Martha Bessell is the friend of Wendla, Anna, and Thea. In both the play and the musical, she accidentally reveals that she is being physically -- and in the musical, sexually -- abused by her father, and her mother is either oblivious or uncaring. She begs the girls not to tell anyone because she is afraid she will end up like Ilse, a childhood friend who is homeless because her parents kicked her out of the house. She has a crush on Moritz, calling him a "sad, soulful sleepyhead."