Feminist Critique to Patriarchal Society Through the Characters in Gillian Fylnn's Gone Girl

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FEMINIST CRITIQUE TO PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY THROUGH THE CHARACTERS IN GILLIAN FYLNN’S GONE GIRL

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

DIKSITA GITA ANINDITA Student Number: 144214031

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2018 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

Say it to yourself whenever you are in a hard time:

‘THIS TOO,

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ABSTRACT

ANINDITA, DIKSITA GITA. (2018). Feminist Critique to Patriarchal Society through the Characters in Gillian Fylnn’s Gone Girl. Yogyakarta: Department of English Lettes, Faculty of Letters, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Patriarchal society has parameters on how men and women should be. Those parameters affect the society on how they act in the daily life and also on how they judge the other people. Gillian Flynn sees this as a flaw of patriarchy. Thus, she tries to critique the stereotypes through one of her work, Gone Girl. This novel is about a woman who tries to frame her husband in a case of murder because she finds out that her husband is cheating behind her back. There are three objectives in this study. First is to analyze the character and characterization of the characters. Second is to analyze the conflicts that exist in the novel. Last is to find the author’s critique to patriarchal society’s parameter of men and women through the characters. In accomplishing those three objectives, the researcher used library research to collect the primary and secondary data. Then the researcher conducted close reading on the novel. For the analysis, the researcher used the theory of character and characterization in introducing the characterization of each character, the theory of conflict in finding the conflict that exist in the novel and the theory of patriarchy and feminism in discovering the critique to the patriarchal society given by the author. There are three findings in this study. The first one gives the description of each character in the novel. There are five characters that give more contribution in delivering the thought of the author about patriarchal society. While Amy is described as perfectionist, smart, competitive and dominant, Nick is described as cynic, coward, and ignorant. Amy’s contrast, Margo, is strong and not-so-feminine. These characterizations contributes to the conflict analysis. The second one reveals the conflict that existed in the novel. The analysis of conflicts consists of Amy and Nick, Amy and Society, Amy and Margo, Nick and Margo, and the last is Nick and Society. The result of the second findings shows the patriarchal society’s thought about gender role in patriarchal. It portrays the image on how gender is perceived by them. The third findings reveal the author’s critique to the stereotypes given by patriarchal society. The critiques are composed by the stereotype of women in marriage and women in society.

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ABSTRAK

ANINDITA, DIKSITA GITA. (2018). Feminist Critique to Patriarchal Society through the Characters in Gillian Fylnn’s Gone Girl. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Masyarakat patriaki memiliki gambaran tentang bagaimana sebaiknya lelaki dan wanita berperilaku. Gambaran yang diberikan mempengaruhi bagaimana perilaku masyarakat dalam kehidupan sehari-hari dan bagaimana mereka menilai orang lain. Menurut Gillian Flynn, hal ini adalah sebuah kekurangan dari masyarakat patriarki. Lalu dia mencoba untuk memberikan kritik terhadap pandangan itu lewat sebuah bukunya yang berjudul Gone Girl. Buku ini berkisah tentang seorang wanita yang mencoba untuk menjebak suaminya dalam sebuah kisah pembunuhan karena dia mendapati suaminta berselingkuh dibelakangnya. Penelitian ini memiliki tiga tujuan. Pertama adalah untuk meneliti penokohan dalam buku. Kedua adalah untuk meneliti konflik.Yang terakhir adalah untuk meneliti kritik yang diberikan penulis buku terhadap gambaran tentang lelaki dan wanita yang diberikan masyarakat patriaki. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan dengan metoded kepustakaan dalam pengumpulan data utama dan data pendukung. Lalu, peneliti membaca secara mendalam pada novel. Peneliti menggunakan teori penokohan dalam meneliti tokoh-tokoh yang ada dalam buku, teori konflik dalam mencari pertikaian yang terjadi dalam buku, dan teori tentang feminis dan patriaki dalam mengungkapkan kritiki yang diberikan oleh pengarang buku tersebut. Terdapat tiga penemuan dalam penelitian ini.Yang pertama adalah penjabaran dari setiap penokohan yang ada di buku. Terdapat lima penokohan yang memiliki peran lebih memberikan gambaran tentang pemikiran masyarakat patriaki. Amy digambarkan sebagai seorang wanita yang sempurna, cerdas, kempetitif dan dominan, Sedangkan Nick dijelaskan sebagai lelaki yang suka mengingkari sesuatu, pengecut dan tak acuh. Sebagai pembanding Amy, Margo digambarkan sebagai wanita yang kuat namun tidak memiliki penampilan atau sifat kewanitaan. Penokohan ini memiliki peran dalam analisis konflik antar tokoh yang ada dalam novel. Terdapat beberapa hal yang ada dalam analisis konflik, yaitu konflik antara Amy dengan Nick, Amy dengan Masyarakat, Amy dengan Margo, Nick dengan Margo, dan Nick dengan masyarakat. Hasil dari penemuan kedua menunjukkan tentang gambaran yang dimiliki masyarakat patriaki tentang gender. Penemuan ketiga adalah tentang kritik yang diberikan penulis buku terhadap masyarakat patriaki. Analisis kritik dibagi menjadi dua bagian yaitu stereotype tentang wanita dalam pernikahan dan wanita dalam masyarakat.

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter deals with background of the study, problem formulations, objectives of the study and definition of terms. Background of the study treats the reason why the researcher chooses the book and the theory for the research. Then, problem formulation is about the problem question that the researcher found for this study. Next is the objectives of the study. It deals with the aim of the study.

The last is the definition of terms. It is concerned with the definition for some terms to limit the various perceptions of the terms that used in this research.

A. Background of the Study

Women are generally perceived as the weak creature and men are the strongest above all. This is one of the reasons why women mostly get bad treatment from their surroundings; for example, there were no jobs suitable for women before the agricultural and industrial revolution (Freeman, 1984, p.520).

The status quo is progressing, but seemingly it is still hard for women to get a higher education, a good job, a great career or even anything they want to have.

The women’s condition is even worse in the patriarchal society; women have less bargaining power than men. They often do not have the same right to the men because patriarchal society has belief in male dominancy. Maggie Humm gives statement about patriarchal beliefs of man and woman;

In any of the historical forms that patriarchal society takes, whether it is feudal, capitalist, or socialist, a sex-gender system and a system of economic discrimination operate simultaneously. Patriarchy has power from men’s greater access to, and mediation of, the resources and

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rewards of authority structures inside and outside the home (1990, p.159).

Humm believes that women have less power in the patriarchal society because of men’s supremacy. Men are seen to be above anything. In this case, patriarchal society takes a part in spreading the narrative of women on how they should be and act. They say that women have to listen to men all the time and obey them no matter what because they have lower level in the society’s strata.

Women are objectified and downgraded in the society’s eyes. Patriarchal society feeds the mindset of society to male domination and gives privilege to men.

Feminism believes that patriarchal society is a social system which damages the image of women. Patriarchal society believes that women are always to be the inferior side. Women’s power and status are under those of men. They have less power, less chance, or even less right compared to men. Under the pressure of the men’s power and control, the struggle of women in speaking up about what they want and they feel is real.

Patriarchal society makes such parameter of what is considered as a good woman or good wife. If they do not fit to the points of those parameters, they will not be a good woman in the society’s eyes. Those parameters develop in the society and it creates a mindset. One of the examples is a stereotype that women should take care all of domestic works instead of having a job or education. The status quo is progressing but there are still many other people who believe in this stereotype. Those people say that women do not deserve higher education because at the end they will only be in the kitchen. People think that giving a chance for PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

women to get higher education is a form of wasting money and time. They believe that women should be in the house and take care of the domestic works, and thus they should not go for education. This stereotype makes parents hesitate to send their daughter to school. They think that it is useless to pay for their daughter’s tuition because in the end they will end up in doing the house works. Based on the experience of the researcher’s surrounding, many people think that women should not go for higher education.

Some people who call temselves as feminists see that this phenomenon is not right and they have to do something toward it. Thus, they make a campaign with a purpose to make people realize that it is bad for society to treat women in such ways. The campaign to fight for women equality started in 1960s. They demanded changes that women would get better treatment in the society. They want equality in all circumstances. Feminists believe that society has already a mindset that men are superior to women. Most of feminists believe that women get different treatments compared to men. Society perceives women as powerless and miserable one. Thus, the purpose of feminist’s movement is to erase all women stereotypes and get what women should get. It cannot be denied that stereotypes cannot be erased. They want men and women to have the same treatment and freedom to pursue their passion. Freeman argues that;

There is a peculiar affinity between the fate of women and the origin of social science, and it is mere coincidence that the emancipation of women should have started at the same time as the birth of sociology. Both are the result of a break in the established social order and of a radical change in the structure of the society (1984, p.526). PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

Some writers have put feminism in their works since feminist started the movement. The writing works helps in spreading the value of feminism. It helps women to be braver in pursuing what they want and their rights. It will make people more aware toward the issue. One of the related works that deals with the feminism issue is Gone Girl novel by Gillian Flynn.

Flynn’s Gone Girl is about a wife named Amy who is a cool-nice-dream wife look-alike but an evil inside. She is the key maker in the book who gets a lot of spotlight. She looks fine and perfect in the outside. No one can believe that she does bad things because she is a woman and she has the image of the good wife.

She does a manipulation to trap her husband in a murder story. She is cruel instead. She makes up a story in which she disappears and the one that should be responsible for it is her husband, Nick Dunne. In the middle of the story, we learn that Amy also has done bad things like murdering somebody to make her ‘story’ perfect. Until the end of the story, the truth that she is the one who has done the murder and all the manipulation is not revealed. She makes the story so well detailed. Everyone believes her and assumes that the one who is responsible for all things that happen is Desi Collins, Amy’s admirer who was killed by her.

In the Gone Girl, Flynn tries to break down the portrayal of women.

There are some parameters on how women should be which is characterized in the novel, such as women, as a wife, should obey her husband no matter what. There are also some statements on the images of women that exist in the society, that is, women are weak, stupid and such. On the other hand, Flynn provides the images of women which are not considered as good women based on patriarchy’s belief. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

Somehow, that narrative about women makes Amy wear her mask. She wants to have all of those images of perfection, so people will see her as someone to be adored and admired. She is obsessed in being perfect. She wants to be that perfect girl who fulfills all the criteria in the parameter of good women. As the result, she tries to make a justification to all of her actions and behaviors even if it hurts her and others. She thinks that as long as she can be that perfect girl, it is fine to do bad things.

This literary work is chosen because it portrays the image on how patriarchal society treats women. Flynn also provides some values in this novel as a critique to the patriarchal society on how they perceive women in the social life.

Patriarchal society has a relation with feminism because the thing that the feminist fights for is the value that the patriarchal society upholds. As mentioned above, patriarchy believes in men-domination. Thus, they set a parameter on how women should be based on what they believe is right. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn shows us the critique of the author to the patriarchal’s narratives. Flynn provides the women character with all of their complexities. By using feminism, the researcher tries to find the value that the author upholds and the belief that the society believes. The researcher analyzes how the novel can be called as a critique to the patriarchal society.

B. Problem Formulation

1. What are the characteristics of the major characters in Flynn’s Gone Girl?

2. What are the major conflicts that exist in the novel? PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

3. In what ways does the work reflect feminist value as the critique toward

patriarchal society?

C. Objectives of the Study

Based upon the three problem formulations in this paper, this study sets up three objectives. First, this study intends to examine how the major character is described in the story. The first point of objectives uses theory of character and characterization in doing the analysis. The second objective is to find out which major conflicts that exist in the novel. The theory of conflict is used in finding out the conflict which occurs in the novel. The last objective is to examine and identify the value of feminism through the main character as the critique toward the stereotypes. The examination can be done under the theory of patriarchy and feminism.

D. Definition of Terms

In order to avoid misunderstanding on certain terms, the researcher defines certain terms in this study as follows.

First term is Feminism. Maggie Humm argues that “feminism is the ideology of women’s liberation since intrinsic in all its approaches is the belief of women suffers injustice because of our sex” (1995, p.94). There are some types of feminism criticism in analyzing a work based on the causes, or agents.

Then, the second term is Patriarchal Ideology. Andrew Heywood says that, “Patriarchal ideas blur the distinction between sex and gender and assume that all socio-economic and political distinction between men and women are rooted in biology and anatomy.” (1998, p.248). PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

The last term is Stereotypes. According to Maggie Humm, stereotype is the preconceived idea about something. It can be about certain individuals, groups or objects (1995, p.277). These stereotypes can be found anywhere such as school settings, literatures, language styles and many more.

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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter is composed of review on related studies and theories, interview with the author and theoretical framework. In the first part which is the review on the related studies deals with the two studies which written by undergraduate student. Then in the review on related theories, it treats the review of some theories that used in the analysis such as the theory of character and characterization, theory of feminism, theory of patriarchal ideology to feminism, and theory of stereotype.

A. Review on Related Studies

The researcher has not found any studies that used the same novel. Thus, the researcher decides to review two related studies namely “Feminist Struggle

Towards Patriarchal Society as Seen Through Joan’s Struggles in Dreyer’s

Screenplay The Passion of Joan of Arc” and “Gender Stereotype as Experienced by Eva in Tillie Olsen’s Short Story “Tell me a Riddle”, which are written by undergraduate students.

The first related study is “Feminist Struggle Towards Patriarchal Society as Seen Through Joan’s Struggles in Dreyer’s Screenplay The Passion of Joan of

Arc” by Maria Tri Wahyuni in 2017. The aim of this study is to show the struggle of the main character, Joan, in fighting for her right. She is bound by the custom and the tradition. As an ambitious person, she has difficulty in achieving her

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wants (Wahyuni, 2017). This related study analyses on how patriarchal society in

France perceives women and on how Joan fights against the patriarchal society.

She lives in the society that already has values and expectations toward women.

The similarity between Wahyuni’s study and this study is on how the society where the main character lives thinks about women. In both studies, the society has their thought on how women should be and how the society gives effect over women in their life. The society around the female characters distributes to the inferiority in the women by creating parameters and narratives on how they should be and what they should do. Joan is described as a woman who stands for herself if she thinks that the society’s tradition is creating something not good to her as a woman.

What the old women told Joan motivated her to keep fighting for what she believes. When the king who did polygamy suggested Joan to be one of their concubines, she refuses and against the custom. This made her more powerful that the other than the other women in palace (Wahyuni, 2007, p.27).

The differentiations can be seen in the way the main character reacts to the society’s mindset. This study is similar to the first related study that the main character tries to fight for their right. They do anything to break the rules and the parameters, thus in the end they can be considered equal the men. Those two studies show on the struggle of women in fighting for what they want. The researcher’s study shows the reaction from the main character who tries to fight for her rights. The researcher’s study shows on the effect of patriarchy’s mindset to women in a different way with both related studies. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

The second related study is “Gender Stereotype as Experienced by Eva in

Tillie Olsen’s Short Story Tell me a Riddle” by Iman Juniarto in 2017. This related study is aimed at finding out the reaction of the main female character in facing the stereotype given by society in that time.

The similarity between this research and this related study is both works have an interesting point in stereotyping given by society. In this related study, the researcher tries to analyze the main female character in facing the problem about the society’s demand on how women should be after marriage.

In the story, Eva becomes a housewife and she falls into the gender stereotyping on how women expected to be after she gets marriage. The story tells us about Eva’s struggle to deal with the stereotypes as a woman in the society (Juniarto, 2017, p.19).

This related study is different from the study in a point. The related study deals with the struggle of women in facing society stereotypes about women after marriage. The thesis above helps the researcher to understand more about stereotyping and patriarchal society. Meanwhile, this study tries to analyze the stereotype about woman in general. This study analyzes on how the author of the work tries to criticize the stereotypes given by patriarchal society about women in general.

B. Review of Related Theories

1. Theory of Character and Characterization

According to M.H Abrams, a character is the person in narratives or drama and is seen as someone who has morality and temperament to the readers or viewers and it is expressed through the dialogue of the work (2012, p.46). PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

In the other side, Harmon and Holman argue that character is the presence of creatures in art that seem to be human being. They say that character is also a descriptive sketch of a personate that embodies some definite quality. A character does not need to be a human type, but it can be anyone or anything that depend on how the reader expects it.

The person is described not as an individualized personality but as an example of some vice or virtue or type, such as busybody, a glutton, a fop, a bumpkin, a garrulous old man, or a happy milkmaid. Similar treatments of institutions and inanimate things, such as “the character of a coffee house,” also employed the term, and late in the seventeenth century, by a natural extension of the tradition, character was applied to longer compositions, sometimes historical, as Lord Halifax’s Character of Charles II (2009, p.95)

Milligan (1983, p.155) classify characters into two types which are major and minor character. A major character is an important character that being the center of the story. It is the most important character in the novel because it plays a big role in the story. As contrary, a minor character plays less important in the story. It is exist to support the major character or a foil in the novel.

Murphy mentions that there are nine ways in characterization in literary works (1972, pp.161-173). Those nine ways in characterization are elaborated below: a. Personal Description

Personal description refers to the physical appearance of the character itself. It describes on how the character looks like. The author provides a description on how it provides detailed image about the characters.

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b. Character as Seen by Others

The characterization of each character can be seen through the other character’s description. It means that the characterization or the description of the character is done based on the other characters’ opinions on how they see that character in the story. c. Speech

The reader can identify the characterization of the character through the

speech of that character. The way the characters talk can imply their

personalities. d. Past Life

The author can give a clue on what is the personality or the characterization of a character in a novel through the characters’ past life. The author can mention the past life of the character, so in the end the reader can conclude and take a point in what is the characterization of that character. e. Conversation of Others

The interactions or the conversation among the characters can show the characterization to the reader. f. Reactions

The clue of the characterization can be given by seeing the reaction of every moment the character faces. The characterization can be identify by seeing how the characters react to certain condition or moment happening to them.

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g. Direct Comments

The authors can also directly give comment or opinion toward a character to show his or her characterization in the novel. They can simply state and describe what they think about that character. h. Thoughts

In this point, the author gives direct knowledge on how the human thought is running. The reader can know the characterization of a character by seeing the way the character thinks about something. i. Mannerisms

In mannerisms, the author describes the habits of the character. The author shows the reader the characterization of the character through the way the characters do their things in their daily life and things that the character usually do.

2. Theory of Conflict

The theory of conflict is used to get a better understanding on the clash characterization between the characters. There is various theory of conflict that exists in literary works. Most of them argue that conflict provides the interest, tension or suspense. It provides the direct clash that happened in the novel, for example when the A character has a different idea with the B character, and they end up in a fight because of that difference. Harmon and Holman say that conflict is the struggle which is appeared in the two opposing focus in the plot (1986:107).

The researcher uses the theory which coming from Elgin F. Hunt. He says that conflict is not necessarily about the direct interaction between characters PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

such as fight, war, riot or other form of aggregation. It is not always about hatred and distrust. Conflict itself can come from the different opinion, perspective or opposite argumentation about certain topic (1955, p.32). It means that conflict is not always in bad forms, but also can be a clash of certain value even it doesn’t have direct relation between both of the parties.

3. Feminism

Anderson states that maybe women should not be like men, but women are equally valuable with men based on what they are going through. Feminism is a belief that men and women have the same right.

A gender stereotype can be defined as a standardized and often pejorative idea or image held about an individual on the basis of their gender. At general level, the effects of stereotyping can mean that, rather than treating people as individuals, we treat them instead as artificial persons, which mean as an extension of the category we have constructed (1997, p. 8).

Society has their parameter of the gender roles and characteristics. They creates stereotypes that provides what value that men and women should follow in order to be recognized as a good people and can be accepted easily in the society.

These narratives of the gender roles degrade women value and take away their rights, for example, women should not get higher degree or no men will be attracted to them. The narratives say that it is useless for women to study and go to college because they have to do house chores and take care of the children at home. It seems like that the status quo is progressing. It can be seen by the fact that nowadays women can get their education easier than women in the past, but there are still a lot of people in patriarchal society who think that women should PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

not have higher education than men. Feminists see that this is not fair and they try to help women to get out from the inequality including the narrative of women.

Stereotype is generalization or assumption of a group of people based on what they like or what they see as a good thing, for example, the ideal women are those who have long hair, feminine taste of fashion and so on. As society sees that women with long hair are good, they create a narrative that good women should have long hair. If they do not have that characteristic, then they are not good. It is easier for the society to judge women based on the stereotypes that they create.

With these points of mind, a gender stereotype can be defined as a standardized and often pejorative idea or image held about individual on the basis of their gender. At a general level, the effects of stereotyping can be mean that, rather than treating people as individuals, ‘we treat them instead as artificial persons (Philcher&Whelehan, 2004, p.159).

4. Patriarchy Ideology to Feminism

Abrams argues that patriarchy is a system that put the male on the top.

He says that patriarchy believes in male-domination which oppresses women through its social, political and economic institutions. Patriarchy has a power from men’s greater power in the society structure (2012, p.200).

Peter Barry says that the cultural ‘mind-set’ in men and women creates feminism.

Thus, in feminist criticism in the 1970s the major effort went into exposing what might be called the mechanisms of patriarchy, that is, the cultural 'mind-set' in men and women which perpetuated sexual inequality (2002, p.85).

Patriarchal society has the same thought on how men have more power than women. They still live in that mindset and stereotype. Patriarchal society believes in PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

men supremacy. They believe that man is above the woman in every aspect, thus, woman should do things that man considers as something good.

Lois Tyson says that Victorian patriarchal promoted the “cult of ‘true women hood,’” which idealized what it called “true women,” a concept that still influences patriarchal thinking today (2011, p.143). These concepts and stereotypes grow until nowadays. It says on how women should do and should not do. The concept says that women are defined as fragile, submissive and sexually pure (2011, p.144). It also states that in patriarchy, men hold all or most of the power in the society. Patriarchal society believes that anyone who violates what they believe in the traditional gender role is immoral, unhealthy, unethical and uncommon in a way (2011, p. 141-142).

5. Theory of Stereotypes

Philcer and Whelehan say that stereotype is defined as a method of understanding by classifying individual people into a group of chategory. It generalizes values to group of people. Stereotype does not only contain an individual’s mind but a collective group’s mind. A statement can be considered as a stereotype when it comes from the collective group’s mind (2004, p.166).

Stereotype is being a parameter for society to judge an individual.

Philcer and Whelehan also state that there are three ways of contributing the value of stereotyping. The stereotype can be developed in the family, media and educating system.

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a. Stereotyping in Families

Family is the basic education tool. The adults in the family give us understanding on what is bad and what is good, on what is appropriate to do and what is inappropriate to be done. They have a prominent role in shaping the kids’ mind especially about the gender role. The kids will know whether they are girls or boys because of the gender narratives which are given by the adults in the family.

Research within the field of gender studies has examined the presence of gender stercotyping in key agencies olsocialisation, such as families, the education system and the media. For example, it is through the application of 'sex role' stereotypes by adults, especially parents, that infants and children learn what is deemed appropriate or inappropriate behaviour for their sex (2004, p.167). b. Stereotyping in Media

In media stereotyping, women are perceived as sexual object and housewife. As a housewife, they have to do all the domestic works, meanwhile the men are the ones who work for the family need.

Resecarch on gender stereotyping in the media also suggests that femininity is a routine associated with domesticity and sexuality. Ina classic study, Tuchman 1981, examined media depiction of American women from 1950s onwards. Her findings were that women were stereotyped either as sexual object or, housewives, or in jobs which were reflection of their domestic/caring role (2004, p.167). c. Stereotyping in Educating System

Based on the society’s mindset, women are usually calmer and more discipline when compared to men. Thus, the teacher usually pays attention more to the boys in the classroom because they are more active and hard to be cared of. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

In a study of secondary schools, Riddell (1992) found that teachers stereotyped girls as mature, neat and conscientious while boys were seen as aggressive and lacking in discipline. As a consequence, teachers devoted more attention to boys as a strategy of maintaining order in the classroom (2004, p.167).

C. Interview with the Author

Though this research does not use biographical approach, the researcher is aware about the message that the author wants to say through the novel. Flynn has already written some works before Gone Girl. She has a characteristic that she likes to create “unusual” female characters in her novels. In literary works, a woman is usually seen either as an angel or an evil. There is no between in the image of women. Thus, Flynn tries to create the female character in her novel as

‘rebellion’.

Flynn believes that women should not be those as portrayed in the society nowadays who are so calm, feminine, kind, sensitive and many more. In one of an interview, Flynn stated that she does not agree with the ‘good’ portrayal of women in patriarchal society.

Is it really only girl power, and you-go-girl, and empower yourself, and be the best you can be? For me, it's also the ability to have women who are bad characters … the one thing that really frustrates me is this idea that women are innately good, innately nurturing. In literature, they can be dismissably bad – trampy, vampy, bitchy types – but there's still a big pushback against the idea that women can be just pragmatically evil, bad and selfish (Flynn, 2013, para. 9).

Based on the quotation above, it can be concluded that Flynn has a purpose in creating the character in that way it portrays in the novel. She wants to eradicate the perception of the ‘always good’ female character. This information PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

is put in mind when she analyzes the novel. Thus, the researcher has a guide and has more understanding in analyzing the novel.

D. Theoretical Framework

This study analyzes the feminism critique to the patriarchal ideology about women. There are three problem formulations in this study. The researcher uses some theories in analyzing the work. The first problem formulation uses the theory of character and characterization in analyzing the characterization of each character. In this part, the researcher provides the detailed characterization of each character in the novel.

The second problem formulation is answered by using the theory of conflict. In this second problem formulation, the conflict existing in the novel is analyzed to get the portrayal of women.

The third problem formulation uses the theory of patriarchy and feminism in finding the author’s critique to image of women based on patriarchal society’s portrayal. The theory of feminism and patriarchy helps the researcher find the points of feminism in breaking down the women narratives given by the patriarchal society. In this part, the researcher also tries to analyze the problem under the theory of stereotype. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

In chapter three, it is concerned with explanation of the object of the study, the approach of the study, and the method of the study. The object of the study is about the background and review of the novel, Gone Girl by Gillian

Flynn. And then, in the approach of the study, it deals with the explanation of the approach that used in this research. Last, the method of the study is concerned with the method that the researcher uses to conduct the research.

A. Object of the Study

The object of this study is Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, an American

Author. The novel was first published in 2012 and highly appreciated as Best

Mystery and Thriller in Good Reads Choice Award. It consists of 432 pages.

Flynn categorized herself as a feminist. In one of her interviews, she said that she believed that feminism allows women character to be bad. Women should not look after the parameters and it is not a problem if they are portrayed in the way other than those parameters. Thus, in some of her books, she writes that the women’s character is of “unusual” characteristic.

This book is about a guy named Nick who one day finds out that his wife, Amy, is missing in their fifth anniversary. He finds that his house is left unlocked and it is suspicious because he knows that his wife is not that kind of clumsy woman. He tries anything to find a clue of his wife’s disappearing. He

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finds a diary and a clue of a treasure hunt. Amy likes to make a treasure hunt in her anniversary with Nick. Every year, she gives him clue on where she puts the present for him and Nick always fails to figure out the answer.

The answers to Amy’s missing case are detected one by one. The diary seems so helpful in finding the truth. Through the story, Nick’s sister finds out that her twin brother is having an affair with his student. He is cheating on his wife. He feels that he does not love his wife anymore and his mistress, Andie, comes into his life in the right time when he is so messed-up.

In the half-end of the story, Nick finds out that the diary is just a fiction story to frame him in a story that he murders his own wife. The diary is done purposively to entrap Nick. She knows about his affair and she plans to make revenge to him. The story is well-made and it can influence whoever read the diary to believe that Nick is the killer of Amy.

Amy is not dead. She is alive. She is just escaping to another town. When she is robbed by a ‘new-friend’ of hers, she can do nothing but goes to Desi’s place, asking for help. She says to Desi that Nick abuses her. Amy is Desi’s first crush. Thus he believes in Amy. Few days after, Amy feels uncomfortable because Desi likes to dictate and control her. He is over protective. Meanwhile,

Amy is not a kind of woman who can be controlled. She prefers herself to control others. One day she traps Desi and kills him. After that, she is back to Nick. She says that the one who is responsible for all of this is her ex, Desi. She says to the media that Desi kidnaps her and tries to seduce her. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

After killing Desi, Amy comes back to Nick and tells everyone that Desi is the suspect. She tries to convince Nick to be back with her despite all the fact that she frames him in a murder story. At first, Nick refuses it. He is afraid of her that maybe one day she will kill him. He wants a divorce. Amy does not want a divorce. She keeps convince him to be back and start all over again. At the end,

Nick agrees and they go back together. They try to built a new life together.

The characterization of each character represents the thoughts of patriarchal society. Amy plays in patriarchy’s sentiment about women. She manipulates men power and their masculinity over women to frame his husband.

She makes the story well-detailed.

B. Approach of the Study

The analysis of the novel uses the feminism criticism theory. Feminist criticism believes that women and men are equal. Thus, the stereotypes should not be the exact parameters on how an individual should be. They believe that every people have their own right to do everything that they want as long as it is not against the laws. Freeman says that the feminist perspective starts from the premise that men and women are equal and they share the same capability as human (Freeman, 1984, p.553). Feminist tries to break down all stereotypes of women. Feminism literary approach highlights the gender problem. For example is the thought on how women should behave and how society construct creates such effect to women in daily life. In the other hand, Maggie Humm states that feminist criticism helps to deconstruct the image of gender in patriarchy as it is represented in society nowadays (Humm, 1995, p.153). PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

Lois Tyson (2011) says that Victorian patriarchal promoted the “cult of

‘true women hood,’” which idealized what it is called as “true women,” a concept that still influences patriarchal thinking today. Thus there are parameters on ideal women and how women should be.

The researcher uses the theory of patriarchal side to see on how patriarchal society sees women are. The theory of patriarchal society to feminism is used to see the relation of the image of true women and the parameter of ideal women as the consequences from the patriarchal stereotype of women.

C. Method of the Study

The researcher used desk research method in analyzing Flynn’s work.

The researcher also uses library research to find the related written works. Gone

Girl by Gillian Flynn is the main written work which is used as the source of the analysis. In analyzing the novel, the author also uses the secondary written sources such as “Feminist Struggle Towards Patriarchal Society as Seen through

Joan’s Struggles in Dreyer’s Screenplay The Passion of Joan of Arc” and “Gender

Stereotype as Experienced by Eva in Tillie Olsen’s Short Story “Tell me a

Riddle””. The researcher also uses written book to find the theories that related to the study such as Peter Barry’s book Beginning Theory: An Introduction to

Literary and Cultural Theory (second edition) to provide the theory and some other written resources. The data are obtained from books and other written resources that are related with the study of the work.

The research is conducted in several steps. The first step was choosing the theory that suitable with the work. After choosing the novel and the topic, the PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

researcher was finding the relevant theory by doing library research. By doing library research, the researcher had found several theories which are the theory of character and characterization, the theory of analysis conflict, the theory of feminist, patriarchal ideology to feminist and the theory of stereotypes. The next step was deeply reading through the novel. After having deep reading to the novel, the researcher was formulating the problem formulation and making points of the highlighted issues related to the topic. In this step, the researcher established three problem formulations. Then the last step covered answering the three problem formulations and analyzing the novel using the theory that had already provided and chosen. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

This chapter falls into three parts of analysis. The first part of the analysis portrays the description of each major character in the novel. The theory of the character and characterization is used in answering the first problem formulation.

The second part provides the analysis of the conflicts between characters in the novel. The theory of conflict is used to help the understanding of conflict in the novel. The conflict is not necessarily a case but also the possibility of the opposite values that the characters have. The third part is the author’s criticism toward the traditional gender roles and stereotypes. The theory of feminism approach is used in analyzing the story.

A. Character and Characterization

Five major characters in the novel are of great has significance in relation to the topic namely the gender stereotype. The analysis in this section is done under the theory of character and characterization.

1. Amy a. Perfectionistic

Amy is one of the major characters in the novel. She describes herself as a writer like her parent. She mostly writes about quizzes in magazines. Amy has an obsession to be perfect. Based on the novel, Amy is described as a perfectionist girl. Her perfectionist personality can be seen in the way she thinks about something and sees her surroundings. She likes when everything is going well as she has planned and has to be like what she planned. She wants to be the best. She

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feels like she is the real figure of a character in a book, The Amazing Amy. She had grown up as a product of a character from her parent’s book. Amy’s parents are writers and they make a children’s book about a journey of a perfect little girl who has the same name as hers, Amy.

The Amazing Amy is described as a girl who has a perfect life. She always does something right and even amazing. She is the type of girl who will attract any guys. Amy’s parent is inspired by Amy and their own marriage in making the story of The Amazing Amy (p.47). Her parents do not allow her to read the book too often because they are afraid that Amy will take it personally. She refuses to listen to her parents and still read it.

And yet I can’t fail to notice that whenever I screw something up, Amy does it right: When I finally quit violin at age twelve, Amy was revealed as a prodigy in the next book. (‘Sheesh, violin can be hard work, but hard work is the only way to get better!’) ( p.30).

The image of the Amazing Amy is her idol. It can be seen in the way the other characters see her. As presented in the novel, in the end Amy is addicted to the image of the Amazing Amy from the book. She thinks that she is the real figure of the Amazing Amy since her parents get inspired by her. Thus, she needs to be like The Amazing Amy to impress the men, creating jealousy to the women. She wants to be like the Amazing Amy and she feels like that she has to be the

Amazing Amy. As a result, she pretends and tries to be the perfect girl as the image of the Amazing Amy is shown in the book. She learns how to cook, how to fly a plane, or even how to speak in different languages. Amy is successful, charming and of course – amazing. As a woman, she meets every man’s desire.

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Of course Amy can cook French cuisine and speak fluent Spanish and garden and knit and run marathons and day-trade-stocks and fly a plane and look like a runaway model doing it. She needed to be Amazing Amy, all the time ( p.50).

‘I feel like Amy wanted people to believe she really was perfect. And as we got to be friends, I got to know her. And she wasn’t perfect. You know?’ (p.326).

Amy is one of kind of women who is willing to do anything in perceiving her wants. She is willing in pretending to be someone else, the Cool Girl, in order to get Nick and society’s attention. She is willing in learning many things. The moment when she loses it all, she is willing to do anything in order to get it again.

So I began to think of a different story, a better story, that would destroy Nick for doing this to me. A story that would restore my perfection. It would make me the hero, flawless and adored (p. 263). b. Smart and Competitive

With reference to her perfectionist side, she becomes a competitive person. She likes competition that makes her looks better than the other. The story shows that meanwhile the other girls in her town are laughing in a certain thing that they are not able to do such a thing as learning Spanish in their school, Amy learns Spanish instead until she is fluent in using that language, and she also learns how to cook French food intensively.

My wife had a brilliant, popping brain, a greedy curiosity. But her obsessions tended to be fueled by competition: She needed to dazzle men and jealous-ify women: … (p.50)

Amy relentless achieving is greeted with open-palmed acceptance and maybe a bit of pity. It was about the worst outcome possible for my competitive wife: A town of contended also-rans (p.50-51).

In framing her husband for a murder case, she plans it carefully. She makes a list of things she should have done to make it right. She thinks about

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every detail on her plan. She even writes a diary in purpose to fool the cops and public. She checks her old daily planners to make sure that she does not forget any important events. Then, she fakes her pregnancy because she thinks that it would be more interesting for the public if they know that she is pregnant (p.290). One time, she gives statements about the Diary Amy that she writes in purposes;

She is designed to appeal to the cops, to appeal to the public should portions be released. They have to read this diary like it’s some sort of Gothic tragedy. A wonderful, good-hearted woman – whole life ahead of her, everything going for her, whatever else they say about women who die – chooses the wrong mate and pays the ultimate price. They have to like me. Her (p.267).

Amy never left a work incomplete. She is a kind of woman who always tries to do every project she has until it is finished, even she does not like it (p.35).

Amy is also a smart woman. It is proven by the fact that she has a master degree in psychology and she is going to Harvard (p.30). She has her own life standard.

She likes everything to be well-arranged. A lot of people agree that she is really pretty. In the outside, Amy looks so flawless, perfect. c. Dominant

In the last book of the Amazing Amy, she has married with the Able Andy and they have a wonderful marriage. Thus, she also wants a perfect marriage like the Amazing Amy. As a wife, Amy tries to be the perfect for Nick. She has a reputation as a nice and sweet wife. She remembers all the moments she has with

Nick, small and big moments. In their anniversary, Amy likes to set games and mostly about mind games to light up the marriage. She likes to set up a treasure hunt in her anniversary with Nick. She will give Nick clues that lead her husband

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to the hiding place of the next clue until he reaches the end and gets the present

(p.20). One morning, Amy says this to Nick;

I know we are having a tough time. I still love you so much, Nick, and I know I have a lot of things to work on. I want to be a good wife to you, and I want you to be my husband and be happy. But you need to decide what you want (p.53).

Based on the quotation above, it follows that Amy is trying to be a good wife to Nick. She wants to be a wife who will be there whenever the husband needs her. Most people in the city who knows Amy and Nick agree that they are cute together.

The older women keep swirling around me, telling me how Maureen as always said what a wonderful couple Nick and I are and she is right, we are clearly made for each other (p.137).

2. Nick a. Cynic

Nick Dunne is Amy’s husband. He was a writer for eleven years. After having no job, he is used to spending his day by doing nothing. He is just eating ice cream, wandering around Brooklyn and taking thick afternoon naps. He is used to writing about books, TV and movies. Everything has changed when people start to use internet in their daily life, leaving the written source. He blames his surrounding for what happened to him. He feels so useless after he got fired from his job because he already works for fourteen years and now it is all gone. It is bad that after he got fired, Amy also got fired from her job. He denies that the bad thing happens because of his incapability in solving problems. Once he has problem, he is likely to find the other thing to be blamed.

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Do not blame me for this particular grievance, Amy. The Missouri Grievance. Blame the economy, blame the bad luck, blame my parents, blame your parents, blame the Internet, blame people who use the Internet. I used to be a writer. I was a writer who wrote about TV and movies and books. Back when people read things on paper, back when anyone cared about what I thought (p.4).

Nick feels that everything bad happens to him because of his surroundings. When he has no job because the company that he works with is collapse, he blames the use of internet. He blames people to have a less interest to written media and as a result, the company cut him off. In addition, his failure also makes him feel so bad because he thinks that his wife blames him for what has happened to their life. Now, he teaches in a Magazine Writing Class.

Three weeks after I got cut loose, Amy lost her job, such as it was. (Now I can feel Amy looking over my shoulder, smirking at the time I’ve spent discussing my career, my misfortune, and dismissing her experience in one sentence. That, she would tell you, is typical. Just like Nick, she would say. It was a refrain of hers: Just like Nick to … and whatever followed, whatever was just like me, was bad.) (p.10).

Worse, I convinced myself our tragedy was entirely her making. I spent years working myself into athe very thing I swore she was: a righteous ball of hate (p.242).

In his marriage with Amy, he blames Amy for being superior compared to him. He blames Amy for having privilege as a single child in a rich family. He blames Amy for her ability in learning things so fast. He blames Amy for his incapability in maintaining their marriage.

He is being deniable as a result of his problem with his father. Nick was raised by a father of women issue. His father hates women in general and he can be so easy in swearing a woman who has pissed him off. His father is also a kind of man who has infinite varieties of bitterness, rage, and distaste (p.54). He never

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apologizes for his wrongdoings. Nick hates his father for his personalities and attitude. Thus, he tries to keep being like his father. He even develops his ability to not showing his bad emotion. People around him judge it as something strange because he looks like a man with no emotion.

In my lifelong struggle to avoid becoming him, I’d develop an inability to demonstrate much negative emotion at all. It was another thing that made me seem like a dick- my stomach could be all oiled eels, and you would get nothing from my face and less from my words (p.54).

His father has imparted Nick’s childhood with unspoken blame; he is the kind of man who shirked around looking for things to be angry at. Sometimes, his father voices are haunting him in his head.

Sometimes in particularly shameful moments, I heard his voice in my head. But this was my father’s voice, here. His words emerged in wet bubbles like something from a rancid bog. Bitch bitch bitch (p.57). b. Cowardly

Nick can be considered as a coward. He does not have any bravery to tell

Amy and even Go, who is his partner-in-crime, when he has affairs with Andie.

He is too afraid of the possible consequences that might happen after he tells the truth. He is afraid to tell Amy about the truth because he thinks that it will ruin everything. He has no job rather than the Bar he owns from Amy’s money. He still needs her. He is also afraid of Amy’s parents.

I couldn’t bear to have the conversation, to have explained myself. I couldn’t imagine having to discuss the divorce with Rand and Marybeth, as they certainly would insert themselves into the fray. But part of it, in truth, was my strong streak pragmatism – it was almost grotesque, how practical (self-serving?) I could be. I hadn’t asked Amy for a divorce, in part, because Amy’s money had financed the Bar. She basically owned it, she would certainly take it back (p.170).

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In the other hand, Nick is the type of man who afraid to face the truth. He realizes that his marriage is become a toxic. He knows that he is not the perfect

Nick as he puts a mask. He fees insecure when he is with Amy. He is afraid to face truth that he is not that perfect. So, instead of working on himself to be a better guy for Amy, he chooses to escape by getting another girl to play with. He is looking for a girl who makes him looks superior and way better.

I cheated. I disrespected my wife. I didn’t want to be the man that I had become, but instead of working on myself, I took the easy way out. I cheated with a young woman who barely knew me. So I could pretend to be the big man. I could pretend to be the man I wanted to be – smart and confident and successful – because this young woma n didn’t know any different (p.392). c. Ignorant

At first, Nick Dunne is an ordinary guy who falls in love with Amy, the girl whom he met at the first sight in a party because he thinks that Amy is really cool and perfect. She is suitable and worth the efforts to be with. But somehow in the middle of the marriage he gets bored and feels like Amy has changed. She is not the person she used to be. He falls for the image that Amy built as if she is the most perfect and cool girl in the world.

My old Amy, damn, she was fun. She was funny. She made me laugh. I’d forgotten that. And she laughed. From the bottom of her throat, from right behind that small finger-shaped hollow, which is the best to laugh from. She released her grievances like handfuls of birdseed: They are there, and they are gone (2013, p.55).

Nick also can be seen as an ignorant person. Amy and Nick’s marriage is already in five years, but he does not really know his wife. It can be seen when

Amy is gone and the police asks him some questions about his wife, he finds it

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difficult to answer it because he just realizes that he does not really understand his wife this whole time. He does not even know his wife’s blood type.

Boney looked up brightly from her notes: ‘Can you tell me what your wife’s blood type is?’ she asked. ‘Uh, no, I don’t know.’ ‘You don’t know your wife’s blood type?’ ‘Maybe O?’ I guessed. (p.53)

Nick does not care about Amy or even their marriage. He always chooses something for himself. He puts himself first above any other things. In their third anniversary, he chooses to go to the bar with his friends instead of spending time with his wife. Any other example is their house code. It is a small thing, but he still put himself first and it makes Amy uncomfortable.

She said it was pointless to have one that was so guessable, but I knew the real reason. She resented that it was my birthday and not our anniversary. Once again, I’d chosen me over us (p.150).

He does not really care about his marriage lately. Even in his third anniversary, he goes to drink with his friends instead of spending the night with his wife. He also sees Amy as a spoiled girl who does not need to worry about money and anything because she already has everything. Whenever he is drunk, he always mentions about Amy’s privilege about money.

Here’s what happened: Nick got home just after four, a bulb of beer and cigarettes and fried-egg odor attached to him, a placenta of stink. I was still awake, waiting for him, my brain ca-thunking after a marathon Law and Order. He sat down on our ottoman and glanced at the present on the table and said nothing. I stared at him back. He clearly wasn’t going to even graze against an apology – hey, sorry things got screwy today. That’s all I wanted, just a quick acknowledgement. ‘Happy anniversary,’ I start. He sighs, a deep aggrieved moan ‘Amy, I’ve had the crappiest day ever. Please don’t lay a guilt trip on me on top of it. (p.34)

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He even does not remember any good thing or memory that he has with Amy in the past two years of their marriage. He does not do ant thoughtful and romantic things to Amy (p.235).

3. Margo a. Strong

Margo, usually called by Go, is Nick’s twin sister. Despite the fact that she gets less attention from her parent, she becomes a smart and independent woman. She does everything by herself. When the life brings her down, she gets up on her knees and tries to be strong. She never gives up on something and always tries to keep her problem from other people. Go had a good career before the financial meltdown. In her lowest part of life, finally she phoned her mother, telling her about the problem. Life is hard, but it never lets her down.

My speculative sister, she of the rocket-science brain and the rodeo spirit, dropped out of college and moved to Manhattan in the lates 90s. She was one of the original dot-com phenoms – made crazy money for two years, then took the internet bubble bath in 2000. Margo remained unflappable (p.19). b. Un-feminine

She is not a feminine kind of woman. She does things that society perceives as not a feminine thing for example; she smokes, she drinks and she runs a bar. Margo is a kind of woman who does not really care about society’s rules on how women should be. She is a rebel. Unlike the other girls who like dressing fancy and cute, Go is rather stylish. She does not pay attention to her appearance. She often wears something contradictory to society, for example when the other women like to wear fancy and cute pajamas, she prefers to wear

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only an ordinary shirt and short. She is also a strong woman. It can be seen on how she survives from all the downs in her life. Living as an “unwanted” child in the family, she gets less attention from her parent because she is the unwanted one, but it does not keep her to grow up as a weak person. She becomes a strong and though woman.

Go is slender and strange-faced, which is not to say unattractive. Her features just take a moment to make sense: the broad jaw; the pinched, pretty nose; the dark globe eyes (p.17).

4. Society

In the novel, this thesis focuses two major characters, Amy and Nick, two minor characters but rather significant character (foil to Amy), Margo and society.

Some minor characters in the novel represent the voice of the society. While the other characters involved in this research are easily identifiable as characters, the researcher wants to argue that society is also an important character in the novel.

As mentioned in page 10, there are minor characters that this thesis argues represent the voice of the society in patriarchy about gender. Society in here is a group of people which are the minor characters in the novel such as the police, the detective, Amy’s neighbor and also the public. In the novel, Amy is seen as a public figure because of the book that her parents write. Once she is gone, the public has a concern about the news and the progress of the case.

The cop, Gilpin, once gives a statement on how he sees women in a marriage;

‘You are an old-fashined guy, right? I’m the same way. I tell my wife all the time, “I don’t know how to iron, I don’t know how to do the dishes I

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can’t cook. So, sweetheart, I’ll catch the bad guys, that I can do, and you throw some clothes in the washer now and them.” (p.202)

Based on the quotation above, it can be seen that people in general still have a mindset that women should be at home to do all the chores meanwhile the husband or the men are the one who should work and get money for the family.

The society in the novel is also a prominent actor to strengthen the message. The society in the story represents people in general, for example on how judgmental the society is, and how easy to drive the society into a certain idea because they already have a thought that women and men usually do this and even though the evidence is not really clear.

I adore Ellen Abbott, I love how protective and maternal she gets about all the missing women on her show and how rabid-dog vicious she is once she seizes on a suspect, usually the husband (p.275).

Based on the quotation above, it can be seen that a mindset that the husband usually the one who does the domestic violence is already there in society. Thus, when Amy is gone, the police pointed Nick out as a suspect. Some people like

Ellen Abbott try to feed those mindsets of gender by using their power in media.

Through her show, Abbott sends the notion that generally men are the one who has the most probability in doing violence and harm things.

In the other side, it also can be seen that society believes easily that Nick is the suspect because he is a man in the family and they believe that Amy will not do such bad thing with her perfect image in society. It represents the thought and the characteristics of most people. Society in the novel has of great significance in judging other character. Onetime, Go says this to Nick;

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‘Last night someone leaked the information about the shed, about Amy’s purse and the diary. Now it’s all: Nick Is a Liar, Nick Is a Killer, Nick Is a Lying Killer. Sharon Schieber just released a statement saying she was very shocked and disappointed with the direction the case was taking. Oh, and everyone knows all about the porn – Kill the Bitches.’ (2013, p.396).

The society that is portrayed in the novel can be considered as patriarchal society because they believe in men is dominance. They believe in the dominant power of masculinity over women. In living the life, they’re consumed on how women should be. They keep the parameters which are made by the society, especially guys, about the gender narratives. The voice of the society can also be heard from the statement given by Amy when she explains the reason why she does all of those manipulations, she says this;

I’d want to sit these men down and calmly say: You are not dating a woman, you are dating a woman who has watched too many movies written by socially awkward men who’d like to believe that this kind of woman exist and might kiss them (p.251).

They’re not even pretending to be the women they want to be, they’re pretending to be the woman a man wants them to be (p.251).

Their thought as a patriarchy about women strengthens Amy’s plan.

Patriarchy sees that women in general are weak, stupid, in addition to many other stereotypes. Amy takes advantages of it to strengthen her plan and make her easier to draw the mindset of the society.

B. The Analysis of the Conflict

The aim of this part is to answer the second problem formulation. The analysis is done under the theory of conflict. As mentioned before, conflict does not always deal with the direct clash that exists between characters. The analysis

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of conflict can be used to find the clash of characterization between characters in the novel.

1. Amy Dunn a. Amy and Nick

The conflict between Amy and Nick mostly happened in their marriage.

They feel that they are different people after they are getting married. Amy met

Nick for the first time in a party. She describes him as a charming and ideal man to be dated with. As mentioned in the analysis of the character and characteristics, it can be seen that Amy is a perfect woman. As mentioned before, The Amazing

Amy has as a wonderful husband and happy marriage, and that is what Amy also wants too. She wants to make a happy family that everyone adores. She is inspired by the last part of the book, The Amazing Amy is described that she has a wonderful marriage with Able Andy which makes her life become more perfect.

Thus, she needs a perfect man for her. When she sees him in the party, she falls and thinks that Nick is the best and suitable to be her other half. She sees

Nick in adoring eyes. She thinks that Nick is like a good stiff drink because he has a correct perspective in everything (p.43).

With Nick, I understood finally. Because he was so much fun. It was like dating a sea otter. He was the first naturally happy person I met who was my equal. He was brilliant and gorgeous and funny and charming and charmed. People liked him. Women loved him. I thought we would be the most perfect union: the happiest couple around (p. 253).

On the other side, Nick is also looking for someone who can complete him. He has a family issue. As a result, he does not want to repeat the same mistake that his family does. He sees Amy is the best one because she does not

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like other ordinary girls in his eyes. Furthermore, no man will throw away a chance to be a partner of a beautiful woman.

Amy keeps and remembers all the moments she has with Nick. On the other hand, Nick seems like he is taking easy the games. He always failed to figure out the clues. He does not remember a lot of things especially little things which are special for Amy. It makes him mad. He thinks that Amy is always going overboard.

She stopped finally, gave me a face unmoved as I explained myself, one mental finger tamping down my exasperation: ’Amy, I don’t get why I need to prove my love to you by remembering the exact same things you do, the exact same way you do. It doesn’t mean I don’t love our life together.’ (p.22).

In the other side, Nick also thinks that Amy is too dominant and superior compared to him. He feels that he has no value as a husband and a man in the family. He lost his dignity. Even Amy loans him money to buy the bar which he runs with his sister.

In the middle of the marriage, it turns out that both Amy and Nick is lying about their character. They both wear masks to hide their true personality.

Amy looks so perfect in the outside. She looks like the dream girl. Everybody see her as a woman who has all the criteria of good woman. She is feminine, soft, pretty and smart. They have no idea she has a dark personalities inside her. She is ambitious in a bad way. She is strong, but she uses her ability in a way that people do not think she is the real actor.

But then it had to stop, because it wasn’t real, it wasn’t me. It wasn’t me, Nick! I though you knew. I thought it was a bit of a game. I thought we had a wink-wink, don’t ask, don’t tell thing going. I tried so hard to be easy. But it was unsustainable (p. 253).

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As a contrary, Nick looks like he is the ideal man and lovely husband. He is nice, funny and husband materials. As the time goes, Nick shows his true personality. He is a kind of guy who will find other way to wreak his bad feelings.

It can be seen when he feels bored with his marriage and feels so useless in his little family, he is looking for an escape mechanism that he dates one of his student. It happened because it feels like he gets back his pride when he is with his mistress. He feels superior with his mistress than with his own wife, Amy.

Their mask creates such problem in the middle of the marriage. Nick realizes that Amy who’s he loves is not Amy who he has married to. He knows

Amy’s true personality.

‘You stopped loving me. We’re a sick, fucking toxic Mobius strip, Amy. We weren’t ourselves when we fell in love, and when we became ourselves – surprise! – we were poison. We complete each other in the nasties, ugliest possible way. You don’t really love me Amy. You don’t even like me. Divorce me. Divorce me, and let’s try to be happy.’ (p.440).

As the time goes, Nick feels unhappy with his marriage. He does not have the same feeling as he used to have in the first year of the marriage. It leads him to cheat with his student. One day he meets a girl from a class where he teaches about magazine writing, Andie. This girl makes him feels like a worthwhile man, not the idiot who lost his job, the blunderer who just could never quite get it right and any other things that probably exist in Amy’s list as bad things (p.166).

I was not a cheater. I don’t (didn’t?) like cheaters: dishonest, disrespectful, petty, spoiled, I had never succumbed. But that was back when I was happy. I hate to think the answer is that easy, but I had been happy all my life, and now I was not, and Andie was there, lingering after

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class, asking me questions about myself that Amy never had, not lately (pp.165-166).

Being with Andie makes Nick feels that he gets back his pride and identity as a man. She gives him things that he does not get from Amy. He feels that Andie completes him. She has things that Amy does not. She gives him the pride that he lost when he is with Amy. Amy seems like she already has everything. She has money and Nick does not. He feels that Amy does not need him anymore as her husband. He is useless for Amy. Meanwhile, whenever Nick with Andie, he feels like a real man.

It was the line that caught me, the simplicity of it. The idea that I could do something and it would make a woman happy and it would be easy. Whatever you give me, I’ll like. I felt an overwhelming wave of relief. And then I knew I didn’t love Amy anymore (p.168). b. Amy and Margo

The conflict between Amy and Margo occurs because they have an opposite characteristic. They do not like each other because they do not find any same interest. Amy is described as a woman who can fulfill society’s parameter of a good woman. She is more girly and feminine. She follows society’s demand on the parameters of good women. Nick said that they have a same characteristic that are dominant in Nick’s life.

Go was used to be the alpha girl in Nick’s life and Amy was used to be the alpha girl of everyone’s life. Thus, they cannot be friends. Go thinks that Nick seems to be not happy with his marriage. It seems like Nick is no Nick when he is with Amy. In the other side, Amy thinks that Go is too dependent to Nick because

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she has anyone else. They do not like each other. They are commenting on each other. One time, Go says to Nick;

Before Amy and I got serious, got engaged, got married, I would get glimpses of Go’s thoughts in a sentence here or there. It’s funny, I can’t quite get a bead on her, like who she really is. And: There’s a difference between really loving someone and loving the idea of her. And finally: The important thing is she makes you really happy (p.23).

In the other side, Amy also gives comments about Go to Nick;

Amy offered her own notions of Go: She’s very … Missouri, isn’t she? And: You just have to be in the right mood for her. And: She’s a little needy about you, but then I guess she doesn’t have anyone else (p.24).

Basically, they do not like each other. Amy thinks that Go is too needy to

Nick. Meanwhile Go thinks that Amy makes Nick uncomfortable because she sees that Nick is not Nick whenever he is with Amy. She also thinks that there is something in Amy which makes her uncomfortably curious, too fake. Based in

Nick, he describes Amy as clever, withering and sarcastic. She is a unique and extra ordinary woman. In the other hand, he sees Go as funny person. He always feels secure and comfortable whenever he is with her. Nick personally thinks that they are different in their own way. c. Amy and Society

In the novel, society has a role in shaping Amy’s personality. Society has their own perspective on the image of good and ideal women. It can be seen from the description of The Amazing Amy and how they see Amy. The Amazing Amy is a fictional character written by Amy’s parent that portrays the image of an amazing girl who has wonderful and perfect life. This character is created based on society’s demand and believes about gender characteristics. The character of

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The Amazing Amy is shaped by the cultural lesson on how women should be and it also helps strengthen society’s mind about women. They make her to be a different person and somehow it is bad for her. Amy, who wants to be the role model, is trying to fit in those parameters and characteristics of ideal women.

Thus, she is willing to do anything, including doing a crime.

Women across the nation colluded in our degradation! Pretty soon Cool Girl became the standard girl. Men believed she existed – she wasn’t just a dreamgirl one in a million. Every girl was supposed to be this girl, and if you weren’t, then there was something wrong with you (p.252)

The quotation above proves that society already has the standard of being woman. They already have their image of how women should be. If someone does not fit in those lists of the standard, she is not really a woman. She does not count as a woman and there must be something wrong in her.

Amy, who thinks that she is the real image of the Amazing Amy, decides to follow the description that her parents provide in the book, for example when the book portrays that the Amazing Amy is already married with the Able Andy, somehow it also creates an expectation for Amy to be married to someone. It can be seen in an interview that she is often asked about being almost thirty-two but has not been married yet. She feels exhausted in answering the same question all over again.

“Yes, I am single.” “Yes, my parents are definitely soul mates.” “Yes, I would like that for myself one day.” “Yep, single, motherfucker.” Same questions over and over, and me trying to pretend they’re thought- provoking. (p.32).

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Amy is grown up with a thought of being perfect like the Amazing Amy.

It means that she has to have flawless life and she is willing to do anything to achieve that image of perfection, including doing things she does not really like as long as she can get the perfect image. She likes the attention that she gets when she is being perfect. Being perfect means she has to take people’s heart and do what they consider as good, like being the Cool Girl. Many women in her surrounding is pretending to be someone else as long as they can be the Cool Girl.

Because Cool Girls are above all hot. Hot and understanding. Cool Girls never get angry; they only smile in chagrined, loving manner and let their men do whatever they want. Go ahead, shit on me, I don’t mind, I’m the Cool Girl (p.251).

In the middle of the story when Amy is gone, they accept the news that

Amy is gone because of his ex and she is the victim of all. No one thinks that she is the actual suspect of the case. This is happen because they already see the character that Amy shows to them which is the image that she is a nice woman, wife materials and never does anything bad. The fact that Amy is a good woman is strengthened by the narrative that already grows in the society that women are powerless and weak. The narrative that women are innocent and weak can be seen when Amy wants to buy a gun, no one expects she will do something bad. They just simply think that Amy needs it because someone threatened her and she is scared.

Amy had come to the mall to buy a gun on Valentine’s Day, of all days, that’s what our friend Lonnie had said. She was a little abashed, a little nervous: Maybe I’m being silly, but … I just really think I need a gum. Mostly, though, she was scared. Someone unnerving her, she told Lonnie. She gave no more details… (p.140).

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2. Nick Dunne a. Nick and Margo

Nick and Margo are twins, but they have different treatment from their parents. Nick becomes the ‘star’ of the family even though he also has a twin sister to be paid attention to. All of the attentions and loves are referred to him.

The parent pays attention more to him and they give anything to Nick, but left

Margo behind. They think that the only kid that they want and plan for is only

Nick. Margo is only a stranger and unwanted bonus that was born in the same day with him. Despite of that fact that his parent are only care of him, Nick really loves his mother and really closes to his twin sister.

Go firmly believes that I got the best if everything from our parents, that I was the boy they planned on, the single child they could afford, and that she sneaked into this world by clamping onto my ankle, an unwanted stranger.(For my dad, a particularly unwanted stranger.) She believes she was left to fend for herself throughout childhood, a pitiful creature of random hand-me-downs and forgotten permission slips, tightened budgets and general regret (p.18).

She has a close bond with her twin brother. Since they grow up in a broken family, they are getting closer because they feel like they only have one another. People think they are too close as siblings. Nick feels like his twin sister is the only one who knows him well. She is the only one who knows what to do when Nick is upset, mad, down or happy. They are bound together.

Then we both flushed pink in our cheeks in the same spot. It was kind of raunchy, unsisterly joke that Go enjoyed tossing at me like a grenade. It was also the reason why, in high school, there were always rumors that we secretly screwed. Twincest. We were too tight: our inside jokes, our edge-of-the-party whispers (p.23).

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The conflict between them starts when the police reveal their finding that

Amy is pregnant. As a woman, she feels bad for Amy because she is pregnant and she has to go through her marriage problems. She starts gain her empathy to Amy and it makes her hesitates to her twin brother. Through the investigation of Amy’s gone, Go lose her trust to Nick. Then, she just finds out that Nick is cheating on

Amy with his student. Her trust is gone little by little as the investigation keeps going. Despite of their really close bond, there is a thought in her mind that Nick is really murdering his own wife, especially when she knows that Amy is pregnant. Go’s thought about Nick is being the murder of his wife harms their relationship. It harms their relationship. Neither Go nor Nick ever think this could be happen to them. They feel like they are too close and too bond to have trust issue to each other.

Those ten seconds just a week ago, when I’d opened the door of the woodshed, expecting Go to read my mind as always, and what Go had read was that I’d killed my wife. I couldn’t get over that, and neither could she. I caught her looking at me now and then with the same steeled chill with which she looked at our father, just another shitty male taking up space (pp.397-398). b. Nick and Society

Patriarchal society believes in the men power. Men are superior and they do anything they want because they are stronger physically and mentally than women. Society has a belief in the narrative about gender role and characteristic that they get from the culture. They learn since their childhood that women are weak and men are strong.

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This narrative can strengthen the belief that Nick is the suspect. Society just accepts that Nick is the actor of the case. Even though not all of evidences are clearly pointing out to Nick, they just accept the idea that Nick is the murder of his own wife because he is the only man in the house and no one else can be pointed out to be the suspect. The initial thoughts of men are stronger and can do whatever they want strengthen the idea of Nick killed his wife. When Nick’s lawyer is trying to tell the cops that Amy is alive and she is framing Nick for her murder, the cops do not even buy that statement. One of the cops says this;

‘What you’re talking about, it’s crazy. You hear me? It would have taken, what, six months, a year, to set all this up. She would have to hate you, to wish you harm –ultimate, serious, horrific harm – for a year. Do you know how hard it is to sustain that kind of hatred for that long?’ (2013, p.385).

C. Stance against the Traditional Gender Roles and Stereotypes

After analyzing the characterization and the conflict, the researcher will analyze on how the author tries to give her thoughts or critiques under the idea of women stereotyping in the novel.

1. Women in Marriage a. Women should obey their husband and be at home

There is a stereotype that grows in the society that women in marriage should obey their husband no matter what. When the husband makes a decision, the wife should follow it even if she does not agree with it. The husband is the decision maker in the family. Society believes that women should obey their husband because of the masculinity over women. Women have to be the submissive side. Flynn tries to critique and breaks the stereotype down by

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bringing the character of Amy who has a determination to dominate her man.

Amy stands for herself and gets power over her husband. Nick says that Amy was brilliant and charming and all that, but she was also controlling and OCD and a drama queen and a bit of liar (p.326).

Patriarchy also asserts that women should be at home and take care of everything which related to house duties instead of pursuing her dreams. It is not common for women to have a higher degree in school and having higher position in workplace. Society says that there will be no man who wants to be with a woman who is “superior” to him. Men do not like to be seen as the weak side and inferior. They feel so insecure with women with brain and attitude. They think that whenever they are with women who have higher level than them, their prestige will go down.

Patriarchal takes a part in shaping and influencing society’s mind that women are under the men all the time. They say women are weak and stupid, so they can do anything and disrespect toward women. As a result, society thinks that it is okay to disrespect women.

I don’t think that my father’s issue was with my mother in particular. He just didn’t like women. He thought they were stupid, inconsequential, irritating. That dumb bitch. It was his favorite phrase for any woman who annoyed him (p.66).

Based on the quotation above, it proves that patriarchal society still perceives women as the weak side. They cannot pursue their dream because they are ‘stupid’ and it is their fate to be at home and do the chores. Through the character of Amy, Flynn gives a description of a woman who is willing to pursue her dream and career. Amy goes to Psychology in Harvard University which is

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one of the world’s prestigious universities. She starts her career in New York City as a writer. Amy keeps trying to pursue her dream, to get what she believes as a perfect happiness. She keeps holding on to her dreams. She is not a kind of woman who depend herself to her husband. It proves that she is independent and frees herself from being a burden in the family.

Now, I like a writer party, I like writers. I am the child of writers, I am a writer. I still love scribbling that word – WRITER – any time a form, questionnaire, document ask for my occupation (p.11).

In the other hand, Flynn gives critique to patriarchal by showing on how the society sees Nick and Amy in the case. They have no idea that they are fooled by Amy about the diary and all things that she has already set. They simply believe it all. In their mindset, it is a common thing that men are the abuser in a family. b. Husband is the head and the provider in the family

Based in the novel, Flynn portrays the society’s stereotypes on how men should be the head and the provider in the family (p.202). This stereotype is created based on the third type of the theory of stereotype which is the stereotype in media. Usually in the media, men are portrayed as the provider, thus they have to work in order to fulfill all the needs in the family. Meanwhile women are portrayed as the one who should be at home and do all the duty such as cleaning, cooking, taking care of the children and other house duties. Patriarchy believes that men are overall stronger than women, so men have to work harder for the family. Women are seen as the weaker side so they are given home duties to be done. Women do not need to go out and work. They have to clean the house and

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watch for the kids to be considered as a good wife and women. One time, Nick says this to a cop;

‘You know one principle of the thing. I work of a lot of hours, and Amy doesn’t, and I think it would be good for her if she did some basic home maintenance. Just basic upkeep.’ (p.202).

After saying this, the cop seems have the same idea with Nick about women in a marriage. The cop says that he is also that kind of husband who tells their wife to do the house cores. He says that he does not know how to iron, how to do the dishes or even cook. So he throws all that duties to his wife (p.202). It shows the society’s thought about women in marriage. Society, through the character of Nick and the cop gives us the image of their parameter of how women and men should be.

In the novel, Flynn argues that men or husbands do not always meet the family’s needs. In Nick and Amy’s marriage, it is not go along with the stereotype. It can be seen in the novel that Amy is the provider in the family. She is the one who pays for the rent and everyday needed. Even Nick has to borrow moneys from Amy to build his bar with Go. Flynn breaks the stereotype by providing a story that women can also do things that society think they cannot do.

It is not always men who should be the provider.

We borrowed money which was once nothing to Amy but by then was almost everything. I swore I would pay her back with interest. I would not be a man who borrowed from his wife – I could feel my dad twisting his lips at the very idea (p.13).

In the related study “Gender Stereotype as Experienced by Eva in Tillie

Olsen’s Short Story “Tell me a Riddle”, it provides an analysis that women can only be the follower in the family. It can be seen on how Eva has no right to have

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a decision and speak up for herself. When her husband says that he wants to sell the house, she cannot do anything even though she does not want to sell the house because her husband does not want to hear any opinion that coming from her. It shows that society has a strong belief in the narrative about gender role. Flynn, in her novel, tells us that women should have a role too in the family. Women can also take a family decision.

It had been a compromise: Amy demanded we rent, not buy, in my little Missouri hometown, in her firm hope that we wouldn’t be stuck here long. But the only houses for rent were clustered in this failed development: a miniature ghost town of bank-owned, recession-busted, pride-reduced mansions, a neighborhood that closed before it ever opened (p.4).

The quotation above proves that Amy, as the wife and woman in the family, can also have her right to make a decision. In the other side, Nick, as the husband and the man, just follows what his wife wants. Flynn is success in proving that the narratives of gender role are wrong. Husband should not always be the decision maker and wife should not be the followers only.

2. Women in Society a. Women have to be feminine

One of the women’s popular narratives is the embodiment of society’s ideal parameters which are mellow, angelic, soft, and feminine. It is shown in the novel through the character of Amy. The character of Amy and the Amazing Amy are created based on society’s demand. They have their parameter that should be fulfilled if someone wants to be accepted in his/her surrounding. The society’s thought about perfect women also can be seen through Nick’s statement on how he decides a woman is pretty or not.

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In patriarchal society, they already have such criteria and parameters on how women should be to get an approval that they are good women. Women are identical with long hair, nice dress, skirt, no smoking habit and many more things that women should fulfill. Women with short hair, having smoke habit, having tattoo are not considered as the real women because they do not follow the parameters.

This image of ‘feminine’ itself can be seen in the character of Amy on how she behaves. The way she behaves can represent the image of a real woman based on patriarchal criteria. She wants to be seen as the perfect one, thus she follows what the society says about good women. She is willing to do anything in order to get that perfect image from the society.

Flynn shows her critique to patriarchal society by portraying an angel image as the outer image of Amy, and an evil as her inner personality. The image of her is being perfect, amazing, intelligent and pretty are the angel look of hers, and the moment when she starts framing her husband to ‘her murderer’ is her evil look.

As a perfectionist woman, she wants everything to run well. She does not want any flaws to destroy her perfect life. When she finds out that her husband has an affair to one of his student, she decides that she has to take an action. She wants Nick to get the pay back of cheating behind her back.

Amy sets her innocent and nice women as her outer personality to her neighbor. She tries to be friend and nice to one of her neighbor, Noelle. She uses her as the live proof of the murder. She shows Noelle on how she fears on blood,

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how bad Nick is in the house, how unhappy and innocent she is. She even tells

Noelle that she is pregnant and Nick does not like it, with a hope that when the journalist starts to interview her when Amy disappeared, she will tells all those things to the police and journalist. Thus, everyone will believe that Nick is bad because he kills his pregnant wife. It works. Everyone, even his twin-sister, starts to believe that Nick kills Amy because he does not want to have children yet.

Everyone starts to be suspicious to him.

‘Once again, Nick, an incredibly strange reaction for an innocent man,’Boney said. ‘Here we are, reading sweet words, maybe you wife’s last words to you, and you actually look angry. I still remember that first sight night: Amu’s missing, you come in here, we park you in this very room for forty-five minutes, and you look bored. We watched you on survwillance, ypu practically fell asleep.’ ‘That has nothing to do with anything---‘ Tanner started. ‘I was trying to stay calm.’ ‘You looked very, very calm,’ Boney saud. ‘All along, you’ve acted … inappropriately. Unemotional, flippant.’ (p.386).

Through the character of Margo ‘Go’ Dunne, Flynn also tries to break the image that women are still women no matter what. Even probably she is not mellow or wearing dresses or feminine, she is still women. Go is described as an independent woman and she has no image of a soft and feminine woman. She likes to wear boxer shorts and a Butthole Surfers t-shirt rather than nice and cute pajamas. (2013: 398). Go also likes to talk with honest. She does not like wishy washy talks like the other girl. She will go straight to the point of what she wants to say.

The life makes to be tough. She gets less attention from her parent and no matter what she does or the achievement she gets, her parents never look at her

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because they pay so much attention to the son. As a result, she tries everything by herself and becomes a though woman.

Despite those facts that Go does not look so feminine, soft, and the other criteria of society says as a real woman, but she still a woman. Through the character of Amy and Go in the novel, Flynn wants to say that whether you have long or short hair, nice dress or plain shirt, women are still women no matter what. There is no such a criteria on how to be the real women. b. Women are more emotional while men are more logical.

In the gender narrative, women are described as a side that has a close relation to emotional things. Meanwhile men have a close relation to mind or logic. When there is a problem, women are usually use their feeling first instead of using their logic and in the other way men will tend to use their logic instead of their feeling. It also applies in the decision making process. Women decide based on her feelings, and men based on their logic.

In the Gone Girl, the male and female characters do not represent that gender narrative about emotional feeling and logic. As seen in the novel, Amy is an alpha wife and looks superior than her husband. Nick, as the result, feels like she is hurting his pride as a man and husband. He feels resistant to his wife’s higher position. He wreaks it all by criticizing his wife in order to make reduce his bad feeling. Nick needs something to release his bad feelings. He criticizes almost everything that Amy does. He thinks that the moment when he criticizes his wife, she can be under him.

I remember at one point starting a goofy story about a childhood field trip here, and I saw her eyes go blank, and I got secretly furious, spent ten

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minutes just winding myself up – because at this point of our marriage, I was so used to being angry with her, it felt almost enjoyable, like gnawing on a cuticle: You know you should stop, that it doesn’t really feel as good as you think, but you can’t grinding away (p.121).

It is clear that there is some jealousy in Nick. There is a hard feeling that

Amy is somehow better than him. He feels like he is no use anymore as Amy’s husband. He is just a kind of decoration toy. As a man and husband, Nick sees it a failure because he cannot do things he believes as the things that husband should do. Nick tries to blame Amy as a consequence of his failure. His pride of a man and husband is hurt because of his wife’s capability that she can do things that

Nick should have done at the first place.

Just like Nick, who destroyed and rejected the real me a piece at a time- you’re too serious, Amy, you’re too uptight, Amy, you overthink things, you analyze too much, you’re no fun anymore, you make me feel useless, Amy, you make me feel bad, Amy (p.268).

In this point, Nick shows us on how the stereotype of women with feelings meanwhile men with logic is wrong. Nick’s jealousy is bigger than his logic. He uses his feeling so much in facing the problem in his marriage. He lets himself driven by his feeling. Nick’s attitude and behavior toward his wife in this point does not represent the view of patriarchal society about gender narrative. If he uses his logic, he will try to make it up and fix it probably by having the same level as Amy has. Thus he will not feel inferior anymore and get back his pride.

In the other side, Amy is not a woman in the narrative. Amy’s logic is higher and bigger than his feeling. It can be seen in the part when she decides to stand up for herself when she feels like her marriage becomes a toxic, even worse when she knows that Nick is cheating on her with his student.

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c. Women are weak

There is a narrative in the society that women are generally weak physically and mentally. Society believes that women have less power than men.

Thus, women are always seen as the vulnerable and powerless actor in the society.

In the novel, Amy proves that women can also do what society thinks they cannot do. She gains her power in order to make revenge to her husband.

Amy shows that she has power above her husband. When she realizes that her relationship with Nick does not work anymore, she decides to stop pretending and show her power instead.

So, it had to stop. Committing to Nick, feeling safe with Nick, being happy with Nick, 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. Nick wanted Cool Amy anyway. Can you imagine, finally showing your true self to your spouse, your soul mate, and having him not like you? (p.254)

So she starts to show Nick the real herself. She puts off her mask that she wears for past years. In the final letter of the hunting treasure game, Amy writes this to Nick;

Follow your beloved trip, up up up! And you don’t even have to worry about trying to find your anniversary present. This time the present will come to you! So sit back and relax, because you are DONE ( p.258).

As a result, her husband cannot even stand for himself. He is too afraid to his wife and always haunting by the thought that if he does something wrong again, he would probably get something worst than what get before. After knowing his wife’s ability in making such a manipulation to framing him in a murdering case, he starts to be afraid of his wife. He is even willing to change himself to be better than before. Amy shows that she has power above her

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husband. She stands up for herself when she feels threatened. She knows that her husband is cheating on her and somehow she feels like her husband is not someone who she’s married with. Knowing that her husband is cheating on her, she decides to make revenge to Nick.

So I may have gone a bit mad. I do know that framing your husband for your murder is beyond the pale of what an average woman might do. But it’s necessary. Nick must be taught a lesson. He’s never been taught a lesson! (p.264)

The quotation above proves that Amy is not weak. She is brave and smart enough to make a story about her murder. Amy proves that women can be so strong if they want to. She is mentally strong. Framing the husband for a case of murder, especially using herself as the victim, is not an easy thing to be done.

Flynn, through the character of Amy, shows us how strong a woman is. The fact that Amy can manipulate and entrap her husband shows that she is strong in mind.

Me, Nick Dunne, the man who used to forger so many details, is now the guy who replays conversations to make sure I didn’t offend, to make sure I never hurt her feelings. I write down everything about her day, her likes and dislikes, in case she quizzes me. I am a great husband because I am very afraid she may kill me (p.452)

The thought of patriarchal society on the image of women is shown in the novel. Based on what Nick’s father says, his father says that women are weak, stupid, and no use. He feels that women are only a burden. Nick’s father thought about women represents the patriarchal society’s thought.

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He just didn’t like women. He thought they were stupid, inconsequential, irritating. That dumb bitch. It was his favorite phrase for any women who annoyed him: a fellow motorist, a waitress, our grade school teachers, none of whom he ever actually met, parent-teacher conferences stinking of the female realm as they did (pp.66-67). Amy is a nice and sweet wife at first. She loves her husband and tries to follow anything that Nick wants. When they are broke because both Nick and

Amy lost their job, she agrees to move to Missouri even deep inside she does not want it. But then she comes to a point when she decides to change and take over everything. She turns into someone who fights to free herself from being submissive and weak. In this point, she proves that she doesn’t go down because of the patriarchy power. She started to make a revenge plan to trap her husband. It proves that in a certain point, Amy is getting through a character development.

She gains her women power in her.

Nick must be taught a lesson. He’s never been taught a lesson! He glides through life with that charming-Nicky grin, his beloved-child entitlement, his fibs and shirking, his shortcomings and selfishness, and no one calls him on anything (p.264).

Amy is so smart. She plans the story of her death by her own husband carefully. She pays attention on details and make sure that the evidence that the police will notice is pointing out to Nick. This idea shows that not all women are weak. They might be looked weak, but women can be so strong if there is a will.

They can also do surprising things.

‘And guess what?’ I said. ‘They just found Amy’s pursue in Hannibal. I’m sure as hell someone can place me there. Hell, I paid for my tour ticket with my credit card. SO again, here is this piece of evidence, and Amy making sure I can be linked to it.’ (p.288).

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Framing her husband to a murder story proves that she is mentally strong.

She will not be able to make up those details if she is not strong enough. She hurts her vagina and her body. She even arranges the entire story carefully. She is not pregnant. When she goes to Noelle’s house, she takes Noelle’s pee and brings it to the doctor as a proof that she is pregnant. She even cuts herself to get a lot of her blood, spreading, on the floor to give a picture of a case of murder.

Item 22: Cut myself has been on the list a long time. Now it’s real, and my arm hurts. A lot. It takes a very special discipline to slice oneself past the paper-cut layer, down to the muscle. You want a lot of blood, but not so much that you pass out, get discovered hours later in a kiddie pool of red with a lot of explaining to do (p.232).

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

In this chapter, the researcher concludes the analysis presented in the previous chapter. There are three problem formulations in this research. The first problem formulation is talking about the characteristic of each character in the novel. Amy is described as perfectionist, dominant, smart and competitive. Her husband, Nick, is denial, coward, and ignorant. Next is Nick’s sister, Margo. Even though she is a minor character in the novel, but she plays a part in portraying some ideas about women and stereotypes. She is described as strong but not feminine woman. Last is society. Society is not an identifiable character, but the researcher chooses to put it in the analysis because it is one of the important characters in the novel. They represents most people who still believe in gender stereotype.

The characterization of each character contributes to the explanation in the second problem formulation which talks about the conflict in the novel. Amy and Nick have some issues in their marriage. Amy thinks Nick has less effort and does not love her anymore. In the other hand, Nick feels that Amy is too dominant in their marriage and it breaks his pride. As the result, Nick is having affair with his student. Amy finds out about it and it leads her thought of making revenge for her husband. Amy also has problem with Nick’s sister. They have opposite characteristic and it makes them hard to be close with each other.

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Those two problem formulations help create more understandable image to answer the third problem formulation. The third problem formulation examines

Gillian Flynn’s critiques of women’s stereotype in society. The analysis falls into two parts which are the stereotype of women in marriage and women in society.

In the stereotype of women in marriage, it is composed of the narratives that women should obey her husband and be at home, and husband is the head and the provider in the family. Lastly, the stereotype of women in society falls into three points which are the narratives that women have to be feminine, women are more emotional than men and women are weak.

It can be concluded from those three problems that Flynn succeeds in criticizing the thought of patriarchal society through her book. In her book, she gives an image of an angel in Amy’s outer look. It represents the patriarchy’s mindset that women are innocent and powerless. But then she provides the evil image in Amy’s inner personality. The dark side of Amy shows that she is not weak. She is strong in mind that she makes up a story to framing her husband.

Flynn shows how toxic the thought of patriarchal society can be when

Nick is seen as the suspect of the case just because he is a man. They never think that Amy is the actual actor of the case because she is woman and she looks so innocent and nice. No wonder that everyone will straightly point their fingers out to Nick to be the actor of the case.

Flynn also shows that the society has a part in creating the ‘bad Amy’.

Patriarchal values is distributed in the Amazing Amy and it makes the real Amy wants to be as perfect as the Amazing Amy. As a woman, she is somehow under

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a pressure to be a perfect woman as the result of the Amazing Amy. She is willing to do anything to be perceived as perfect woman including in her marriage. She wants a perfect marriage. Thus she tries to be an obedient and nice wife to Nick.

But it turns up that Nick is cheating on her. Thus, she makes the manipulation to give revenge to Nick.

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APPENDIX Summary of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl is the story of a woman named Amy who suddenly disappears.

The chapters in this novel are written based on two perspectives, which are Amy’s and Nick’s. The story starts with the narratives that come from Nick, Amy’s husband, on how he thinks about Amy and their marriage. Then, the story goes to the story of his life, how he loses his job. He thinks that his wife blames him for everything bad that happen in their marriage. The next chapter is written based on

Amy’s perspective. She tells about her life and how he falls for Nick at the first time they see each other.

One day, in Amy and Nick’s fifth anniversary, Amy has gone. When he comes home, he finds the cat, Amy’s favorite, is in the outside of the house. The door also is left un-closed. Nick has no clue on how and why it could happen. He is looking for her in the entire house but he cannot find her. Then, he tells his sister and the police. After that, some polices come to his house and do investigation. They ask Nick some questions about his wife. They see something strange in Nick because it seems that Nick finds difficulty in answering those questions.

One time, Nick finds a letter from his wife. It is about the clue of his present. Amy likes to set a game in every anniversary they have. She gives him

Nick clues and it leads to her present for Nick. Sadly, Nick fails to find out the answer in every anniversary. When he gets the letter, he keeps it and does not tell

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the police about the letter. When they are going around the house, they find

Amy’s diary. The next day, he still cannot find his wife. Then he tells Amy’s parent.

As the day pass, there is still no sign or clue from Amy. The clue that exists is Amy’s letter to Nick for the annual treasure hunt she makes, and the only one who knows about it is Nick and Go. The fact that Amy is missing and there is no clue about it draws attention from the public. Driven by Amy’s writing in her diary, they point Nick out as the suspect. Everything is getting worse when they find out that Amy is pregnant. Nick cannot accept that. He defends himself and tries to find out what happened. But no matter what he says, the evidences refer to him. Few days after, Nick finally finds clues. He finds out that Amy is trying to trap him in a murder story. She wants to have revenge to Nick because he is cheating on her.

Meanwhile the other is busy to find Amy; she herself is living her new life. She goes to another city and lives herself. One day, her new friend takes her saving money. She has no money left. As the last way out, she goes to her ex’s house to ask for some help. She tells her ex, Desi, that her husband abuses her and does some bad things to her. Desi believes her and asks her to live with him. As the day goes, Desi is too protective and Amy does not like it. Then she kills Desi.

She makes a story that Desi is trying to rape her. Thus, she has to kill him. After that, she backs to Nick. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

Nick is afraid of Amy, but he keeps accept her. The fact that the public believes that Amy is pregnant and innocent makes him have no other choice. They choose to built it all again. They want to fix their marriage. The story ends up with

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