The Flapper In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Although she is often seen now as a mere fashion of the bygone Jazz Age, the flapper should be regarded as one of the great authentic characters in American history…” (Johnson, P. 88). Before the release of The Great Gatsby in 1925, women were characterized as stay-at-home mothers who cooked and cleaned during the day. When the roaring twenties arrived, the description of a typical woman completely changed as the term “flapper” was coined. Women began to take on the perceptible role of the flapper; a role characterized as being spoiled, self-centered, and rebellious. As a 30 year-old man, F. Scott Fitzgerald had his own thoughts and feelings about the new norm for women. He summarized his thoughts in The Great Gatsby by giving specific characteristics

Scott Fitzgerald was viewed as both a patron and a doubter of the sudden emergence of the Flapper. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald shows his disapproval through background information and descriptions of Jordan and Catherine, Myrtle Wilson’s sister. Jordan is a self-motivated, rebellious, unmarried golfer who, similar to Catherine, likes to party. Jordan once told Nick, “I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy” (Fitzgerald 49). Fitzgerald criticizes the idea of the flapper through Jordan by including a newspaper article that Nick recalls about her. The article said, “...she had moved her ball from a bad lie in the semi-final round. The thing approached the proportions of a scandal” (Fitzgerald, 56). Similar to Jordan, Catherine exhibits characteristics of an untrustworthy and dishonest person. When Nick meets Catherine for the first time she tells him, “‘Myrtle really ought to get away from him’ resumed Catherine to me.’They’ve been living over that garage for eleven years. And Tom’s the first sweetie she ever had’” (Fitzgerald, 35). Catherine shows that she is rebellious as she tries to persuade Tom and Myrtle into leaving their spouses. Both Jordan and Catherine are rebellious and self-centered, which were common traits among

When Tom, Jordan, and Nick are heading home from New York City, they learn that Myrtle was struck and killed by a car passing by. As rumors of the incident began to swirl, Tom learned that it had was Gatsby’s car that had committed the crime. Nick finds out from Gatsby that it was Daisy who was driving at the time, not Gatsby. This detail indicates that Fitzgerald was not fond of the traditional woman because they would not take credit for their actions. Gatsby explains what happened right after the accident, “I tried to make her stop, but she couldn’t so I pulled on the emergency brake” (Fitzgerald, 144). Fitzgerald shows flaws of both the traditional woman and Flappers by including scenes that create a negative