Feminist Criticism of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

808 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on the theme of the great gatsby

Feminist Criticism of The Great Gatsby

The pervasive male bias in American literature leads the reader to equate the experience of being American with the experience of being male. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the background for the experience of disillusionment and betrayal revealed in the novel is the discovery of America. Daisy's failure of Gatsby is symbolic of the failure of America to live up to the expectations in the imagination of the men who "discovered" it. America is female; to be American is male; and the quintessential American experience is betrayal by woman. Fetterley believes that power is the issue in the politics of literature. Powerlessness characterizes woman's experience of reading not only because her experience is not articulated, clarified and legitimized in art, but more significantly because to be universal in American literature is to be not female.

The Great Gatsby is an American "love" story centered in hostility to women. The vision of love is played out as a struggle for power in an elaborate pattern of advantage and disadvantage in which romance is but a strategy for male victory. Gatsby's imaginative investment in Daisy is evident in his description of her as the first 'nice' girl he had ever known. The quotation marks around "nice" indicate that the word is being used not as a reference to personality but as an index to social status and that Jay Gatsby's interest in Daisy Fay lies in what she represents rather than in what she is. She is for him symbolic rather than personal: he later remarks to Nick that Daisy's relation to Tom was just personal.

Gatsby thinks of Daisy in relation to the objects that surround her. He cannot separate his vision of her from his vision...

... middle of paper ...

... Gatsby, in the eyes of a feminist critic, is based on a lie of a double standard that makes female characters in classic literature not persons but symbols. It makes women's experience no part of that literature's concern. The male romantic imagination wants women to remain outsiders so that they can be forever available as occasions for the heroic gestures of men and as scapegoats for the failure of men's dreams.

Works Cited

Feminist Criticism. http://www.cumber.edu/engl230/femcrit.htm

Fetterley, Judith. The Resisting Reader: A Feminist Approach to American Fiction. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1978.

Lee, Elizabeth. Feminist Theory - An Overview.

http://ursula.stg.brown.edu/projects/hyp...t/landow/victorian/gender/femtheory.html

Meese, Elizabeth A. Crossing the Double-Cross. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1986.

Show More
Related

  • Character Analysis of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1018 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nick Carroway was a great narrator for The Great Gatsby because he was so unbiased and open-minded to the world. He was tolerant and an attentive listener to whoever was speaking. He represented a quiet, tolerant, and reflective man from the Midwest during the 1920’s. "I was conscious of wanting to look squarely at every one, and yet to avoid all eyes." (15), this quote expresses Tom’s quiet feature and how he wants to avoid all unnecessary attention. Jordan Baker is a prime example for the changes that women are going through during the 1920’s. She embraces a carefree lifestyle and expresses herself as a young woman that is just trying to have fun. Daisy represented complete perfection in a woman and constant success that she strived for. She was charming, sophisticated, and graceful. “Her face was sad and lovely…bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth” (9). She was completely beautiful and lovely in so many ways. All she ever dreamed of was wealth and that is what Jay Gatsby had. Gatsby even made the comment about her that “her voice was full of money” (120). George represents a hard-working, God fearing man that doesn’t have many flaws. He seems to be very loyal to his wife and undeserving of her actions with Tom. Gatsby represents wealth, success, and the American Dream. He had a huge house, many servants that helped him, and an abundance of money. Nick compared his house to Gatsby’s, “My own house was an eyesore…so I had the view of the water…and the consoling proximity of millionaires” (5). Tom displayed power and had money to back up his opinions and mistakes. He had very much authority in the way he talked to people. Myrtle was a good example for showing the unhappiness in many women during this time. It portrayed u...

    Read More

  • The Role of Female Characters in American Literature: The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    For readers who observe literature through a feminist lens, they will notice the depiction of female characters, and this makes a large statement on the author’s perception of feminism. Through portraying these women as specific female archetypes, the author creates sense of what roles women play in both their families and in society. In books such as The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the roles that the main female characters play are, in different instances, both comparable and dissimilar.

    Read More

  • Essay On Women In The Great Gatsby

    1360 Words  | 3 Pages

    Overall, Fitzgerald does a fantastic job in reflecting the 1920s society onto The Great Gatsby. He mentions discrimination, women changing, war, industrial revolution, prohibition, and every important part that took place during that era. The significance of the “new women “ is that to this day women now have the same rights as men and are now treated equally. In conclusion, events that occurred during the 1920s greatly impacted and influenced our society to the modern world we live in.

    Read More

  • Emergence of Women in the Great Gatsby

    1313 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the 1920’s, the role women had under men was making a drastic change, and it is shown in The Great Gatsby by two of the main female characters: Daisy and Jordan. One was domesticated and immobile while the other was not. Both of them portray different and important characteristics of the normal woman growing up in the 1920’s. The image of the woman was changing along with morals. Females began to challenge the government and the society. Things like this upset people, especially the men. The men were upset because this showed that they were losing their long-term dominance over the female society.

    Read More

  • Vilification of Women in American Literature

    2536 Words  | 6 Pages

    Women have played an important role in American literature. Unfortunately, this role was often negative, without cause to be so. Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome and F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby are examples of American literature in which women are needlessly vilified.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby Femininity Analysis

    1423 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the 1920’s women were fervently depicted as inferior to men and incapable of the success. In the novel The Great Gatsby female characters are subject to gender based stereotypes and blindly follow culturally accepted norms which dictate their place and position within society. The expectations placed upon the female characters to comply with the norms of society limit their potential to become successful in comparison to the male characters, who are successful in the 1920’s. Within The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald illustrates the female characters as socially and economically limited and dependant, due to the strong implementation of patriarchal roles of men in society. Women are confined

    Read More

  • Research Paper

    1804 Words  | 4 Pages

    Baseball has drastically changed over the years, especially in the cheating scandals of steroids; Babe Ruth set a great example by excelling in the sport and doing it clean, contrasting with Mark McGwire. Their existence shows how society excepted honesty and doing it the clean way in Babe’s era and how society accepts the scandals and dishonesty of Mark’s era. The Great Babe Ruth had amazing baseball career, breaking records, playing everyday, and being a well rounded person, without the assistance of illegal substances. On the other hand, Mark McGwire drifted to the assistance and cheated the game of baseball. Society has changed with all of the scandals and dishonesty. Society now a days wants honesty and non cheaters. Both the Babe and Mark have taught us all life lessons they we should pay attention to as a whole country.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in The Great Gatsby

    1299 Words  | 3 Pages

    Even if they disagree about other issues, all feminists believe patriarchal ideology works to keep men and women confined to traditional gender roles so male dominance may be maintained. Utilizing the precepts of Feminist criticism, it could be argued “The Great Gatsby” promotes a thinly veiled patriarchal agenda. Through Fitzgerald’s treatment of the three women in “Gatsby”, as well as masking the possible homosexuality of a central character, the novel seems to promote only the traditional gender roles, swaying uncomfortably from any possible variance.

    Read More

  • Research Paper

    1938 Words  | 4 Pages

    On July 2, 1962, the first Wal-Mart store opened in Arkansas, and over the next 50 years, Wal-Mart became a retail giant. Holding the title of the world’s largest employer, only comparable to the United States Department of Defense and Chinas Army, Wal-Mart employs over 2.1 million people. Sam Walton’s philosophy was low prices. Instead of offering good sales every once in a while, Walton offered an “always lower price” than competitors on things that ordinary people use every day. This philosophy continues to attract more than 140 million shoppers per week. This staggering amount of shoppers helped produce a revenue of $443billion for fiscal year 2012 alone (Matthews, 2012). With more than 6,000 stores in 14 countries, Wal-Mart produces remarkable revenue each year (Hesterly, 2010). With literally billions pouring into the company, one must assess how the money is controlled and if its accounted for by the best contemporary management techniques on the market. While Wal-Mart thrives on the use of benchmarketing and lean accounting, the Theory of Constraints paired with lean accounting could produce staggering results for Wal-Mart in terms of financial management.

    Read More

  • andrew jackson

    1156 Words  | 3 Pages

    great country was founded on. He gave it all, all those skills of being a lawyer, judge,

    Read More

  • Compare The Great Gatsby And The Lovesong Of J Alfred Prufrock

    1049 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby’s obsession with Daisy Buchanan prevents him from seeing clearly. When he was a young boy, Gatsby hoped and strived to become a man

    Read More

  • Attitude Towards Women In The Great Gatsby

    729 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this novel Fitzgerald shows Tom and George’s negative philosophy’s towards women. He shows in The Great Gatsby how men can be heinous, but he also shows the positive treatment of women by men in the form of Nick and Gatsby’s characters. Fitzgerald is trying to portray that there are a lot of men that mistreat women in the world, but there are those select distinguished few such as Nick and

    Read More

  • Research Paper

    1266 Words  | 3 Pages

    Breed discrimination against canines is a huge problem and has many factors that determine it. Such factors include breed specific legislation, that individual canine’s past, and the impact of the media. Canines are only mammals and may attack when they feel as if something is threatening them. They are not angels, but with the right training and love, a discriminated breed has the potential to be a great dog and a loving piece that belongs to ones’ family.

    Read More

  • Gender Norms in The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

    969 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fetterley, Judith. The Resisting Reader: A Feminist Approach to American Literature. Bloomington and London: Indiana University Press, xi-xxiv. Print.

    Read More

  • An Essay On The Bubonic Plague

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Bubonic Plague, otherwise known as the Black Death was a raging disease. Most people thought of it as the physical Grim Reaper of their town or community. The disease lasted about six years, 1347 to 1352. The Bubonic Plague was a travesty that has traveled throughout Europe and has raged and decimated both large and small towns, putting Europe through a lot.

    Read More

More about Feminist Criticism of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

Open Document