Rebecca Foster in The Frozen River: A Character Analysis

Overview of Rebecca Foster

Rebecca Foster is the pregnant woman at the heart of the legal conflict in The Frozen River. Her rape accusation against Joshua Burgess and Joseph North drives the murder investigation and trial that occupy much of the novel. Though she appears through the eyes of midwife Martha Ballard, Rebecca emerges as a complex survivor: traumatised yet defiant, desperate for justice yet ultimately denied it. Her pregnancy from the assault becomes both evidence and burden, and her decision to reject the newborn baby marks a stark act of self-preservation.

Plot Role in The Frozen River

Rebecca serves as the victim whose suffering catalyses the central mystery. Martha first visits her days after the August assault and takes her confession. When Joshua Burgess is found dead in the Kennebec River, the community suspects Rebecca’s husband, Isaac, of murder. The ensuing inquiry forces Rebecca to relive the attack in court. She charges North with rape in the Vassalboro hearing, using her pregnancy as proof. Despite her harrowing testimony, North is acquitted, and Rebecca’s reputation is destroyed. The novel’s resolution—her refusal to nurse the baby and Martha’s secret placement of the child with Sarah White—underscores the incomplete justice Rebecca receives.

Motivations and Character Traits

Rebecca’s actions reveal a woman fighting to reclaim control after being violated. She is:

• Resilient: she withstands public examination of her trauma without backing down.
• Angry: she tells Martha she hopes Isaac killed Burgess and does not regret the statement.
• Protective: during therape she feared waking her children; later she worries about their future after losing the parsonage.
• Isolated: shunned by many in Hallowell, she trusts only Martha.
• Pragmatic: she recognises that North’s escape leaves her and Isaac vulnerable.

These traits are not stated but shown through her testimony, her silences, and her ultimate rejection of the baby.

Chronological Arc

Rebecca’s journey in the novel follows a steady deterioration from hope to resignation.

• August: Before the assault, Rebecca is described as cheerful and curious. After the rape, Martha finds her battered and weeping.
• October: Martha notices an empty tin of savine and tansy at Rebecca’s home, suggesting Rebecca tried to abort the pregnancy.
• November: Rebecca learns of Burgess’s death. She admits she hopes Isaac is responsible, blurting out a line that Sally Pierce later uses against her.
• December: The Vassalboro hearing. Rebecca charges North, shows her pregnancy as evidence, and delivers agonising testimony. The case is referred to a higher court.
• February: Seth Parker takes Martha’s deposition at the parsonage. Rebecca is six months pregnant and has lost her position as pastor’s wife.
• March (trial): Rebecca fails to appear, being eight months pregnant. The jury acquits North.
• Late April: After a breech labour, Rebecca delivers a baby girl. She sees the strawberry birthmark identical to Burgess’s and refuses the infant, telling Martha to throw it in the river.

Relationships

Martha Ballard

Martha is Rebecca’s sole confidante and advocate. She examines Rebecca after the attack, records the details in her diary, and testifies in court. Their bond is built on trust: Martha tells Rebecca first about Burgess’s death, and Rebecca later shares her pregnancy. Martha’s rage at the acquittal (she tells Doctor she feels “helpless”) mirrors Rebecca’s own despair. In the end, Martha disobeys Rebecca’s order to kill the baby, choosing instead to protect the child—a decision that honours Rebecca’s trauma while preserving life.

Isaac Foster

Isaac stands by Rebecca but is often absent or preoccupied. He denies any role in Burgess’s murder and fights his dismissal from the congregation. Rebecca’s hope that Isaac killed Burgess suggests she believes him capable of protection, yet Isaac’s legal battles overshadow her emotional needs. After the trial, he negotiates a settlement with the town, but the marriage seems strained; Rebecca’s earlier comment that “we haven’t gone to bed since before he went to Boston” indicates emotional distance.

Sally Pierce

Sally, the former Foster housekeeper, testifies that Rebecca said she hoped Isaac killed Burgess. This accusation leads to Rebecca being charged with fornication and her husband with murder. Sally embodies the community gossip and hypocrisy that punish Rebecca further.

Joseph North and Joshua Burgess

North is Rebecca’s primary abuser; she describes him as methodical and punishing. Burgess she remembers by the rasp of his voice and the lace he tore from her shift. Both men’s actions are recounted in graphic detail during Rebecca’s testimony, but only Burgess faces a violent death—at the hands of Sam Dawin, not Isaac.

Key Decisions and Consequences

Each decision reflects Rebecca’s attempt to regain agency after being stripped of it.

Themes and Symbols

Justice and Vigilante Retribution

Rebecca’s hope that Isaac killed Burgess highlights the appeal of extra-legal vengeance when formal justice fails. North’s acquittal confirms that the court system cannot adequately address rape.

Gender and Medical Authority

Rebecca’s pregnancy is used as evidence, but male judges and doctors control the narrative. Martha’s midwifery expertise is sidelined by Dr. Page and the court.

Community Secrets and Gossip

Sally Pierce’s eavesdropping and the gossiping women at Coleman’s Store isolate Rebecca. Her reputation is destroyed long before the trial.

Trauma and Survival

Rebecca’s refusal of the baby symbolises her need to survive psychologically. She cannot bond with a child conceived in violence.

Marriage and Partnership

Isaac supports Rebecca, but the assault fractures their intimacy. North’s threat to Martha later—paralleling Rebecca’s ordeal—shows how marriage can both protect and expose women.

Five Questions and Answers

1. Why does Rebecca refuse the baby born from the rape?
   After the breech birth, Rebecca sees the strawberry birthmark identical to Joshua Burgess’s and tells Martha to “throw it in the river.” She cannot accept a child that embodies her violation.

2. How does Rebecca’s testimony shape the trial outcome?
   Her detailed account of the rape, given in open court at Pollard’s Tavern, is harrowing but lacks an eyewitness. North’s alibi and the refusal of judges to convict on her word alone lead to acquittal.

3. Why does Rebecca hope Isaac killed Burgess?
   She tells Martha that she hopes Isaac killed him because “I’m glad Burgess is dead” and she wants vengeance. The statement later becomes evidence against her.

4. What role does the pregnancy play in the legal case?
   At the Vassalboro hearing, Rebecca presents her belly as physical proof of the rape. Martha confirms the timeline. Yet the pregnancy does not prevent the acquittal, and it makes Rebecca more vulnerable to public scorn.

5. How does Rebecca’s relationship with Martha evolve?
   From patient to friend to someone Martha must disobey in order to save the baby. Martha calls her “my friend” and defends her against the town, but Rebecca’s trauma eventually distances them.

For more on the novel’s ending, see the ending explained. Also explore the questions and answers page for further discussion of Rebecca’s story.