Gender Power Relations in Marriage
Foucault's Conception of Power in Nick and Amy's Marriage
There is perhaps no relationship in which gender power relations are more explicitly enacted than in a marriage. Nick and Amy's marriage in Gone Girl is especially representative of this; their relationship demonstrates Michel Foucault's nuanced conception of power.In Foucault's quote above, we see that we do not need to look further beyond our everyday social interactions and relationships to see power as a concept be enacted. In Nick and Amy's marriage, gender power relations are evident and they work in conjunction with the unhealthy expectations and idealistic imaginations they have of each other."Power is not an institution, and not a structure; neither is it a certain strength we are endowed with; it is the name that one attributes to a complex strategical situation in a particular society." -Michel Foucault
When Nick expects Amy to automatically enjoy her Missourian life, he acts out Foucault's understanding of power by embodying the 'masculine husband' whose wife follows around with no objection. Similarly, when Amy expects Nick to provide for her every need without necessarily expressing her desires to him, she plays on her own conception of power by manipulating him with her emotions.
In their most intense fight throughout their marriage, we see Foucault's gender power relations being played out at their maximum level, as Amy begs Nick to have a baby in order to keep their marriage going, manipulating him using sentiments and emotions, and Nick's reaction is harsh and abusive as he beats her to the floor.
"I've been thinking...maybe it's time [to have a baby]...For me, I would have a real purpose here." -Amy
We see this gender power play again in the ending, as Amy manipulates Nick using her own female body by secretly undergoing artificial insemination to become pregnant. This is Amy's act of revenge after Nick's manipulation of her throughout their marriage by overemphasizing her physical appeal and attributes, essentially seeing her as an object.
Analysing Nick and Amy's marriage through Foucault's lens of power in everyday relationships allows us to understand the extent to which their relationship has destroyed them and led to their eventual demise. However, by continuing to stay together and prolong their toxic and unhealthy marriage, Nick and Amy demonstrate the difficulty of extracting oneself from this web of power relationships."All we did was resent each other and try to control each other and cause each other pain." -Nick
"That's marriage." -Amy
Works Cited:
Flynn, Gillian. Gone Girl. New York, Penguin Random House, 2012.
