The Great Gatsby Women Character Analysis

Through The Eyes of a Man’s Woman The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a masterpiece set in America during the 1920’s. This was a prosperous time for many Americans and Fitzgerald’s women are supposed to reflect that. The three primary female characters, are each seen by the male narrator as they are reflected in their relationships with other men—wives, mistresses or sexual conquests.

The male narrator, Nick Caraway, serves as the eyes for Fitzgerald to develop the roles of his three primary female characters: Daisy Buchanan, who is Tom’s wife and happens to be Nick’s cousin and still loves Jay Gatsby, Jordan Baker, a golf pro and Nick’s girlfriend, and finally, Myrtle Wilson who is Tom’s mistress. These three women are each seen

Daisy is a woman with many different images as viewed through the eyes of her cousin. Sometimes she can be unstable, brief, and bubbly, then change into a brash, scorned woman. She is unsure of what she really wants in life. As the wife of Tom Buchanan, Daisy is “more of a victim than victimizer” (Person 1978). Nick however, sees her as the wife of Tom and a mistress to Gatsby. He also sees her as the woman who married for money, but at the same time fell in love with Jay Gatsby several years ago. Daisy’s longing for money and what it represents are shown by how she perceives Gatsby closet of shirts, “‘They’re such beautiful shirts,’ she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds, 'It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such—such beautiful shirts before. ' "(89). She shows her wants, the emptiness and what is important to her, but will she choose to stay with her husband or the man her cousin Nick refers to as, “You’re worth the whole damn bunch…” (154). Daisy the “nice girl”, as Baker refers to her as “is suspected of being a loose woman at heart” (2013). These facts lead to

Jordan Baker’s character as seen by Nick, is someone who has been fortunate enough to be part of the upper class, and spends many nights attending lavish parties. She is a woman of sexual desire and will do whatever she needs to do to get ahead. Nick can see right through her, and learns quickly she is one not to be trusted. He finds out that Daisy 's husband, Tom, is having an affair, and Jordan knows all about it. She even seems excited about knowing too. So much so that during a dinner party they attend at the Buchanan’s, Tom receives a phone call, causing the two (Daisy and Tom) to leave the dinner table abruptly. When Nick asks Jordan what 's going on, she informs him, “Why -- Tom 's got some woman in New York” (Fitzgerald 15). Jordan elaborates even more about the situation, almost taking pride in what she knows. This little piece of information not only tells Nick details of Daisy 's life that he was unaware of, but also let him know Jordan 's willingness to gossip about her friend. She may be beautiful and a desirable, but Nick also sees the type of woman Jordan is, she has a blatant flaw that cannot be overcome. Jordan is a liar. She tells Nick all about her involvement in a golf scandal. “The bored haughty face that [Jordan] turned to the world concealed something... At her first big golf tournament …a suggestion that she had moved her ball