49 pages • 1-hour read
The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife: A Novel
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Character Analysis
Frederick Fife
Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of death, pregnancy loss, addiction, illness, substance use, and child death.
The protagonist, 82-year-old Fred, is alone and facing eviction when the novel opens. He maintains a sense of humor about both his circumstances and his age, indicating that he is a positive person who strives to make the most of any situation in which he finds himself. Kind-hearted and caring, Fred is plagued by grief over the death of his wife of many years, Dawn. Though her death was not recent, he is frequently nostalgic about the wonderful life they had together and constantly praises her warmth, emphasizing how much meaning she brought to his life, developing the theme of The Importance of Familial Bonds. Fred’s longing for the kind of connection and kinship he once had with his wife is a significant source of both motivation and conflict for his character, particularly as his grief over her death is compounded by the ongoing guilt he harbors surrounding the pregnancy loss Dawn experienced decades earlier. Fred remains convinced that he should have been able to prevent the tragedy, having maintained a sense of responsibility for Denise’s pain throughout his adult life.
When Fred is mistaken for Bernard Greer, he experiences a mix of relief (at finding a home) and guilt (over pretending to be someone he is not). He is constantly tugged between these opposing poles throughout the novel, ultimately deciding that the best way to assuage his guilt is to use his new identity to better the lives of those around him. Though Fred cannot offer much beyond kindness and friendship, these traits prove to be invaluable and are key to the novel’s depiction of Obtaining Meaning in Later Life. He provides support for those around him by listening to them and extending warmth and love. Fred is particularly eager to nurture in a parental manner, still longing to extend love to a child, and his friendship with Hannah provides the opportunity to do this. Fred goes out of his way to earn Hannah’s trust, not only by repairing the broken birdhouse from her childhood (displaying an understanding of the meaning the object holds for Hannah) but also by honoring Hannah’s feelings of hurt and betrayal.
Ultimately, Fred’s kindness and altruism are rewarded as those around him recognize that the identity mix-up was not an act of malice or ill-will on Fred’s part. That Hannah opens her life and home to Fred proves life-changing: He has found not only a place to stay but, in Hannah and her unborn child, two outlets for the love he is desperate to share.
Denise
Denise is a point-of-view character and one of the caretakers with whom Fred interacts frequently. Though she often notes that she once loved the work she does and took pride in completing it well, as the novel opens, she is often tired and stressed by her job, leading her to be unpleasant in her interactions with the residents and resentful of the tasks she must complete. As the novel continues, it becomes apparent that the stressful circumstances Denise faces at home—her young daughter’s diagnosis with anxiety and a sensory processing disorder and the infidelity of her husband—have impacted her work performance negatively. As she turns to alcohol in an attempt to cope with her emotions, Denise becomes less able to function effectively.
Denise becomes one of the people whom Fred helps in a significant and meaningful way. Despite her challenges, Denise maintains her values, and with the help of Fred, Denise realizes that her addiction has hurt her and others around her and that addressing it is the first step on the road to healing. She gains additional strength as she learns to accept help from those around her rather than push down her emotions. Her insistence to the police that Fred meant no harm pretending to be Bernard indicates that Denise is not only grateful for the help Fred has given her but also that she retains her ethical core. This rediscovery of who she is lies at the heart of her arc, making her a dynamic character.
Hannah Greer
Bernard’s daughter, Hannah, is a point-of-view character who features as both a child and an adult. As a child, Hannah is tender and compassionate, concerned about her sister’s illness but helpless to intervene. Moreover, because her parents provide her with little information about Sadie’s condition or her prognosis, Hannah feels confused and alone. She loves her family fiercely and does what she feels might be helpful (such as attempting to make a wig for Sadie by cutting the hair from her Barbie dolls). She longs for her parents—who are both preoccupied with Sadie’s illness—to be happy and wishes they were emotionally available.
As an adult, Hannah continues to grieve for both Sadie and their mother—a grief that weighs her down emotionally and is further complicated by her anger and resentment over Bernard’s abandonment of the family. She is therefore guarded and cautious when her “father” (in truth, Fred) reaches out to her and shows signs of genuine kindness and caring. Nevertheless, her deep desire for an emotional connection and for healing causes Hannah to open herself up to Fred, allowing him to nurture her spirit in a way that she has longed for. By the end of the novel, Hannah has evolved, forgiving both Bernard and Fred and recognizing the important and genuine bond that she and Fred share. By continuing her friendship with Fred—allowing him to become a father figure—Hannah finds the love and connection she has longed for.
Bernard Greer
Though Bernard is an essential character in the novel, readers know him only indirectly through the perspectives and experiences of other characters. As a father and husband, Bernard struggled to meet the needs of others. The illness and subsequent death of his young daughter devastated him, and his sadness and grief manifested outwardly as anger and rage. Rather than drawing closer to his family for support, Bernard pulled away and then turned to gambling to numb his pain. When this action became an addiction, Bernard’s life grew increasingly unstable. Moreover, his withdrawal from his family was regarded as abandonment by his daughter Hannah.
The caretakers at the nursing home echo this characterization of Bernard, suggesting that he was unkind and difficult to interact with (as evidenced by how surprised they are by Fred’s kindness and warmth). However, this may be a personality change resulting from dementia, as the letters that Bernard wrote to Hannah suggest he changed over the years in their expression of regret over his poor treatment of her and his neglect of the family. The money he saved to bequeath to Hannah further implies that his desire for Hannah’s forgiveness was genuine: Despite their estrangement, Bernard continued to love and care about his daughter and wanted the best for her.
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