In many novels that describe 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 in line. 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, otherwise known as marriage. The myth of the perfect marriage comes from the expectations that society places on couples who are conditioned to expect the "happily ever after" fairy tale, while many marriages lead to betrayal, divorce, and custody battles, resulting in the exact 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 into the false perception of the perfect marriage. In these two novels, it is seen that both female characters, Amy and Anne, have glimpsed what a perfect marriage should be based on their parents' relationship and would take revenge or 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 Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay There are many roles that individuals play in society, towards their bosses, parents, friends, siblings, teachers, strangers, and even spouses. Usually the role played as a parent, sibling or spouse is considered a private life. However, roles involving bosses, friends, teachers, or colleagues are considered public lives. Amy and Anne both come from wealthy families. Amy Dunn's parents were authors, who Amy's husband considers a "sort of icon" (Flynn, 49). Nick goes on to describe the book's main character as "Amazing Amy", which Amy never liked, as her character in the book seemed to be the best version of her in real life, "every time I mess something up, Amazing Amy will is good for you,” (Flynn, 319). “This could be why Amy always wants to be perceived as the perfect girl and lead a perfect life. She has always compared herself to "Amazing Amy", at every moment of her life. When she had to move to Missouri, she said, "I could hear the story, as everyone wanted to tell it: how the extraordinary Amy, the girl who never made a mistake, allowed herself to be dragged, penniless, into the middle of the country, where her husband l 'He abandoned it for a younger woman, as it is perfectly average.' (Flynn, 315) She was more concerned about what people thought of her, than what they thought of herself. The same can be said of Anne Conti, who was also interested in what people thought of her. Anne's mother, Alice, is a rich woman who "comes from rich old men." (Lapena, 30 years old) Alice has a lot of say in Anne's life as she wants the best for her daughter. This is proven when Alice sent her to the best high school and college. However, when Alice tried to control her daughter's love life, she failed, which led to Anne marrying Marco and displeasure between Marco and her in-laws. Alice thought that Marco was “not good enough” (Lapena, 117) for her daughter nor did she “approve of him” (Lapena, 117). Anne ignored all the conflicts related to her family and her husband and focused on what other mothers would think if she left her baby at home alone. Anne also dealt with postpartum depression, discovered by the police who found her prescription in the bathroom cabinet, which she defended herself by saying that it is "quite common" and that "many mothers deal with it". (Lapena, 54 years old) above all to reassure herself that everything is fine, and to reassure thedetective who is nothing. Both Anne and Amy's parents are the reason why they both care a lot about the opinions of others and want to be perceived as living "perfect lives". Living up to parents' high expectations was very important for both characters as both sets of adults set high goals to achieve. Marriage is shared between husband and wife. Not everything leads to a happy ending. Nick and Amy's marriage was very healthy, until the 2008 recession hit and caused them to lose their jobs. Amy's trust fund was soon canceled by Amy's parents as they were going through the early stages of bankruptcy. For Nick's parents, his mother was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer which forced them to move back to Nick's hometown of Missouri. Nick gets a job at the local community college teaching a writing class, where he begins having an affair with a student. He admits to having a mistress and she was “a pretty young mistress, very young, and her name is Andie” (Flynn, 193). This is why Amy blames Nick for her 'murder', which she so startlingly admits: "I'm so much happier now that I'm dead" (Flynn, 295). Marco and Anne's marriage is also not perfect, as they had a daughter named Cora, which unfortunately led to Anne's postpartum depression and dismissal from her job. As for Marco, his business was not going very well and he turned to 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 to kidnap his daughter and get ransom from his in-laws. When Cora is kidnapped nothing goes as planned and Marco becomes worried as he keeps 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 with loyalty itself can arise, just as they can with financial problems as well. In most cases, divorce may not always be the best solution. Even though the truth may have come out, both couples still had an obvious public perception that was restored when Amy and Cora returned. Everyone thought Amy and Nick were happy and had mutual feelings of wanting a child, but Nick "was a prisoner after all." (Flynn, 551). Amy used an old sperm sample from Nick, taken when they wanted a baby, to get pregnant. Nick was convinced that Amy had thrown away her sample, when she hadn't. When she was robbed and left penniless, she contacted one of her ex-boyfriends, Desi. He used it to get home, continuing to work on his disappearance case. She framed Desi for 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, sending black letters, taking revenge and even committing murder to get what she wants. She later confessed to Nick in the shower, just to make sure he wasn't recording her, and told him that the reason she killed Desi was because "it was power" and she was "getting back to her old life," she he also said that “she killed him” and “could blame everything on him” (Flynn, 523). In The Couple Next Door, even though Anne and Marco get their little Cora back, they both agree to work on their marriage because it's best for them and their daughter. But readers discover that Anne's stepfather, Richard, is behind the kidnapping of her little Cora. Richard found a Marco.