Frédérique Morel

Frederique (or Frédérique) is a supporting character introduced in the book The Dead.

Biography

Little is known about her life prior to the outbreak as it was not described as much in the book. Frederique is the 16 year old daughter of Monsieur Morel, the French teacher at Rowhurst. Her mother's name is not stated. Frederique's parents are divorced.

At the time that the infection started, Frederique was staying with her mother at France where she attended a school in Paris. She says that her father walked out on her mother and that her parents argued all the time. When her mother became ill, she was sent to England to live with her father, thinking she would be safer there. Frederique came in the Eurostar and went from London to Rowhurst, stating "it was very difficult".

After arriving in Rowhurst, her father tried to keep her safe by going into hiding. He kept the curtains closed all day to prevent attracting the sickos. A while later, he became sick, and left Frederique. He never returned. Frederique knew that he wanted to protect her from the illness, and never sees him again. She is then saved by Jack and Ed.

Personality

Frederique was at first a traumatized teenager who seemed to be terrified about the situation going on. As the story progresses, she gets more and more depressed and cries often. She also grows increasingly hysterical and eventually mad as a result of being infected. Yet before the growing infection became severe enough to obliterate all signs of her former personality,her true nature was shown to be kind and compassionate. The love she shows her cat, the kindness with which she treats Jack and her bravery in fighting off sickos that threaten the children reflect Frederique as she truly was. Frederique is seen most cheerful and happy when she was eating with Brooke, Aleisha and Courtney at the Imperial War Museum.

Appearance

She is describe as a thin girl, "as skinny as six o'clock," with long dark hair and a slightly large nose and mouth. She wore an Agnes B coat, as mentioned by Kwanele when he said she "had style". Frederique's cheeks were nearly always wet and her eyes red from crying because she suspected that she was becoming infected. Despite this, Jack describes her as "pretty," and that she was very beautiful when she smiled, like "the clouds had lifted and the sun was beaming bright and warm". Despite being sick, she didn't show any physical symptoms of illness till much later than most grownups. Possibly this is because she was exactly sixteen when the outbreak happened, meaning that the original parasitic infection that occurred 16 years before The Enemy may have only affected her for a short while compared to teenagers and adults older than her.

Relationships

Parents

Frederique was the daughter of the French teacher, Monsieur Morel. Her mother's name is not stated. Even though their relationships were not described, it is shown that her parents loved her dearly.

Jack

[SPOILER]

He is the only person to open up to Frederique, despite the fact that Jack is the one who kills her father once he turns sicko. Jack seems to understand Frederique and cheers her up to the point where they develop a romantic interest. It is shown that Frederique cares very much for Jack. Even after she crosses the line of attacking Froggie and becomes nearly a full blown sicko, she asks for him and says she wishes he were with her. Unfortunately, due to tragic circumstances, they died before they could say anything to one another.

"Dior"

Dior is Frederique's tabby cat. At the time that Jack and Ed save Frederique from sickos hammering at her door, she keeps Dior in a cat carrier and takes her with them. Dior is kept in the cat carrier for most of their journey on the bus with Greg. It is clear that Frederique loves Dior very much, to the point where she puts Jack and some of the bus group in danger when she asks Greg to stop the bus so Dior can go relieve herself in the bushes. Sickos lurch up the road towards the parked bus and Greg becomes furious, but Frederique refuses to leave Dior. After the children arrive at the museum, Frederique tearfully lets Dior go, saying that the cat had better chances of survival on her own and that it wasn't right to keep her cooped up. It is also possible that Frederique was becoming more aware of her own illness and knew that soon she wouldn't be fit to take care of her beloved cat.

Ed

In The Dead, much of what Ed does is a result of following along with Jack since he himself was so afraid to take decisive action. It was Jack's idea to rescue Frederique, and he gets angry at Ed when he timidly suggests they leave her. Eventually Ed grows to care for Frederique and considers her a friend. Unfortunately, when Frederique becomes too sick, she asks to see Ed and then attacks him, after freeing herself from her chains by chewing her own thumb off. Ed is then forced to banish Frederique from the museum. Later, at the Battle of the Bridge, Ed sees Frederique attacking Aleisha with another group of sickos. When she sees him she recognizes him, smiles sadly and holds out her hands. He then kills her and Frederique is no more.