51 pages 1 hour read

J. M. Coetzee

Foe

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1986

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Part 2Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 2 Summary

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).