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m00n-pr1sm · 1 year

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Amy Dunne Character Analysis

Disclaimer

This analysis will be of Amy’s character from both the book and the movie, although the 2014 movie adaption takes greater precedence with only some additional details and quotes included from the book as it does delve deeper into Amy’s psyche and add further characterization. Thus some traits may be accentuated further than they are in the movie, not being completely faithful to either story. It’s an analysis of Amy in her totality across mediums, of course being entirely my opinion. There are of course adaptational differences but I will not include the major ones from the books (ex. her relationship with Hillary Hand). This is an analysis focusing primarily on Amy’s neuroses she demonstrates and the childhood links to them, it doesn’t cover in-depth the events nor themes of Gone Girl.

Amy Elliott Dunne, the ever enigmatic dual protagonist- antagonist of Gone Girl is one of the most iconic female villains in modern memory, and one of the paragons of the “good for her” trope in media, is, frankly, one of my favorite characters of all time. As such I have been dying to write a full analysis examining her neuroses and characterization. Beneath the cultural perception of just another “crazy psycho” for girls to claim “she did no wrong” or “she just like me fr!”, lies a fascinating character who is masterfully written and developed by Gillian Flynn, as well as perfectly portrayed by Rosamund Pike. Amy Dunne is a character with a deep, complex psychology that I will do my best to thoroughly explore in this analysis.

From Amy’s childhood we first see the emergence of a literal high ego ideal, Amazing Amy. Of course this is the children’s book series created by her parents with a fictionalized version of Amy being the eponymous protagonist. This was a version of herself that rectified her own personal failures. Amazing Amy became a prodigy at cello, when Amy quit at 10, Amazing Amy made varsity volleyball, Amy got cut freshman year. Even in the (at time) final book in the series, Amazing Amy got married, a task Amy had not yet done. The entire book series revolved around Amy always making the most virtuous, the most selfless, the most perfect decisions.

>”With me, regular, flawed, real Amy, jealous, as always, of the golden child.”

An interesting detail in the book that is omitted from the movie is Marybeth’s numerous miscarriages and stillbirths (which totaled 7). All of these girls were named Hope, until Amy was born. Amy expresses her jealousy towards them, as they were always seen as perfect without ever living; meanwhile Amy herself has to live life everyday knowing that she will never truly live up to the Hopes. That she has to try everyday to be the best she can be. Her very birth was mired in the expectation of a perfect child; given that she was practically a gift from the heavens to her parents.

This sets up Amy’s perfectionism, as the childhood experience of never living up to a projected ideal led her to want to be perfect (and as we’ll later see, the expectation that everyone else is too), to live life always through the gaze of another. Evidently this leads to a loss of one’s inner essence, one’s individuality and sense of self.

>“-I’d never really felt like a person, because I was always a product” (Book Quote)

Amy’s obsession with personas can be seen as emerging from this, as she adapts a personality depending on who she’s interacting with, as to always be the most appealing she can, she is Amazing Amy after all.

>”I’m not sure, exactly, how to be Dead Amy. I’m trying to figure out what that means for me, what I become for the next few months. Anyone, I suppose, except people I’ve already been: Amazing Amy. Preppy ’80s Girl. Ultimate-Frisbee Granola and Blushing Ingenue and Witty Hepburnian Sophisticate. Brainy Ironic Girl and Boho Babe (the latest version of Frisbee Granola). Cool Girl and Loved Wife and Unloved Wife and Vengeful Scorned Wife. Diary Amy.” (Book Quote)

This general attitude leads to people trying to impress her as she places herself as someone special and especially someone to keep around. She entices both the characters and viewers of the film through her manufactured charisma and enchantment. However, we’ll see this dramatically backfire in her relationship with Nick, just you wait!

For now we can focus on the beginning of their relationship as well as what I believe to be Amy’s view on romance.

I believe that Amy has an impossibly high standard of love, one that stems from her perfectionism and general inability to let down her guise of being amazing. Not to mention how her parents were a perfect match, Amy even referring to them as soul-mates.

>”They have no harsh edges with each other, no spiny conflicts, they ride through life like conjoined jellyfish—expanding and contracting instinctively, filling each other’s spaces liquidly. Making it look easy, the soul-mate thing.” (Book Quote)

In her childhood it’s implied that she was into romance novels, specifically Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, which obviously contributes to the idealization of romance, of a literal scripted love.

>”You were an alienated teen and only Elizabeth Bennet understood you”

I think this little quote is incredibly indicative; it establishes a sense of alienation, of Amy never quite fitting in and blending with others.

>”So many lessons and opportunities and advantages, and they never taught me how to be happy. I remember always being baffled by other children. I would be at a birthday party and watch the other kids giggling and making faces, and I would try to do that too, but I wouldn’t understand why. I would sit there with the tight elastic thread of the birthday hat parting the pudge of my underchin, with the grainy frosting of the cake bluing my teeth, and I would try to figure out why it was fun.” (Book Quote)

Back to the topic of romance, through these stories it allowed her to imagine her perfect romance: if Amy could find that one person that truly understood her, beyond the illusion, that then would constitute a perfect union of love. She does deep down (whether consciously or not) want to be loved for who she is; not the idealized, palatable, literal marketed version of herself. Thus she holds trust as a premium, expecting that if she does the Herculean task of unspooling and revealing herself to another, that the other person would love her no matter what.

>”Can you imagine, finally showing your true self to your spouse, your soul mate, and having him not like you?” (Book Quote)

However all of this culminates in an impossibly high standard of a lover, of a practically divine mythical love; where one loves totally and absolutely. Of course where this neurosis is most demonstrated is in Nick and Amy’s relationship.

Amy comments that after meeting Nick she finally felt like a person as he brought out a side of herself that hadn’t been seen, in her own words “a lightness and an ease”, something that Amy enjoyed. In her eyes they had the perfect relationship in the beginning, Nick was her compliment with the witty banter, with their inside jokes, and charm.

However this doesn’t just vanquish her childhood neuroses, through her desire to be seen as perfect, she modifies herself to be a “cool girl” for Nick, complying endlessly to standards to maintain this perception.

>” When I met Nick Dunne, I knew he wanted a cool girl and for him, I’ll admit, I was willing to try.”

Amy essentially became Nick’s image of a perfect girl, witty, fun, and most of all easy-going and forgiving.

Yet one cannot live forever in images and ideas; and as such, the real, true Amy emerged. The Amy that cares too much, that’s hard to get along with, that is a controlling perfectionist. She also tests Nick through the treasure hunts, weaving in little details about their relationship as to challenge Nick and hope that he remembers the things they do together as deeply as she does. Combined with the 2008 recession and declining health of Nick’s mother (the consequences of which will be explored later). As well as Nick’s growing dissatisfaction in the relationship (evidenced by his worsening performances in the treasure hunts, the cheating, using her for sex and ignoring her otherwise, etc). The illusion both Nick and Amy were living in crumbled; they couldn’t possibly sustain their relationship as they were both striving to fulfill reciprocating images for the other.

One of the biggest parts of her character is Amy’s elitism and entitlement, in which she thinks of herself as someone superior, someone that deserves to be loved absolutely for who she is, although only to people she considers worthy.

>”She’s easy to like. I’ve never understood why that’s considered a compliment—that just anyone could like you.” (Book Quote)

Once again this stems from her childhood, in a seemingly contradictory way, she also sees herself as special for being the one that survived from her mother’s attempts, as well as the fact that her birth was so tumultuous that she would be an only child. From this also stems her entitlement for love.

Amy actively looks down upon women she considers “average”, whom she sees as coming from mediocrity and continuously perpetuating that in their lives. She scoffs at them with her wealthy parents and NYC background until her marriage with Nick crumbles. Only then does she realize that she’s become the very woman she would previously disdain. A woman with a failing marriage, the loss of her previous wealth following the recession, and moving to a failed development in Missouri (What the hell’s in Missouri?) for Nick’s mother.

I truly believe this, combined with Nick’s infidelity, and most importantly the loss of her idyllic love culminated in the iconic Gone Girl plan.

>”Nick took and took from me until I no longer existed, that’s murder. Let the punishment fit the crime”.

Nick took Amy’s identity, her sense of self that she so generously revealed to him and rejected her. Implying that she would only be loved if played the role of the “cool girl”; stripping her of who she really was, losing herself in yet another persona. Although Amy admits she doesn’t really have a personality and lives through personas, she still has a semblance of self that she holds dear.

>”-made me realize that there was a Real Amy in there, and she was so much better, more interesting and complicated and challenging, than Cool Amy”. (Book Quote)

Worse yet, Nick had cheated on her with a “newer, younger, bouncer Cool Girl”, leaving Amy in the dust, surely damaging her pride.

But Amy truly fell in love with her idealized version of Nick, believing that she was responsible for shaping that version of Nick. That she deserved that man in his entirety, of course what gets Amy to come back to Nick is the Sharon Scheiber interview, in which he promises to make up with Amy in just the way that makes her think that Nick is the one person who gets her. He makes the little references to their inside jokes (2 fingers on the chin when they’re not bullshitting the other) and a reference to the end of the treasure hunt (always a contentious issue in their relationship). She’s reminded of who he was, that he was once perfect for her, who else could know how to appeal to her heart in just the right way? With the same passion and conviction she reverses the judgment on Nick, clawing her way back to him. She does so in an especially brutal manner, slashing Desi’s throat with a boxcutter right after he climaxes. Putting aside my enormous personal bias against Desi, he was technically an innocent man, taking a great risk in sheltering Amy. However it’s clear that Amy sees him as merely an asset and something to be disposed of once he serves his value, as another prop in her ever evolving masterplan; she did string him along for years through their letter correspondences. He was just another casualty in Amy’s search for idyllic love. She comes back dramatically, literally falling into Nick’s arms while still covered in Desi’s blood like a dress; fabricating an elaborate story about a love obsessed former boyfriend kidnapping and violating her. Despite the glaring holes in her whole story (If Amy’s marriage was as bad as she made it out to be, why did she go back to Nick so easily? How did she get access to a knife and kill him so seamlessly? Why didn’t Amy do anything when she discovered the stuff in Margo’s shed? etc), law enforcement, media, and the public all fully believe it, infatuated with the persona and narrative that Amy’s created for herself. In the end she traps Nick into the marriage and eventually, the family. The last shot of the film is a haunting recall to the beginning shot of the film, as Amy has both revealed and secured herself to be the master of the narrative, finally obtaining her perfect love, no matter what the cost may have been.

Conclusion

Through a constant demand in Amy’s childhood emerges a need for perfection, simultaneously bringing about a sense of superiority and entitlement. The use of personas and façades facilitate this, painting Amy as the most amazing cool girl for whomever she’s performing for, to feed her need to be seen as perfect and desirable. Yet there emerges a psychological detachment from others; as the need to perform inevitably leads to an internal hollowness. However underneath all these layers there also lies the true Amy who has the deep unconscious desire of wanting to be loved absolutely, to have a perfect union of love where she can reveal herself fully and be loved for who she is truly.

>disclaimer for tumblr lol, this is not me trying to claim Amy was innocent I am fully aware that she’s a terribly entitled and narcissistic person but she can still be complex and have relatable desires & be a person even if she’s massively fucked up!!

#amy dunne #gone girl #gillian flynn #I love Amy Dunne so much #my little meow meow #analysis #character analysis #final draft of the analysis me thinks!!#unless I rewrite the conclusion which is very likely :P #I want to write one comparing the book to the movie #and speak on those said adaptional differences #my gone girl brainrot is terminal #(no I never referenced her typology in this whatttttt…..)#this doesn’t have much commentary into real life stuff (I am e5 ni base I can’t speak on such matters)#this is just a -why Amy is fucked up and the way she is- analysis #Also I don’t care if Amy isn’t actually that much of a she just like me fr character. I’ve said it okay and I’m a teenage girl (checkmate)#also b4 anyone comes for me & is like Amy literally says she doesn't believe in unconditional love #so then y would she crave it/doesn't that disprove ur point #well 1. she's unreliable as FUCK 2. note my use of unconscious!!#also fun fact. in one of the first drafts of the novel #her parents were (quote unquote) relationship experts that focused the idea of a perfect couple (another quote unquote)#& wrote a book called the undivided child: how to raise a perfectly whole being #which is just. lmao #the excerpts from that early draft r so fascinating

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vii-is-free · 3 months

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Odd Questions

Summary: Sequel to Chapter Seven. Late at night, Ominis and MC find Sebastian returning to the common room. Something is...off.

Who knew those pale blue eyes could burn with such a fury. Well…Sebastian knew, first of all.

"THAT was the book you were reading in the Restricted Section!?" Ominis shouted. "You're lucky I didn't realize that at the time, or so help me, Sebastian..."

"Ominis, enough." Leona groaned.

"The merpeople wouldn't have been able to find your body!"

Sebastian chuckled, and glanced at his friend. "Sorry. Ominis."

Tik…tik…tik…

Ominis laid in bed, wide awake, fingers interlaced and resting on his chest. His eyes were wide open staring at the ceiling right above him, though they betrayed their usefulness. It was no matter, as his other five senses were incredibly sharp, and he was as attuned to his environment as any of his dorm mates. Perhaps too much.

Tik…tik…tik…

Normally the ticking of the Slytherin Hall's grandfather clock served as a white noise, a necessary part of his goodnight rest. But tonight it was just a nuisance.

Tik…tik…tik….

Each sound of the needle moving one second more was like a hammer slamming against his skull. Each strike caused his nerves to flare up, u leashing a scurry of thoughts, all reminding him of something he did not want to think about.

Tik…tik…tik…

Ding!

It was one in the morning. And Sebastian was still not back.

Ominis let out a soft sigh, reaching under the pillow for his wand. He stood up and quietly shuffled to his dresser as not to disturb his roommates. He set down the wand and quickly switched out of his nightclothes. When he finished tying his silk green tie, Ominis turned towards the sink, dipping his hand into the water and using his palm to brush back his hair.

He wasn’t going to let anyone see him a mess, not even in the dead of night. Ominis had too much to prove.

After he dried his hands with the hanging towel on the side, he reached toward the dresser where he left his wand. On the way out, he grabbed his robe.

——-

Ominis leaned against his usual resting spot, head against the window. He closed his eyes, letting the ambiance of the lake soothe him. It helped him forget, even for a moment, the reality of the situation. He didn’t have to think about his best friend’s seemingly unstoppable descent into madness. He could concern himself the swirling of small currents caused by a nearby school of fish. The intermittent force of water pressing against the glass as the giant squid swam by.

He chuckled to himself. No mermaids this time.

Faint footsteps, too soft to be Sebastian’s, caught his attention, and he raised his head a bit. Ominis surmised one of the Slytherin girls was approaching him…not in the stomping manner that cued Imelda’s enterance, nor the sliding of soles across the carpet like Grace. Did he know…

Then it hit him, and he gave a chuckle.

A sleepless night, a moment of serendipity.

Ominis rested his head back against the glass as Leona approached him. He tried to keep the cheerful demeanor he held the first night they met. However, with each passing day, the burdensome hope that everything would be okay even without Anne, as well all those promises Sebastian threw at him like a heavy rope, were slipping form his fingers.

Just what the hell was Sebastian doing?

“Hello, Ominis," said Leona, "It's Leona, the new fifth year."

Ominis nodded. "Good evening or...night. Couldn't sleep either?"

'No," said Leona, "Too much on my mind."

"I'm sure..." he said, "Hogwarts is overwhelming enough, I cant imagine being thrown into this place as a fifth year."

Even without the stress of Sebastian's antics, year five was induated with the pressure of trials such as OWLs, Professor Sharps foul militance, and flying. Yes, flying. While he was exempt from actually mounting the broom, Madame Kogawa insisted that he show up to class and take the didatic exams. He frowned at the thought. Freaking moonmind.

“Is…everything alright?” Leona said, striking a daggar though the heart of his intrusive thoughts. He paused for a moment, then straightened his posture.

"Do you mind walking with me?" Ominis said, "I need to clear my head."

"Of course," Leona said, "Where should I…”

"To my right, if you don't mind."

Once he felt her presence near his right arm, Ominis took his wand and held it out before him. He slowly scanned the room, in case someone had a brilliant idea to move the furniture. Then, he began to walk, Leona keeping step next to him.

"This might be an odd question,” Leona asked, “but...is your wand sentient?"

"In a way," Ominis said, "But it doesn't perform spells for me, like some think. That is all my own doing. It only acts independently when my life is at stake.”

He must have been in a better mood than he realized, for any other student asking him such things would have been dismissed. But, for once, Ominis didn’t want to be alone in that moment. The stillness of the hall, other than the ticking clock, disturbed him. Plus, was nice to have someone other than Sebastian in his ear. He smiled. He didn’t mind the sound of her voice at all. “Any other odd questions? I'm welcome to answer them."

"Actually..." Leona looked up, racking her mind. So many questions. She stopped at the site of an apple floating in front of her. She looked at Ominis, who suddenly had one in his hand.

"Hungry?"

"Erm, yes actually." A smile caught her as she took the offering. After fighting for scraps in St. Agnes all her life, Leona would always be astounded by the sheer number of snacks laid about the castle. "You heard my stomach?"

"No, just mine," Ominis said cheekily, "You were saying?"

“Well…” Leona pondered for a moment when the serpents on the bannister caught her eye. "What is the significance of the snake imagery around us?" She then took a bite, waiting for his answer.

"Hm, well,” Ominis said, “I'm sure you noticed that each house has a kinship of sorts with a certain animal. In the case of ours,” Ominis took a bite of his apple, taking the opportunity to mull on his words. After finishing, he continued, “Salazar Slytherin could talk to snakes. I suppose he forged a connection with them. Perhaps he had more snakes as friends than people.”

“Hm. I wonder what snakes talk about.” Leona said before taking another bite.

"They’re terrible gossips."

“Hmph?” Her mouth was still full.

“I mean-that’s my...erm…assumption.” Ominis shoved the apple back in his mouth.

The sound of a loud sigh caught his ear. Ominis pointed his wand in that direction, surmising that a figure had just thrown themself onto one of the sofas near the fireplace. He paid little mind at first, assuming it was an exhausted senior. He had heard N.E.W.T.’s were especially frightful this year.

It was Leona's worried voice that startled him.

"Sebastian?" Leona said, "Are you alright?!"

Sebastian?!

They both hurried to the fireplace. Ominis could hear the deep exhales escaping Sebastian’s chest, and his brow furrowed. Was he crying? Was he upset about Anne? Or...

"Ugh" Leona said, disgusted, “Why are you covered in sweat?"

"Heh, sorry," Sebastian said, his voice shaky, "I thought I would try a hand at Imelda's trial at the arena, and failed miserably."

Ominis frowned. “I thought you were working on your mandrake parchment in the library."

"Ah well," Sebastian said, rather shortly, "I needed a break."

Ominis pointed his wand in Sebastian's face. "Are you lying to me?!”

"What--no!" Sebastian smacked his hand away. "Take a walk, Ominis!"

Ominis clenched his jaw, shoving his wand back in his pocket. He turned towards the fireplace as Sebastian rose to his feet and stormed off. "Why don’t you take a walk...to the showers! You're fouling up the common room!"

Sebastian muttered something as left. Ominis took his seat on the chair facing the fire, placing his head in his hands. He heard the other chair creak a bit as Leona sat down.

"That was..." Leona said, stunned, "Quite unlike him." Ominis let the silence settle in between them as he gathered his thoughts. Leona noticed. “Would you like to talk about it?” Ominis let a deep exhale.

"Sebastian’s not doing well,” Ominis said, “and he's geting worse at hiding it. His sister...is terribly ill. It's our first year at Hogwarts without her, and it’s been difficult, to say the least."

"He mentioned something about her," Leona said, "But I didn't press. That's awful."

Ominis nodded. "He's getting rather irritated with me, but I can't help it. I'm afraid that he’s...looking towards dark magic as a means to cure her."

“You mean...the type of magic they don't teach at Hogwarts?"

Ominis scoffed. Sebastian obviously introduced this to her. "There's a reason Hogwarts doesn't teach the dark arts.” He set his unfinished apple down at the side table. “That type of magic doesn't heal, or create. It only destroys. I've told him time and time again but..."

Ominis sighed again and shook his head before resting his forehead back in his hands.

"Forgive my ignorance," said Leona, "I don't have much experience with…any of this."

"Well, I do,” Ominis said with a stern voice, “And I can tell you this...” he looked back up, gaze directed towards her. “There are two types of wizards that are attracted to to the dark arts. Those who are weak…and those who are desperate."

Sebastian will do anything to find a cure for Anne. But at what cost? Ominis was terrified to find out.

"The weak and the desperate..." Leona echoed his words as she finished her apple.

Ominis picked his back up from the table and finished it quickly. As mich as Sebastian ruined his appetite, he hated wasting food. His mind began to spin as his mouth stayed full. He wanted to tell Leona not to misunderstand him. That Sebastian wasn't weak by any means. But he would do anything to heal Anne.

He was desperate.

Ominis was tired of defending him at this point. Especially if Sebastian was going to act like a petulant child. He stood up, tossing the apple dore into the fire, and made his decision. “But enough about him. It’s not worth ruminating over.”

He’s so tiresome.

"Hm," Leona said. "In that case…if that’s alright with you...I do have a few more odd questions."

Ominis didn’t expect his spirits to lift so fast, nor did he expect the smile on his face to return. He was grateful the impression outside the undercroft didn’t sour her towards him. He took her up on the offer as his appetite returned. “Still hungry?”

Leona stood up, and said with a smile of her own. “I am.”

“Come, I’ll show you how to sneak into the Hogwarts kitchens.”

#I know I did a bad thing and swapped POV right in the middle but I don’t care #its all just self indulgent nonsense at this point lmao #did you just come from the UNDERCROFT?!#hogwarts legacy #hogwarts legacy fanfiction #ominis gaunt #sebastian sallow #snek trio #hogwarts legacy fandom

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