Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Gone Girl, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Secrets and Lies
Marriage
Misogyny
Writing, Storytelling, and Narrative
Summary
Analysis
Amy writes a diary entry from an anonymous motel off the highway in Pennsylvania. She and Nick are on their way to their “new adventure”—they are moving back to Nick’s hometown in Missouri. Nick’s mother, Maureen, is sick with stage four cancer, and will soon die. Nick insisted the two of them “do the right thing” and leave New York to care for his mom. Since he made the decision, Amy feels that Nick is treating her “like a problem that need[s] to be dealt with” or “an object to be jettisoned if necessary.” Amy thinks of last night—the night before they left—when her parents came over to say goodbye and Nick promised the crying pair that he’d take care of Amy. In spite of this promise, Amy feels afraid—like she could “disappear” at any time.
Amy is, it seems, drawing off emotional truth to lay the groundwork for a much more sinister narrative. Leaving for Missouri, she feels like she’s playing second fiddle to Nick’s familial obligations—like she’s only standing in his way. She uses the truth of this feeling as fuel for a diary entry which suggests that Nick wanted to get rid of his wife and make her “disappear.”
Themes
