Just the Nicest Couple

Content warning: This section of the guide discusses sexual assault, graphic violence, and murder.

While only some characters justify putting their violent thoughts into action, all major characters consider violence at various points throughout the novel. In most instances, the justification for violence stems from self-preservation. However, certain characters demonstrate a lapse in morality when wanting to harm others out of spite or their selfish desires. The novel ultimately suggests that most violence is unwarranted regardless of the justification but presents self-defense as justifiable.

Lily violently hits Jake on the head with a rock twice to stop his attack and get away from him. Christian justifies that Lily “did so in self-defense” (90-91). Christian worries about how incriminating the altercation appears for Lily, highlighting the unfairness of the situation. Jake initiated the violence by sexually assaulting her. Even though Lily hurt Jake, the novel suggests through one of its moral mouthpieces, Christian, that she did so justifiably in self-defense.

However, Christian’s thoughts of violence develop as his moral compass deteriorates. Christian goes further than justifying Lily’s violent actions when he asserts: “I like to think he died slowly. That it was painful. That he suffered” (117). Christian’s dark thoughts surprise him, revealing his potential to consider brutality. More than once, Christian fantasizes about hurting or killing other characters. When he catches Nina with the bag of bloody clothing, he has “a sudden mental image of my hands coming down on Nina’s neck. [...] I can feel what it would be like to press down, to stop the airflow to the trachea, to strangle her before lowering Nina’s lifeless body to the floor” (144-45). Christian wants to protect his family, so Christian justifies his urge to kill Nina violently, yet the graphic nature of the description with details such as the “trachea” suggests that his urges go beyond justified defense. He never acts on these vicious thoughts, illustrating his respect for human life. Still, Christian is not entirely innocent in wishing harm on others.

Nina also demonstrates a capacity to harm others, though she realizes that violence comes in many forms. When Nina learns that her mother, not Lily, killed Jake, she considers letting Lily take the fall for the crime out of spite. She thinks, “[m]ore than anything, I want Lily to hurt like I hurt. I want Lily to suffer. I want Lily to sit alone in prison, separated from the people she loves” (344). Nina justifies her urge to be emotionally violent out of retribution for the harm that Lily caused Nina. Like Christian, Nina rises above these violent desires. Nina and Christian see merit in taking the moral high ground and restraining themselves from devolving into violence.

Conversely, Nina’s mother has no qualms about justifying murder with a warped version of protective maternal instincts. She tells Nina, “I only did what I did to Jake to protect you. […] He would have taken everything from you and left you with nothing’” (346). After an entire lifetime of an identity completely defined by motherhood, Nina’s mother will stop at nothing to ensure that her daughter lives a happy, comfortable life. The unfairness of her situation allows Nina’s mother to justify extreme violence when her daughter is threatened with the same cruel outcome, yet through her dismal ending, Kubica suggests that this is unjustified.