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Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.
Deceptive Appearances
One of the central themes of Gone Girl is the idea that appearances can be deceiving. This is the case from minor characters—like Desi’s mother, who looks relaxed and luxurious but is actually somewhat unhinged—to the protagonists Nick and Amy Dunne. Both Amy and Nick also carefully craft facades that hide their true selves. We see this at several levels in the book. Nick’s appearance and his manner with others is intended to make everyone like and trust him. He looks like a charming, corn-fed Missouri hunk, but he’s actually far more concerned with being liked than being a good person. He wants to look charming and loving without actually having to be either of those things.
Both Amy and Nick manipulate the media to suit the image they want people to have of them. Amy literally creates a second version of herself in the first half of the novel, as the reader encounters the pretend “Diary Amy” with no context to understand the “Actual Amy” behind the made-up history. Amy’s diary is a document that records the life of a sweet woman with an abusive spouse, one who loves her husband and would do anything for him. But after Chapter 30, it becomes clear that “Diary Amy” is just one part of Amy’s master plan to hide who she really is. Amy also plays many parts in the different relationships she has throughout her life, shaping herself to be whatever she thinks the object of her affections wants. She leaves Nick because he stops being the person that she wants him to be, and as with her other partners, she punishes him for failing to keep up his own “act.” She also returns to him even though she knows he knows what she did, because she believes he now sees the real her. She wants him to see through her games and choose to play with her, and she won’t accept being married to a passive participant.
Toxic Masculinity
“Toxic masculinity” is a catchall term that refers to cultural norms associating masculinity with dominance and the suppression of traditionally “feminine” characteristics like sensitivity or displaying emotions openly. These norms discourage men from expressing vulnerability and encourage behaviors that objectify and dehumanize women. Nick Dunne embodies many aspects of toxic masculinity, especially the attitudes about women that he learns from his misogynistic father. He feels a lot of pressure to appear strong and successful and this pressure leads him to hide his imperfections, as he aims to be likable rather than genuine. Nick's infidelity and his detachment from Amy stem from his inability to communicate honestly and openly.
One of the foundational elements of toxic masculinity is the concept that men should be providers, and women should be nurturers. Because Amy has family money, Nick feels emasculated and resentful of her. His relationship with Andie revolves around a power dynamic that is much more like the one toxically masculine culture thinks of as ideal: a younger, submissive woman in awe of a dominant man. Desi Collings takes the idea more literally, believing that he can "rescue" Amy and shape her into his ideal partner. Even though she’s just gone through a traumatic experience, he’s more concerned with her being thin and blonde again than he is with her recovery from the alleged abuse. Desi's behavior suggests that he sees Amy as an object to be altered, not as a person with agency and feelings.
Amy's interactions with men throughout the novel also highlight the destructive impact of toxic masculinity. Her mother and father create a character who embodies the ideal little girl in the Amazing Amy novels. She is pretty, sensible, and does what she’s told. This pressure contributes to Amy's perfectionism and her intensely manipulative tendencies. She has had to pretend to be a perfect girl all her life, so in adulthood this transitions into playing the part of a “perfect woman.” Amy jadedly tells her reader that this character, the “Cool Girl,” is what every man wants. She believes that if she can play the part of the “Cool Girl,” she can avoid the pitfalls of a culture where men hold most of the power, but Nick’s infidelity proves otherwise, and her justifiable anger with him is driving force behind her plan to ruin his life.
Revenge
Revenge is the engine behind the majority of the action of Gone Girl, as it provides the impetus for the plot and shapes the characters' actions and motivations. Amy Dunne’s meticulously planned disappearance is just the opening act in an opera of revenge against Nick. By faking her death, Amy isn’t just punishing Nick for his infidelity. She’s punishing everyone close to her for “allowing” her life to veer off course. She’s also doing things at a very grand scale, making sure the vendetta she has against Nick does irreparable damage to him. Her plan is designed not only to punish Nick but to utterly destroy his life, ensuring he suffers publicly and privately. Amy’s detailed preparations to “die” involve a neurotically long set of interleaved steps, from planting false evidence and crafting a fake diary to seeking out a gun from a local drug dealer. Nick’s also not the first person she has done this to; as the police investigate him, Nick digs into the history of people whom Amy has said were obsessed with her, and finds that it’s yet another intricate set of lies. Amy has set up and manipulated multiple people who have “wronged” her, going to extreme lengths to make sure they are disproportionately punished.
Nick’s reaction to Amy’s disappearance also sparks the need for revenge in him. After she’s gone, he often thinks to himself that he wishes she would come back so that he could actually kill her. As he begins to understand the depth of Amy’s deception, he only gets more determined to expose her and reclaim his life. However, because Amy thinks of everything, she’s also factored his fury into her own revenge scheme. Nick constantly trying to find a way to expose her makes him far more interesting to her than the passive person he was before. He can hate her all he wants; in fact, she’d prefer it if he does, as long as he never ruins her fun.
