In many novels that depict the story of a relationship, a woman meets a man throughout the plot in social institutions such as school, at a party, at the mall or even online. Soon, this couple falls in love and eventually decides to get married; the legally or formally recognized union of two people as partners in a personal relationship, also known as marriage. The myth of the perfect marriage comes from the expectations society places on couples who are conditioned to expect the fairy tale of "happily ever after," while many marriages lead to affairs, divorces, and battles for custody, which results in the complete opposite of the fantasy. Marco and Anne Conti from Shari Lapena's The Couple Next Door, and Nick and Amy Dunn from Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl are both great examples of marriages that fall under the false perceptions of the perfect marriage. In these two novels, we see that the two female characters, Amy and Anne, had a glimpse of what a perfect marriage is supposed to look like based on their parents' relationship, and would take revenge, or take any means necessary to get what they want. ; the ideal marriage. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Individuals play many roles in society, whether to their bosses, parents, friends, siblings, teachers, strangers, and even their spouses. Usually, the role played as a parent, sibling or spouse is considered a private life. However, roles involving their bosses, friends, teachers or colleagues are considered public lives. Both Amy and Anne come from wealthy families. Amy Dunn's parents were authors, whom Amy's husband considers to be a "kind of icon" (Flynn, 49). Nick goes on to describe the book's main character as "Amazing Amy", who Amy never liked, as her character in the book just seemed to be the better version of her in real life, "every time I fail something, Amazing Amy does it well” (Flynn, 319). “Maybe that’s why Amy always wants to be seen as the perfect girl and lead the perfect life. She always compared herself to “Amazing.” Amy,” every moment of her life When she had to move to Missouri, she said, “I could hear the story, how everyone would love to tell it: how amazing Amy, the girl. who has never done any harm, allowed herself to be dragged, penniless, to the middle of the country, where her husband abandoned her for a younger woman. How predictable, how perfectly average. (Flynn, 315) She was more worried about what people thought of her than what she thought of herself. The same goes for Anne Conti, who also cared about what people thought. thought of her. Alice, Anne's mother, is a rich woman who "comes from old money." (Lapena, 30 years old) Alice has a lot to say in Anne's life because she wants the best for her daughter. This is seen when Alice sent her to the best high school and university. However, when Alice tried to control her daughter's love life, she failed, leading to Anne marrying Marco and discontent between Marco and his in-laws. Alice thought Marco “wasn't good enough” (Lapena, 117) for her daughter and she didn't “approve” of him either (Lapena, 117). Anne ignored all the conflicts around her family and her husband and focused on what other mothers would think if she left her baby home alone. Anne also suffered from postpartum depression, discovered by policewho found her prescription in the bathroom cabinet, which she defended by saying it was “quite common” and “a lot of mothers suffered from it”. (Lapena, 54 years old) even more to reassure himself that everything is okay and to tell the detective that it's nothing. Anne and Amy's parents are the reason they both care a lot about other people's opinions and want to be seen as living a "perfect life." Living up to their parents' high expectations was very important to both characters, as both sets of adults set a high bar for them. Marriage is split between the man and the woman. Not everything leads to happily ever after. Nick and Amy's marriage was very healthy, until the 2008 recession hit and they lost their jobs. Amy's trust fund was quickly wiped out by Amy's parents as they went through the early stages of bankruptcy. As for Nick's parents, his mother was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, forcing them to move back to Nick's hometown in Missouri. Nick got a job at the local community college as a professor for a writing class, where he begins having an affair with a student. He admits to having a mistress and she was “quite a young mistress, very young, and her name is Andie” (Flynn, 193). This is why Amy accuses Nick of her "murder", which she so astonishingly admits: "I'm so much happier now that I'm dead" (Flynn, 295). Marco and Anne's marriage isn't perfect either, as they had a daughter named Cora, which unfortunately led to Anne's postpartum depression and caused her to stop working. As for Marco, his business was not doing very well and he asked his father-in-law Richard for help. Richard refuses, leaving Marco desperate. Eventually, he meets a man who befriends him and gives him the idea of ​​kidnapping his own daughter and getting ransom from his in-laws. When Cora is kidnapped, nothing goes as planned and Marco worries, continually telling himself that “Cora is fine” (Lapena, 142). Fortunately, at the end of the novel, the couple gets their baby back. Every couple has problems in their marriage. There is no such thing as a perfect marriage. Some couples have it worse than others. Problems can arise with loyalty itself, just as with money problems. In most cases, divorce is not always the best solution. Even though the truth may have been revealed, the two couples still had an obvious public perception that was restored upon Amy and Cora's return. Everyone thought Amy and Nick were happy and had a mutual feeling of wanting a child, but Nick "was a prisoner after all." (Flynn, 551). Amy used an old sperm sample from Nick, which had been taken when they wanted a baby, to get pregnant. Nick thought Amy had thrown away his sample, when she hadn't. When she was robbed and left penniless, she contacted one of her old boyfriends, Desi. She used it to get home, still sticking to her missing person case. She accused Desi of her kidnapping and killed him as an act of self-defense and returned to her husband. Amy is a very dangerous woman and will do anything, including lying, blackmailing, taking revenge, and even committing murder to get what she wants. She then confessed to Nick in the shower, just to make sure he didn't record her, and told him that the reason she killed Desi was because "he was the power" and that he " returned to his old life. also stated that “she murdered him” and “could blame him for everything” (Flynn, 523). In Couple Next Door, even though Anne and.