As the novels mentioned above are considered classics, and they are important, because they allow their readers to measure whether not the perception of character, specifically unlikable female antagonists. One of the most obvious examples of this is of Amy Dunne in Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Amy is manipulative, she is cunning, and she is even scary at times. Amy is willing to do whatever it takes to get what she believes she deserves including kill herself and destroy her husband’s life along with her own. Much like Heathcliff, who is willing to destroy the lives of those around him to take revenge on the life he believes he was robbed of.Then why is it then that she is not praised for it like her male counterparts? Perhaps, it is because Amy Dunne is complicated. Perhaps, it is because she supposedly perpetuates the “bitch” stereotype given to women when they do not fall into the categories that make women easy to love, because she is nonthreatening. When a woman does not fit into that very narrow very constricting outline of what a woman is supposed to be which is kind, loving, nurturing, she is often seen as a monster, because society, and even readers of literature want to see women as mothers, as individuals who serve no other purpose but to conform to the ideals placed upon them by the male
As the novels mentioned above are considered classics, and they are important, because they allow their readers to measure whether not the perception of character, specifically unlikable female antagonists. One of the most obvious examples of this is of Amy Dunne in Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Amy is manipulative, she is cunning, and she is even scary at times. Amy is willing to do whatever it takes to get what she believes she deserves including kill herself and destroy her husband’s life along with her own. Much like Heathcliff, who is willing to destroy the lives of those around him to take revenge on the life he believes he was robbed of.Then why is it then that she is not praised for it like her male counterparts? Perhaps, it is because Amy Dunne is complicated. Perhaps, it is because she supposedly perpetuates the “bitch” stereotype given to women when they do not fall into the categories that make women easy to love, because she is nonthreatening. When a woman does not fit into that very narrow very constricting outline of what a woman is supposed to be which is kind, loving, nurturing, she is often seen as a monster, because society, and even readers of literature want to see women as mothers, as individuals who serve no other purpose but to conform to the ideals placed upon them by the male