Characters The Housemaid Is Watching: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller packed with twists Freida McFadden

Martha Character Analysis: The Housemaid Who Was Watching

Overview

Martha is the silent, watchful cleaning woman employed by the lowells and later by the Accardi family. Behind her efficient demeanor lies a desperate woman trapped in an abusive marriage. To fund her escape, she steals jewelry, and when neighbor Jonathan Lowell catches her, she kills him with a letter opener and sets off a chain of events that nearly destroys the Accardi family. Her story, revealed fully only in the epilogue, recontextualizes every prior interaction and cements her as one of the novel’s most tragic yet morally ambiguous figures.

Plot Role

Martha serves as both a red herring and a hidden antagonist throughout much of The Housemaid Is Watching. On the surface, she is a quiet, competent cleaner recommended by Suzette Lowell. Millie immediately distrusts her—she catches Martha staring, snooping through drawers, and later stealing a cubic zirconia necklace. When Millie confronts her, Martha blackmails her by threatening to expose Millie’s prison past. This forces Millie into silence and deepens the marital tension with Enzo.

In the second half, Enzo reveals that Martha is actually an abused wife whom he helped escape. He gave her money and a gun. Millie later visits Martha’s home and meets her drunk, hostile husband, confirming the abuse. Yet the epilogue reveals the full truth: Martha stole from the Lowells, killed Jonathan when he discovered her, and let Enzo be arrested for the crime. Suzette later confesses (for her own reasons), so Martha remains free. Her role is that of a survivor who, paradoxically, commits violent acts to preserve her fragile freedom.

Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions

Martha’s primary motivation is survival. She has been systematically abused by her husband Jed, who takes all her pay and threatens to kill her if she leaves. Every action she takes is driven by the need to escape that life. This explains her theft—she needs money to start over. It also explains her calculated silence: she cannot risk exposure.

Her traits are revealed through her behavior:

  • Patience and long-term planning: She recognized Millie from a murder trial years earlier and deliberately scared off other buyers so the Accardis could afford the house at 14 Locust Street. She waited for Millie or Enzo to help her.

  • Manipulation: She blackmails Millie with the knowledge of Millie’s homicide conviction, using it to prevent Millie from reporting the necklace theft.

  • Guilt and humanity: When she confronts Millie, her hands shake—a sign of her own fear and internal conflict. She later feels terrible about Enzo’s arrest.

  • Violence under pressure: She grabs the letter opener not with premeditation, but to stop Jonathan from calling the police, which she believes would lead to her husband killing her.

Chronological Arc

Martha’s arc spans many years. She first appears in the backstory of a teenage boy she once worked for—the same boy Millie killed in self-defense. When Millie is released, Martha recognizes her and orchestrates the Accardis’ move into the neighborhood.

In the present timeline, she begins working for Millie after Suzette offers her services. She stares at Millie, makes her uneasy, and eventually steals. After Millie fires her, Martha disappears and, in the epilogue, reveals that she killed Jonathan Lowell during a burglary-turned-confrontation. She goes into hiding, and only the epilogue shows her final state: unharmed, on the run, but free from Jed.

Relationships

  • With Millie: A mix of admiration and exploitation. Martha wants Millie’s help because she knows Millie has also killed an abuser, but she is too frozen to ask directly. When caught stealing, she uses Millie’s secret as leverage.

  • With Enzo: He becomes her unlikely savior. Enzo sees her bruises, suspects the abuse, and gives her money and a gun. Martha feels deep gratitude but does not reveal the murder to protect herself.

  • With Jonathan and Suzette Lowell: Martha has contempt for Suzette’s wealth and casual cruelty. Jonathan catches her stealing and threatens police, which triggers the murder.

  • With Jed: Her abusive husband. The text shows his drunken, violent nature and Martha’s terror of him. He is the root of all her desperate actions.

Key Decisions and Their Consequences

  1. Stealing from Suzette Lowell – She steals a few necklaces to fund her escape. This direct theft is what leads Jonathan to catch her.

  2. Killing Jonathan Lowell – In panic, she stabs him with a letter opener. She flees and does not clean up, leaving a bloody scene that eventually is pinned on Enzo.

  3. Blackmailing Millie – Instead of asking for help, she threatens Millie with exposure. This damages the trust between Millie and Enzo temporarily.

  4. Accepting Enzo’s help – She lets Enzo give her money and a gun. This allows her escape but also implicates Enzo when the murder is investigated.

  5. Silence about the murder – She never confesses. Suzette ultimately confesses to the crime, freeing Martha from suspicion. This decision lets her walk away free.

Theme Connections

Martha is central to the novel’s themes:

  • Deception and Secrets: She hides both her criminal act and her abusive past. The web of secrets—Millie’s prison history, Enzo’s hidden help, Martha’s theft and murder—drives the suspense.

  • Parental Sacrifice and Protection: Martha’s story parallels Millie’s protectiveness of her children. Martha has no one to protect, but her own survival instinct substitutes.

  • Surveillance and Paranoia: Martha is the literal housemaid who is watching. Her staring, her knowledge of Millie’s past, and her observation of the Accardis heighten the paranoid atmosphere.

  • Class Inequality and Social Aspiration: Martha is invisible to the wealthy Lowells—a servant easily dismissed. Suzette thinks nothing of lending her out. The class divide enables Martha to move unnoticed.

  • Violence and Its Legacy: Both Millie and Martha have killed to stop male abusers. Violence becomes a legacy that repeats across generations.

Questions and Answers

  1. Why does Martha stare at Millie? She stares because she recognizes Millie from the murder trial of the teenage son of Martha’s former employer. Martha is trying to assess Millie’s character and find the right moment to ask for help escaping her own abusive husband.

  2. How does Martha know Millie is an ex-con? She remembers Millie from the news coverage of that earlier homicide. An internet search later confirms Millie’s identity after the Accardis view the house.

  3. What happens to Martha after the murder? She goes to a motel far from Long Island, using the money Enzo gave her and jewelry she stole. She stays in hiding. Suzette later confesses to the murder, so Martha is never arrested.

  4. Why does Martha kill Jonathan Lowell? She goes to the Lowells’ house to steal more jewelry to fund her escape. Jonathan catches her with the necklaces and threatens to call the police. Terrified that an arrest would lead her husband Jed to kill her, she grabs a letter opener and stabs Jonathan in the throat.

  5. Does Martha feel guilty about Enzo being arrested? Yes, the epilogue states she feels terrible and is seconds away from confessing until the news reports that Suzette has confessed instead. She rationalizes that Suzette is a horrible person, which eases her guilt.