45 pages • 1 hour read
Mary KubicaThe Good Girl
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Mia Dennett
Mia is a 25-year-old art teacher living in Chicago. She is the outcast daughter of prominent Judge James Dennett and grew up in a wealthy, isolated family.
Initially, Mia plays the role of someone in need of rescuing. She is kidnapped for ransom and appears to be a victim of circumstance because of her family’s wealth and her father’s local prominence. In the car and cabin with Colin, she fights back but soon becomes passive, depressed, and lethargic. In many ways, Mia sees herself as a victim—she talks to Colin about her lonely childhood and her father’s abuse and neglect. After her rescue, Mia is silent, glassy-eyed, and docile. Her fight is gone. She plays the role of a victim of trauma.
Like many of the tropes in this novel, however, Mia is not what she seems. As we learn about her grief, her insistence on keeping her child, and her agency in choosing Colin as a lover instead of her captor, it is clear Mia took action to save herself. The final chapter of the novel makes this even more clear—Mia was the orchestrator of her own kidnapping. She is not a victim but a hero on a mission to end her father’s reign of terror.
Eve Dennett
Eve is James’s wife and Mia’s mother. She was born in Gloucestershire, England and emigrated when she was 18 years old. She is now a wealthy but lonely housewife living in Chicago’s posh suburbs.
Eve is the most passive character in the novel. She has been under the thumb of her husband for decades and rarely speaks up against him. Mia’s disappearance forces Eve to reflect on her behavior as a mother, her priorities, and her ability to speak for herself. Her grief over Mia forces her to reflect on her role as a mother, and the example she set for Mia as a woman in the world. Her budding romance with Gabe is proof of her shift from passive wife to independent woman. As the novel progresses, and Eve must stand up for Mia more and more, Eve becomes strong and confident.
Detective Gabe Hoffman
Gabe joined the police force because his friend was starting at the academy, and Gabe didn’t have any other options. The class distinctions between him and the Dennett family become a primary factor in his characterization—he comes from a poor Italian family, while the Dennetts’ were born into money.
Gabe has all the qualities of a hardened police officer. He is dogged, a little arrogant, and he doesn’t let a case drop until he’s solved it. The surprising twist in his character is his empathy. Gabe is disgusted by the lack of empathy of many of Mia’s friends and family members. He feels deeply for Eve, who has no support from her husband—Gabe and Eve’s bond stems from Gabe’s empathy for Eve, and his willingness to soothe her during this difficult time. His empathy also brings him to Gary, Indiana, where he regularly visits Colin’s mother. Gabe has a surprising softness that allows him to solve this case. Unlike the tough policemen who kill Colin, Gabe’s approach is gentle, persistent, and kind.
Judge James Dennett
James is a prominent judge and Mia’s father. Though he is never portrayed in a kind light, he transforms from mere negligent father to corrupt villain.
James is motivated by selfishness, public opinion, and fear for his reputation. He is the product of generations of lawyers and competes with his siblings for success and glory. He wins Eve over with his charisma and wit, but as he ages, he becomes more entrenched in his self-serving, cruel behaviors. He is an emotionally abusive father and plays favorites, preferring Grace over Mia because Grace is more likely to do as he pleases. He has no ability to see the pain he causes his wife and children, even as he drags Mia to an abortion clinic against her will.
Mia brings James’s immoral behavior to light at the end of the novel. She discovers that he accepted bribes during a racketeering trial and sets him up. James is the villain in the novel—he is the only person who commits a real crime, and he is the reason Colin is killed. He is brought to justice at the end of the book, when Gabe searches James’s chambers and finds proof of extortion.
Colin Thatcher
Colin was paid by a crime boss named Dalmar to kidnap Mia so she could be held for ransom. Colin supports his mother, Kathryn, who has Parkinson’s Disease. Colin’s father left when Colin was six, and since then Colin has paid the bills and cared for his ailing mother. He grew up poor with few prospects in Gary, Indiana and got involved in crime after accepting a high-interest loan he couldn’t pay back.
Initially, Colin is portrayed as a villain. He appears sociopathic at first, because of his inability to empathize with Mia during the kidnapping. But Colin has a change of heart when delivering Mia to Dalmar. He fears for her life (and his own jail sentence) and instead brings her to his father’s cabin in Grand Marais. As the story develops, Colin’s motivations become clear. The pressure to keep his mother healthy and safe is his primary goal. He cares for Mia, and his love for her grows as they spend time together in the cabin. By the time the police shoot Colin, he is more hero than villain: He is Mia’s lover, savior, and the father of her child. He is the only person, in Mia’s eyes, who has cared for her the way she wants and needs.
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By Mary Kubica
