Fefu and Her Friends

Cindy is frequently paired with Christina onstage, and while Christina is horrified by Fefu’s behavior, Cindy is more tactful and generous when talking about Fefu’s eccentricities. For the majority of the play, Cindy is emotionally stoic, but she opens up in Part 2 when she tells Christina about her upsetting dream. Cindy’s dream expresses a fear of being attacked or destroyed by men, particularly men who have power and authority in her life such as doctors and policemen. She remembers shouting at them to restrain themselves in the dream while wishing that she commanded them to respect her instead. This suggests that Cindy feels unable to demand respect from those around her and is instead accommodating and diplomatic.

Christina is new to the group, meeting Fefu for the first time. She is shocked by Fefu’s brashness, unlike the other women who expect Fefu’s idiosyncrasies. Christina is very careful about her behavior, running away from the water fight and only drinking a drop of bourbon on an ice cube. She admits to Cindy that Fefu makes her uncomfortable because she threatens the social structures that Christina embraces as a way of life, raising questions about whether Christina is wrong for conforming to gender expectations. Since Christina has no prior relationship with Fefu, she gives insight into the way outsiders might view Fefu’s actions.

Julia is arguably the most significant character in the play aside from Fefu. Before her accident, Julia was a lot like Fefu. She was fearless, intelligent, and emphatic. The episode that left Julia in a wheelchair was possibly more of a psychological incident—a metaphorical accident. Cindy suggests that Julia was literally injured by falling and striking her head. But at the end of the play, Julia is injured again and possibly killed in front of the audience. She bleeds out with no accompanying physical trauma, implying that Julia’s first injury was also real. Julia potentially suffers from epilepsy, experiencing seizures that are accompanied by hallucinations and triggered by the gunshots. However, Julia seems to believe that her disability is the result of supernatural forces that allow her to survive as long as she agrees to behave in a more socially appropriate way. Regardless of whether or not her affliction is supernatural, the effect is the same and Julia’s confident, assertive nature is subdued. Julia worries that Fefu will eventually suffer a similar fate as punishment for refusing to stay in her place as a woman.

Outgoing and lively, Emma prides herself on being worldly and dramatic. She is a confident performer, and her recitation of an academic article about the value of teaching theater inspires awe in the other women. Emma is theatrical, arriving to the house in an eye-catching dress that she proudly says she bought in Turkey. The other women are surprised when Emma tells them that she brought an even more theatrical costume to wear for her presentation in the fundraiser. However, Emma’s theatricality is a performance that effectively masks most of her inner emotional life, unlike some of the women whose emotions are frequently on display. The audience sees Emma at her most vulnerable in Part 2, when she shows her tenderness and devotion toward Fefu along with her musings about genitals and the things people hide from others.

For Paula, the weekend at Fefu’s means reopening the wounds left after her love affair with Cecilia ended, seemingly through Cecilia’s choice. Paula tries to regain agency and control in the relationship by claiming that she’s now indifferent to Cecilia. However, she also demonstrates that she still has unresolved emotions over the affair. In Part 2, Paula tries to use logic to work through her feelings by creating a mathematic formula to define and predict the trajectory, shelf life, and fallout of a romantic relationship. Paula also reveals that she grew up poor and always saw the wealthy as mythical beings who were, by default, happier than those without money. Later, she is surprised to discover that the rich aren’t any more content and have their own issues.

Of the group, Sue seems to be the least theatrical and the most domestic and accommodating. When the women discuss the fundraiser, she is shy about the possibility of being required to perform. In Part 2, when the rest of the women open up and discuss personal thoughts and fears, Sue moves in and out of two of the scenes, making and offering soup and staying on the periphery. She listens to Paula as she works through the idea of love affairs. Although Sue may not be verbally assertive, she expresses herself by dancing for the other women, showing that she still has a unique voice and desire to be seen.