Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake

Abagnale’s father first appears in Catch Me If You Can as a stationary store manager and local Republican politician. When his mother moves away, Abagnale strongly identifies with his lovelorn father, as he is similarly drawn toward beautiful women. Abagnale’s father coaches his son to help woo his mother back by preparing speeches and gifts, unwittingly teaching Frank to be a con man.

Abagnale’s father also sets himself up to be Abagnale’s first mark, entrusting him with a car (through which he meets women) and a gas card (which he uses for scams that fund his entertainment of women). When Abagnale’s father learns of his son’s criminal activity, he is suspiciously nonchalant and protective of him, suggesting—despite Abagnale’s proclamations of his father’s harmlessness—that he may have engaged in some shady activities himself. When his father loses his business and calmly assumes the role of postal clerk, Abagnale is tellingly disgusted by him. He prefers to see his father in fine suits and with affluent companions. Thus, his father’s loss in social status can be read as additional motivation for Abagnale’s pursuit of money, women, and upscale goods through the use of fake checks.

Abagnale’s mother is an attractive and independent-minded French Algerian woman. Not only does she leave Abagnale’s father in pursuit of her own happiness, tired of being left behind on his exotic “fishing trips,” she solidifies her financial independence by attending classes and obtaining certification as a dental assistant. Her departure imprints on Abagnale as a major event in his life and seems to taint his opinion of liberated women, or “bra burners” (11), as he refers to them. It could also be read as a psychological impetus for his pattern of pursuing and then deserting women.

When Abagnale finally decides to settle down, he significantly chooses his mother’s birth town in France, suggesting that, though he feels he cannot communicate honestly with her, he longs to be close to her in some respect. Through his grandparents, he learns that back home, she is playing a role just as he is, telling friends and family that Abagnale is hitchhiking around the world. This lie suggests that on some level, like her son, she prefers to ascribe to a fantasy version of reality.

Among the many attractive young stewardesses Abagnale meets, Rosalie is the first to inspire hopes of settling down, and she is significantly the only woman he considers marrying. Notably, she is considered a viable matrimonial candidate because she fulfills Abagnale’s ideas of an ideal, wholesome woman, calling to mind his early reflections about man’s ego.

Rosalie is the only woman with whom Abagnale is romantically involved that he also reveals his true identity to. Her rejection of his true identity as a teenage con man—as evidenced by her notification of police—complicates Abagnale’s previous assumptions of full complicity in all his female partners. Her betrayal of Abagnale contradicts his self-image of a wholesome, ethical criminal who has never “diddled an individual” (197), and her response allows the reader to question how many other women would’ve turned in Abagnale if they truly understood what he was doing.

Monique is an Air France stewardess Abagnale romantically pursues. The relationship becomes significant, in large part, because her father is a printer, and she is therefore useful to Abagnale’s fake check-printing operation.

Much like many of the women Abagnale meets, Monique’s father goes along with Abagnale’s requests out of ignorance and a desire to please. Monique, however, seems to acquire the understanding that Abagnale’s intentions are not entirely pure. She marries another pilot and makes sure that Abagnale is aware of her decision when he tries to contact her again. 

Cheryl is a good-looking woman Abagnale meets at a hotel party. In the course of pursuing her, he realizes—much to his chagrin—that she is a sex worker. Though a relatively minor character, she provides a very important window into Abagnale’s psychological perspective of women. Not only is he distressed to realize he cannot use her in the way he is accustomed to using women (i.e. without paying); he actually goes out of his way to disrupt his criminal “code of ethics” to con her out of $400.

Jan Lundstrom is the Swedish policewoman who serves as Abagnale’s primary host when he is extradited. Her kindness and humanity provide a stark contrast to Abagnale’s treatment in the harsh French prison. He develops a connection with her that tellingly veers toward romance when he attempts to kiss her goodbye, suggesting that Abagnale implicitly sexualizes all women who are generous and helpful to him.