The Foundations of Fiction: Character Development Profile – Madeline Martha McKenzie, “Big Little Lies”
In Character Development, Craft of Writing, Foundations of Fiction June 25, 2019
As writers, part of our mandate is to develop strong, multidimensional characters. Studying traits of other characters can provide inspiration and ideas in the development of our own creations.
Today, we’re shining a light on Madeline Martha McKenzie from “Big Little Lies,” by Liane Moriarty
Name: Madeline Martha McKenzie
Occupation: Part-time marketing manager for Pirriwee Peninsula Theater Company.
Current Residence: Pirriwee Beach, a fictional Australian suburb.
Marital Status: Divorced from Nathan, remarried to Ed.
Age: 40
Allies: Celeste Wright, Jane Chapman, Ed McKenzie (husband).
Children: Abigail, Chloe and Fred.
Enemies/Antagonists: Bonnie (Nathan’s new wife), Renata Klein. The world.
Appearance: Madeline has shoulder-length dark hair, referred to as “well-cut.” She is tanned and has a splash of freckles across her nose and chest. She wears a citrusy perfume and paints her toenails turquoise. She is a fashion plate, a slave to designer labels such as Dolce and Gabbana, stiletto heels, and high-end boots. Her everyday look of choice is a wrap dress with heels. She never leaves the house without makeup. Her husband, Ed, calls her, “The girliest girl [you’ve] ever seen.”
While Madeline loves fashion, she loves a deal more, constantly on the hunt for sales and specials, priding herself on her “savvy” online shopping skills. She despairs over Jane’s drab wardrobe, Celeste’s careless one and Bonnie’s shapeless, threadbare one, wanting to get all three into her clutches for makeovers. Jane thinks of Madeline as a “glittery girl . . . not necessarily the prettiest, but they decorated themselves so affectionately, like Christmas trees, with dangling earrings, jangling bangles and delicate, pointless scarves.”
Accent: Australian
Drink of Choice: Champagne. Coffee.
Catchphrase: “Oh, calamity.”
Quotable Quotes:
Madeline: “They say it’s good to let your grudges go, but I don’t know, I’m quite fond of my grudge. I tend it like a little pet.”
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“Madeline, she realized, was one of those slightly dangerous people who jumped right in defending their friends and stirred up far bigger waves than the first tiny ripple.”
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Madeline: “Bonnie is so ‘calm,’ you see. The opposite of me.” She speaks in one of those soft . . . low . . . melodious voices that make you want to punch a wall.”
Overview: Madeline McKenzie’s middle name shouldn’t be “Martha,” it should be “Outrage,” for she is in a perpetual state of it. She is the person who will (and does) get out of the car to berate someone for texting while driving (even grabbing the offending device from the driver). She is never one to take things in stride, but rather at hurricane-level 5 intensity. If you’re not upset about something, rest assured, Madeleine will be enraged on your behalf. She’s depressed about getting older and downs vitamins and slathers on eye creams in an attempt to stop the aging process.
Once a struggling single mother abandoned by her ex-husband, Madelaine is agitated (and at times furious), when he remarries and decides to become an involved parent to their teenage daughter, Abigail – even more so when Abigail chooses to live with her ex and his wife, Bonnie.
Strengths: Madeline is fiercely loyal, willing to scorch the earth for those she loves if it comes to it. She is highly social with lots of friends in different groups, though she considers Celeste and Jane to be her closest friends. She loves celebrations, any excuse for champagne and fun and laughter. She’s always happy to see people, her pleasure lighting up her face. She’s particularly protective of the fragile Jane, ready to wage war on her behalf, or to merely be there as a friend to listen or cheer her up. Madeline “thrives on conflict” and feels she excels at managing crises. When Jane needs posterboard late at night to help her son finish a school project, Madeline comes running with supplies in tow.
She is supremely confident, not able to understand Jane’s lack of it: “She wouldn’t have been undone by the words fat and ugly because her self-confidence about her looks was too high, even when she was nineteen—or especially when she was nineteen. She got to decide how she looked.”
Vulnerabilities/Tics/Quirks/Flaws: Madeline is the first to admit she likes to hold grudges and that she, “enjoys hating people.” Her motto is “never forgive, never forget,” and she admires people who are able to do so. She’s not above a little gossip and is feels jealous that her daughter, Abigail, “no longer love[s] her best.” According to her ex-husband, she’s a terrible cook.
She hates chamomile tea, but will try to drink it because of its supposed calming effects. Is angry that she’s made to feels somewhat inferior to “high-flying” career women like Renata, which makes her even more competitive than she usually is. Is offended that Ed doesn’t think she’s damaged, because she “wants to be interesting and damaged, too.”
Takeaways:
- Madeline is loyal, self-aware, confident, feisty, fabulous and one of the best friends you’ll ever have, should you be so lucky.
- She can also be petty, over-the-top and gossipy. She wears her righteous indignation like a badge of honor.
- On the surface, Madeline’s penchant for outrage and pettiness would seem to make her wholly unlikable, but her genuine love and devotion for others as well as her self-awareness make her relatable.
Hints for Character Development:
In addition to other characters commenting on and observing a character’s flaws and personality quirks, having the character in question acknowledge their own shortcomings can endear them to the reader. Madeline has many failings that she openly cops to: she holds grudges, she enjoys hating people, she loves a fight. She’s completely self-aware, which makes her charming and allows the reader to forgive some of her more over-the-top tendencies (and even enjoy them).
Madeline’s faults are balanced out by her good qualities as well as her fears and insecurities, all of which make her relatable. She’s afraid of getting older (aren’t we all?) and tries to stave it off by turning to hope in a bottle. She hates being compared to women like Renata who have careers compared to her job. She feels as though she’s losing her teenage daughter, Abigail, both because she’s growing up, but also due to her seeming preference for the father who abandoned her as a baby.
Mine your character’s fears and insecurities and have them acknowledge their shortcomings to help make them relatable. Infuse their negative tendencies with positive attributes and vice versa.
