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.
Themes
Imperialism and Masculinity
Kubica critiques patriarchal, oppressive forms of masculinity. Gabe, Colin, and James struggle with the correlation between masculinity and violence—Gabe critiques it, Colin fights against it, and James allows it to ruin his life. This masculinity is described, in some moments, as imperialism—Mia and Eve are forced into submission because of fear.
Both Eve and Mia are the victims of an imperialistic relationship with James. Mia describes her parents’ relationship based on her mother’s analysis: “[Eve] tells me that it’s called imperialism: a relationship based on dominance and subordination” (244). James forces Eve to speak with an American accent, ignore her British heritage, and act in a way that suits his needs. This is most clear when he locks Eve out of her daughter’s room so she can’t tell Mia not to have an abortion. James physically assaults his wife during this escapade to get his way.
Mia has a similar experience with James’s imperialistic style of masculinity. Though he is her father, he mocks Mia’s success and denounces her dreams. He frequently refers to Mia and Eve as “deluded” (145) because they don’t share his self-serving values. Eve and Mia are free-spirited at heart, though Eve is beaten down by her husband’s neglect and abuse. The power of James’s dominance is clear as Eve reflects on her failure to follow her own values: When she was younger, she “vowed never to be [a wife] who obeyed her husband as if his command was the word of God” (115). James sees himself as the “God” figure of the house—his career as a judge is symbolic of his desire for power and obedience.
Masculinity also plays a role in Gabe and Colin’s lives. Colin fights against the masculinity he was exposed to as a child—one of violence and a desire for power. Gabe also admits that, as a younger man, he joined the police force because he wanted to carry a gun and wield power. Both men fight their learned behavior with love and empathy. Though their struggle is ongoing, they remain true to themselves and to the women they love because of their ability to empathize.
Loss of Identity
Mia loses her identity along with her memory. Eve also struggles with losing and regaining her sense of self, as does Colin.
Though Mia struggles with depression and fear in the cabin, it isn’t until Colin is shot in front of her that she experiences acute stress disorder and amnesia. For much of the novel, Mia is described as zombie-like. In one scene, Colin describes her: “There she stood in the middle of the room, stripped down to a lace bra and panties. She might as well have been dead” (97). Mia’s loss of vitality is coupled with the loss of her name. Mia takes on the name of Chloe, a deceased girl from her childhood, further solidifying her loss of self.
Eve loses herself in the years-long struggle against a domineering husband. She forgets her priorities as a mother and focuses on appeasing James. Though Eve’s loss of identity happens over time, it is as damaging as Mia’s. Mia describes her mother as passive and malleable, with no sense of her own needs or desires.
Colin’s loss of identity is rooted in his life of crime. He traps himself in a cycle of violence that contradicts his morals and upbringing. Colin doesn’t recognize himself as a kidnapper or a criminal, but he has no way out. As he spends more time with Mia and falls in love, Colin reconnects with his roots and his values. Though the world continues to see him as a criminal, he becomes a hero in Mia’s eyes.
The trauma of abuse, grief, or poverty is at the core of each character’s loss of identity. Each character struggles against the trauma of the past to regain their sense of self. They succeed, though for Colin the victory is short-lived.
Love and Healing
In a novel riddled with violence, the reader is left with a reminder of the healing power of love. Love helps Mia manage her grief; allows Eve to break free from a domineering husband; and allows Colin to regain his sense of self before his death.
After Mia recounts her consensual relationship with Colin, Dr. Rhodes declares that Mia is the victim of Stockholm Syndrome. The circumstances of her captivity made her fall in love with Colin simply because he kept her alive. Eve doubts this diagnosis: “She waits until Dr. Rhodes has said good-night and retreats down the hall—out of hearing range—before uttering, ‘She loved him,’ in that mother-knows-best tone” (340). Mia’s love for Colin allows her to accept the pains of her childhood and to see herself as more than a victim of her father’s imperialism. Mia has a similar effect on Colin—through their relationship, he embraces his gentler, more empathetic self. He reconnects with the values his mother imparted, which he lost in the cycles of poverty and crime. The bond between Mia and Colin is a source of healing that allows them to imagine the world anew. The baby is a symbol of their love and bond, living through the violence and grief into a brighter future.
Similarly, Eve’s love for Mia during and after her disappearance allows her to reflect on and heal from the decades of emotional abuse she experienced at the hands of her husband. Eve’s ability to reconnect with herself as a mother heals her and allows her to step away from the family dynamic that took her confidence and her pride. Eve heals alongside Mia as the two women fight against James’s demands and their own traumas.
The theme of love and healing doesn’t reject the experience of past pain. Instead, it acknowledges that pain and embraces a new future. This is clear in Colin’s message carved on the counter in the cabin: “We Were Here, I think, but it’s someone else who leaves” (323). Colin both acknowledges the pain of the long months in the cabin and celebrates the love and healing that happened there.
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