daphneblakess:

something that stands out to me about Gillian Flynn’s writing is she’s the only author I can think of who presents fucked-up women as her protagonists take them or leave them, and doesn’t try to make them “likeable”. Gone Girl is a thorough deconstruction of the male author self-insert, and I think the reason the reception to Amy was so polarized is because she’s treated the same way characters like Nick are treated by male-penned literature – her flaws are vital to the meaning of the story and therefore will not be grown out of. Sharp Objects was the first time I had ever read a female protagonist who was allowed to be self-loathing without wanting a “cure” for her trauma. Gillian Flynn’s women aren’t tailored to the male gaze idea that damaged women have to be alluring or sympathetic or desiring to be “fixed” – if men can have a thousand Holden Caulfields, why can’t women have one Camille Preaker or Amy Elliott?