Au Pair Girls (1972) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

Anita is assigned to the Howards, but she proves rebellious and calculating: she floods the house, goes on a date with Malcolm, and eventually ends up alongside a wealthy sheik. Her bold, unscrupulous nature drives her to seek opportunity through risky, boundary-pushing choices.

• 💃 Bold
• 🧭 Resourceful
• ⚖️ Defiant

Randi is placed with Mr. Wainwright’s family and becomes entangled with his son Stephen. Her attraction leads to a reckless, improvised moment—opening up discussions of desire and propriety within a patriarchal setting.

• 💃 Bold
• 💞 Seductive
• 🧭 Impulsive

Nan serves Rupert as a playmate while exposing Rupert’s immaturity and her own agency. She seduces him and leaves, reflecting independence but also the transactional nature of the arrangement.

• 👧 Youthful
• 🕊️ Discerning
• 🗺️ Adventurous

Christa is the virgin placed with the Fairfax family. Her status makes her a target for manipulation by Carole’s schemes, revealing the exploitation embedded in the employment setup. She ultimately asserts some autonomy by choosing to leave.

• 💎 Innocence
• 🧭 Vulnerable
• 💥 Exploited

Rupert is the Tryke family’s son, groomed as a concert pianist. His sheltered world is challenged by Nan’s seduction, highlighting a gap between his age-appropriate development and adult-style interactions.

• 🧒 Youth
• 🎼 Talent
• 🗺️ Naive

Stephen is Mr. Wainwright’s son who becomes involved with Randi. Their naked car encounter the next morning reveals the collision of desire with parental oversight and business concerns.

• 💼 Privilege
• 💘 Desire
• 🧭 Recklessness

A businessman whose household becomes a microcosm for social hierarchies and control. His reaction to the affair with his son illustrates tension between propriety and sensual caprice.

• 💼 Wealthy
• 🧭 Controlling
• 🎭 Complex

Part of the host family, she embodies the authority of employers who set the stage for the au pair placements and the social environment in which the events unfold.

• 👩‍💼 Authority
• 🗺️ Domestic
• 🕊️ Traditional

The husband in the Howards’ household, whose discomfort with Anita signals early friction in the assignment and a clash of personalities.

• 👔 Authority
• 🕳️ Discomfort
• 🧭 Social

A patriarch whose status and expectations frame Rupert’s upbringing and the social milieu that Nan navigates and eventually disrupts.

• 🕰️ Aristocracy
• 🛡️ Protection
• 🗺️ Elite

The aristocratic matriarch who anchors the Tryke household and social circle in which the children are groomed.

• 👑 Aristocracy
• 🕊️ Etiquette
• 🕯️ Wealth

A pop star used in Carole and Christa’s scheme to arouse and entertain the Fairfax family. He embodies a fame-driven temptress culture that preys on young women’s ambitions.

• 🎤 Pop Culture
• 💫 Fame
• 🌀 Exploitation

A boorish figure who serves as a vehicle for sexual misadventure and humor, representing the male gaze and casual sexuality that threads through the plot.

• 💬 Boorish
• 🌀 Humor
• 💥 Repercussion

The Fairfax family matriarch whose household provides the setting for Christa’s experiences and the wider social game of seduction.

• 👩‍🦳 Domestic
• 🕯️ Social
• 💼 Wealth

A scheming friend who masterminds a ruse to help Christa attract Ricky, while pursuing her own interest in Ricky’s attention and the social cache it affords.

• 🧭 Manipulative
• 🧠 Cunning
• 🕊️ Social

The plot centers on young women lured into overseas placements and then coerced into sexual arrangements or used as conveniences by wealthier men. The Overseas Employment Agency and the wealth of the Sheik El Abab illustrate how labor and sex are commodified for entertainment and profit. Each grooming sequence reveals power imbalances and a casual attitude toward coercion that underpins the comedic tone.

Movement is a core driver of the story: from airport arrivals to long car rides and new households. The au pairs navigate different social spaces—agency offices, city homes, and luxurious destinations—reflecting the era's promises of escape and opportunity. This mobility highlights the fragility of the young women's autonomy as they are shuffled between strangers and social expectations.

The women exercise varying degrees of agency, from Anita's sharp manipulation to Christa's reluctant participation and Nan's pointed seduction. The narrative depicts moments where characters resist expectations, choose a path of independence, or recognize the costs of their choices. Yet the ending suggests the cycle continues as alliances shift and new plans form.