American Psycho

American Psycho

by

Bret Easton Ellis

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American Psycho: Girls Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Bateman is out to dinner with Courtney, who’s wasted again. She’s talking to him but he isn’t paying much attention. When the dinner ends, Bateman pays with his platinum American Express card and the two hop in a limousine and head to meet others at Nell’s for drinks. Before they get there, Bateman tells Courtney he’s going to drop her off so he can go score some drugs. After some arguing – she doesn’t know why he has to go elsewhere or who he’s going to get drugs from – Bateman drops her off and tells the driver to head down to the meat-packing district.
Bateman’s relationship with Courtney is as empty and shallow as his relationship with Evelyn. Even a fancy dinner and a ride to their favorite bar in a limousine aren’t interesting enough for the two, so Bateman gets a craving for drugs… or so he says. He’ll never come back to meet up with Courtney, and we never learn what happened the rest of her night once she realizes she’s being sent off to the meat-packing district for no reason. From what we’ve seen before, this likely isn’t an uncommon occurrence.
Themes
Materialism and Consumption Theme Icon
Monotony and Desensitization Theme Icon
Bateman spots an attractive young girl walking the street and instructs the driver to pull alongside her. He details her clothing and her very attractive body, imagining that she could just be another NYU girl walking home from a night out. Bateman finally talks to her, inviting her to his apartment. She says she isn’t supposed to, but after he gives her some money, she agrees. He’s told her that he doesn’t want to know her name and is just going to call her “Christie.”
Bateman, bored by his lavish date with Courtney, has ditched her to go pick up a prostitute. He uses his money to persuade her to come to his apartment, even though she isn’t allowed; Bateman knows his money can get him anything. By not asking the girl her name, Bateman further objectifies and dehumanizes her. Clearly, this is preparation for what is to come.
Themes
Materialism and Consumption Theme Icon
Identity and Isolation Theme Icon
Vice and Violence Theme Icon
The Truth Theme Icon
Back at Bateman’s apartment, “Christie” takes a bath while Bateman calls to order a second prostitute – a blonde. While they wait, he gives “Christie” wine and instructs her to bend over in the bath so he can clean her vagina. He carefully does so, playing with and arousing her. They’re interrupted by the arrival of the second girl, Sabrina, who isn’t blonde. Bateman brings the two women into the living room, the “Les Misérables” album playing, and asks them if they want to know what he does for a living. They don’t. He offers the girls truffles and expensive chardonnay, which they aren’t quick to drink, and keeps trying to make small talk between the three of them, asking if they’ve been abroad or if they went to college.
This is the first time Bateman tells the reader the full details of the sex he has with prostitutes. At first he treats them very well, pampering “Christie” and showing off his luxurious lifestyle. His sex in the bathtub with “Christie” is gentle and pleasurable, but the reader can see how he keeps himself in complete control the entire time, dominating the encounter. The women are uninterested in small talk; this is as much a transaction for them as it if for Bateman. Again, Les Misérables highlights a distinction of class and the contrast between Bateman and these women.
Themes
Materialism and Consumption Theme Icon
Vice and Violence Theme Icon
The three of them end up on the couch, beginning to have sex. Bateman orders “Christie” and Sabrina around, instructing them to go down on each other and stimulate one another to climax. He then instructs them to begin paying attention to him, and they do so, as he moves them around on his body however he likes. This scene goes on for quite a while, with Bateman describing in very intimate detail the activities and multiple climaxes of their sex. A while later, he awakens, with one girl on each side of him. He smokes a cigar and tells them to be careful of his watch before telling them they’re “not through yet…” Bateman then jumps the reader ahead, describing only how the girls will later leave his apartment, battered and bruised, “sobbing, bleeding, but well paid.”
During sex, Bateman is very controlling. This starts in a non-violent manner, with him very specifically instructing the women on what to do – to him, to each other. He treats them almost as if they’re dolls to be positioned to play out his fantasy. Though the first round of sex is pleasurable, the second round leaves the women incredibly hurt and distraught. Bateman does not describe what happens, but it’s clear his controlling and dominating nature has turned violent. In this first encounter, the reader can see the clear distinction between the sexual part of the evening and the violent part of the evening – these two aspects of Bateman’s life will soon start to blur together, however..
Themes
Vice and Violence Theme Icon
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