Maeve Fly

American Psycho (1991) is a novel by Bret Easton Ellis. It tells the story of Patrick Bateman, a Wall Street stockbroker who goes on a killing spree across the city. Not required to work, he assuages his boredom by violently killing unhoused people, sex workers, and even a child. Central to Bateman’s character is his identity as a wealthy, money-obsessed businessman, using his power to influence those around him and committing murder simply because he can.

In Maeve Fly, Maeve finds Ellis’s novel when she is at her lowest point, despairing at the loss of her job, Kate, her grandmother, and Gideon. From that point forward, she gives in to her dark nature by committing murders throughout the city, seeking vengeance on Liz and Andre, brutally torturing Derek as revenge for his abuse of Kate, and even killing a band simply for using her grandmother’s image. When Maeve finds American Psycho, she thinks of how she “had not considered before, not in any real seriousness” the thought of living her life in a way that is “not quiet or secret or tucked away” (193). Through her connection to this novel, Maeve realizes that she can give in to her need for violence and embrace who she truly is—just as Bateman does in American Psycho.

Maeve and Bateman are similar in their insistence that they are simply violent by nature, with no tragic backstory to explain their behavior. As Bateman explains, people are “searching for a rational analysis of who I am, which is, of course, an impossibility: there…is…no…key” (American Psycho, 253). These thoughts are similar to Maeve’s, as she repeatedly emphasizes throughout Maeve Fly that there was no moment of transformation or defining change in her life: She is just possessed by rage, like her grandmother, without explanation. Additionally, Bateman’s character emphasizes the idea of performance, as his character simply goes through the motions of his wealth and status, buying expensive, luxury goods and dressing in a way that telegraphs wealth and success while indulging his socially unacceptable desires behind closed doors. In this way, his character reflects Maeve after her transition in the novel. Her violent acts of torture and murder may serve an initial purpose—what she sees as justice or revenge—but they are ultimately acts that serve her rage and bring her some form of joy.

In Ellis’s novel, Bateman is explicitly framed as an avatar of what would today be called toxic masculinity. His pointless, cold-blooded violence is depicted as a natural outgrowth of the predatory capitalism he practices in the light of day—in which greed, self-dealing, and callous disregard for the harm one does to others are treated as evidence of masculine strength. In Maeve Fly, Maeve sees herself as a feminist answer to this male anti-hero: By usurping the violent prerogatives typically granted only to men, she believes that she is righting a social injustice.

Despite these similarities, one key difference between Maeve and Bateman is The Power of Personal Connection. Bateman spends the novel entirely disconnected from those around him, ultimately losing any sense of time or self as he commits his violent acts. Conversely, Maeve becomes only partially disconnected—as she loses herself on the Halloween dancefloor and stumbles into the Tata Tiki Lounge at dawn—yet is anchored again by her relationship with Gideon. As a result, Maeve possesses some degree of humanity, making her a more complex character than Bateman. While it can be argued that Bateman is purely evil, Maeve’s care for her grandmother, friendship with Kate, and romantic relationship with Gideon provide for a humanity that is largely absent from Bateman.