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

to each of the female characters.
Beauty is defined as, “the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure of deep satisfaction to the mind” (Merriam-Webster). Although beauty is often used to describe the physical appearance of a person, Fitzgerald uses the word to illustrate a contrast between the female characters in the book. Daisy represents the pre-1920s woman, and Jordan represents the flapper. Readers are introduced to both Daisy and Jordan at the same time, but Fitzgerald is keen to note the differences between the two women. Nick describes Jordan as being, “...completely motionless, and with her chin raised a little, as if she were balancing something on it which was quite likely to fall. If she saw me out of the corner of her eyes she gave no hint of it––indeed, I was almost surprised into murmuring an apology for having disturbed her by coming in” (Fitzgerald, 8). Whereas, Daisy is described as, “Her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes, and a bright passionate mouth…” (Fitzgerald, 14). Both descriptions detail the specific traits each woman exhibits that makes them attractive. Despite these similarities, their physical descriptions also create a contrast between the two. Nick seems to find the beauty in Jordan through her actions and her sense of confidence, Nick describes her as, “...a slender, small-breasted girl, with an erect carriage...Her grey eyes looked back at me with polite reciprocal curiosity out of a wan, charming, discontented face” (Fitzgerald, 16). Jordan’s actions make her attractive because they cause everyone around her to become intrigued and curious about her, whereas Daisy’s beauty is often described through her physical looks, as she is often described as being “a male fantasy, which men want to attain” (Johnson, 89).
F.

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

flappers.
In contrast, Fitzgerald also criticizes the traditional woman through the character of Daisy.

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

image.
“Before 1920s it was considered that women’s main role in their lives was to take care of their husbands and children, but in the novel we can see that later they care more about themselves and about their place in society and they became careless and unfaithful towards their families” (Bañares, 48). Fitzgerald reflects this point through the story of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby. As we are introduced to Daisy Buchanan, we learn that her husband, Tom Buchanan, is having an affair with another woman. Like many women during this time, Daisy chose to ignore what was going on and continue her life with Tom. Daisy alludes to the affair while explaining the hopes she has for her daughter to Nick. She says, “I’m glad its a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool––that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (Fitzgerald, 17). A common belief of women during the 1920s was that they were meant to clean the home and take care of the children. In contrast, Daisy does not take take care of her daughter on her own; rather she has hired a nurse to look after her. This marks the start of Daisy’s transformation from being a traditional woman to a flapper. By the end of The Great Gatsby, Daisy becomes as dishonest as Jordan. After she is reunited with Gatsby at Nick’s cottage, they rekindled their love and she began an affair. Daisy’s transformation from a traditional woman to a flapper grows throughout The Great Gatsby as she begins to care more about herself than she does her family.
“Scott Fitzgerald is best known as a chronicler of the 1920s and as the writer who, more than any other, identified, delineated, and popularized the female representative of that era, the flapper” (Jailer-Chamberlain, 88). Although Fitzgerald was a strong believer in the newfound freedoms of women during this time, he was also unsure of what the effect of these actions would be. Fitzgerald demonstrates the evolution of a traditional women into a flapper through the character of Daisy Buchanan. Fitzgerald’s mixed emotions about women are illustrated through the characterization of Daisy, Jordan, and Catherine. He describes the women as being beautiful, but also points out their negative aspects by including scenes that show their flaws. Similar to the way women changed throughout the 1920s, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ideas and beliefs on the role of women also changed throughout The Great Gatsby.