Friday, as she is pretending to be Cruso’s wife, and no man can be enslaved to a dead person. They leave London, walking together to Bristol. Friday carries what little food they have, still dressed in the robes and wig. On the way, Susan tries to swap some of Foe’s books for shoes. She does not know whether Friday would intervene to protect her if they were attacked while traveling. When they reach Bristol, she wants to find a ship to take Friday home to Africa. At one point on their journey, “two drunken soldiers” try to assault Susan (101). She runs away. To disguise herself as a man, she pins up her hair. When they stop at an alehouse, the people inside turn silent. They are made to leave, as the owner will not serve “strollers or gipsies” (102). Instead, they sleep in a nearby barn. Susan is cold. Friday disappears, leaving Susan cold and confused. Unsure what to do, she mimics Friday’s dance. This warms her until she slips into a “kind of trance” (103). The dance provides insight into Friday’s mind; Susan realizes that dance, for Friday, is a way to escape. She falls asleep in the hay and wakes up with Friday beside her. Together, they set out on their journey again.

While traveling, Susan and Friday find a bundle of clothes beside the road. Inside the bloody rags is a dead baby. Susan believes that the baby is “stillborn or perhaps stifled, all bloody with the afterbirth” (105). Since she does not know what to do with the dead girl, Susan places the bundle back in the ditch at the side of the road. Later, she sets up camp with Friday. She cannot sleep, however, and feels drawn back to the dead baby. She cannot stand the thought of the baby being eaten by animals or, she thinks to herself, Friday. This suspicion has been planted in her mind by Cruso, who said that Friday was a cannibal. Susan is frozen, unable to sleep or move. The next day, she resumes her journey to Bristol with Friday, feeling as though they are being accompanied by the ghosts of both Cruso and Foe. Along the way, people pepper them with awkward questions. Susan is forced to lie. She realizes that the long walk across England has made her filthy and disheveled.

When they reach Bristol at last, Susan leads Friday to the docks. They look for a ship that may be destined for Africa. Speaking to one captain and first mate, Susan senses a strangeness in the men’s demeanor. She suspects that they will try “to sell Friday into slavery a second time” (111). Susan ends the conversation and leaves, taking Friday with her. The same situation plays out in her discussions on other ships. Honest captains, Susan realizes, will never take Friday. The dishonest captains will enslave him all over again. As such, Friday is forced to remain with Susan in England.