Set in the Roaring ‘20s, The Great Gatsby focuses mainly on the lives of men as Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. However, it also clearly outlines the lives of several women : Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, and Jordan Baker. On the surface, the lives of these women couldn’t be more different. Daisy, a rich debutante, is torn between her husband, Tom, or her first love, Jay Gatsby. Lower on the social ladder is Myrtle, who is having an affair with Tom, hoping to rise above her station in life. Jordan, on the other hand, is unmarried and a successful golfer, who travels the country participating in tournaments. While these women may have seemed independent, they’re still subject to the will of society which sees them as inferior and objects to be controlled by men.
At a cursory glance, Daisy may seem like the quintessential socialite, with a happy marriage and a life of luxury. With her wealthy lifestyle, Daisy has the independence to travel anywhere and whenever she wants, oftentimes without Tom, as seen when Nick invited her to “come for tea … and don't bring Tom” [88]. This small act of independent is offset by Tom’s eventual “perturbation at Daisy’s running around alone”[110]. In this scene, Tom’s grasp on Daisy’s life is tightened once more as if she was an expensive piece of jewelry, with the miniscule possibility of being stolen. However, on the other hand, much of Daisy’s wealth does come from Tom, giving a great deal of control to him in their relationship to the point where Tom does not hide the fact he has a mistress. “You mean to say you don’t know? … I thought everybody knew”[19]. With the way Jordan says this, one can infer that even Daisy knew and she basically had no say in the matter. Furthermore, when Tom’s mistress continues to call during tea and Jordan whispers, “The rumor is that that’s Tom’s girl on the telephone”, it shows the amount of control that Tom has over Daisy and Myrtle [122]. This part also shows the impact of societal norms, which had made it seem acceptable for Tom to have a mistress while if Daisy was having an affair it would be more looked down upon.
Unlike Daisy, who comes from old money, Myrtle is from the lower middle class. Myrtle hopes to climb the social ladder by cheating on her husband with Tom Buchanan.
Daisy knows very well that tom is cheating on her, but doesn’t care because it's more convenient to stay in her unhappy marriage. Even though she wants to be with Gatsby, she wants to keep her social status and being with Tom makes this all the easier. Now, this is quite the opposite of Myrtle. She has a loving husband who would do anything for her, but her social status is all she cares about. Myrtle is willing to hurt George and ruin their marriage in order to climb up the social ladder. Neither of these women have respect for themselves. Both Daisy and Myrtle allow Tom to treat them
The Great Gatsby is often referred to as the great American novel; a timeless commentary on the American Dream. A dream that defines success, power, love, social status, and recreation for the American public. It should be mentioned that this novel was published in 1925, which is a time when the American public had recently experienced some significant changes, including women’s suffrage, which had only taken place 6 years prior to the publication of this novel May of 1919. The women of this era had recently acquired a voice in politics, however, the social world does not always take the same pace as the political world. F. Scott Fitzgerald developed female characters that represented both women in their typical gender roles and their modern counterparts. I will be analyzing gender roles within the context of this novel, comparing and contrasting Myrtle Wilson, Jordan Baker, and Daisy Buchanan alongside one another, as well as comparing and contrasting their interactions with the men in the novel.
Throughout the novel, one of Tom 's biggest careless acts was when he cheated on Daisy. Tom is a cocky, confident man shown many times throughout the novel like when Nick arrived at his house and "Tom Buchanan in riding clothes was standing with his legs apart on the front porch" (Fitzgerald 6). His stance showed his arrogance, and how highly he thought of himself because of his wealth. Tom was a man who often acted without thinking things through, like having an affair with Myrtle. Despite both Tom and Myrtle being married, they both had affairs. Tom doesn 't hide his affair from Nick and introduces him to his mistress Myrtle at Wilson 's garage. Tom doesn 't seem to care if anyone finds out because he feels as though nothing would change due to his wealth. While at Myrtle 's husbands garage, Tom tells Myrtle to meet him at the train station. They end up going to their apartment in New York City that they keep for their affair. While at the Morningside Height 's apartment Myrtle starts to talk about Tom 's wife Daisy, ""Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!" shouted Mrs. Wilson. "I 'll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai-"" (Fitzgerald 37). Tom didn 't like Myrtle overstepping her boundaries and to show
Daisy also exhibits her shallowness when she is too restless to wait for her 'love', Gatsby, to return from he war, and she marries Tom. Her most drastic immoral action is committed when she runs over Myrtle and does not even bother to stop and help a person that is 'below' her. Daisy's husband, Tom shows his ridiculous morality in different ways. One way is his search for power, which is shown most through his affair with Myrtle and his possessiveness. He evidently feels further domination and masculinity when he has her, a woman of lower class, as his mistress. Secondly, Tom Buchanan is shallow enough to think that everything and everyone he has in his life are part of his property. This increases his 'power' and makes him feel as if he is truly successful. This couple, Tom and Daisy certainly contain serious corruptness due to their shallowness and self-indulgence.
Daisy Buchanan is the most significant female character in The Great Gatsby. F Scott Fitzgerald writes her as the most significant female because she is most like his wife, Zelda (Donaldson). Daisy is Gatsby’s motivation for wealth and why he wants to accomplish so much. He has longed for her because she has always been unattainable. Fitzgerald, like Gatsby was often rejected by women in a class higher than him (Donaldson). Zelda was Fitzgerald’s motivation for writing The Great Gatsby and many other works (Donaldson). It was a way for him to express his frustration and love for his wife. Zelda was the main female role in Fitzgerald’s life, much like Daisy is for Gatsby. Fitzgerald writes his relationship in order to cope with what is happening
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.
As a man of high privilege, Tom is considerably able to get away with a lot: “ I couldn’t forgive… they had made…” (179). Rich people often believe and are accustomed to having people clean up their mess. Both Tom and Daisy created a domino affect of issues which affected Gatsby, and both Myrtle and George Wilson. Because Tom has money, he has a the capability or privilege to get away with a lot opposed to people of lower socio-economic status. By moving West, he left others to deal with a the effect of his actions demonstrating, money gives him the approach as being superior and above the people below him. Also, due to the fact Tom and Daisy do not have the best relationship: “That’s what I… ‘Hulking’, insisted Daisy”(12) he is neither getting love or attention from Daisy. Because their relationship isn’t well he looks for affection elsewhere by adopting a mistress, Myrtle Wilson. He and Myrtle have secret relations though everyone seems to know about their secret: “Tom’s got some… Don’t you think?” (15). Much like Daisy, Tom is unhappy with his relationship with Daisy so he cheats on her with Myrtle. He is a coward for thinking no one would suspect they were together, but there is no hiding Tom and Myrtle’s relationship. Toms cheats on her for his own benefit so he can be happy and get affection from a woman who is of different social class and has a contrasting appearance as
From the start of the book we can see that women in the book are
Women are seen from a biased point of view in pop culture as they are often criticized and portrayed in degrading ways. The Great Gatsby takes place in the early part of the 20th century which is also known as the Roaring 20's. In regards to feminism, the women in The Great Gatsby are mainly depicted as second class to men. The story gives readers an insight of the roles that gender played in past World War I America. In The Great Gatsby, the author Scott Fitzgerald shines a light on the submissiveness of females toward males during the Roaring Twenties by giving the women in the novel an unfair representation as they are often identified as passive or negative “objects”.
The gender issues in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby adhere to the traditional gender roles of a male-dominant society where women are sexually objectified and made inferior, while men are portrayed as the dominant gender. The narrator’s relationship with the female characters of the novel and their character traits reveal not only the established patriarchal society in the novel, but the chauvinistic attitude of the author as well. While feminine conformity to the ideal standards of women in a male-dominant society is reflected through characters such as Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson, male characters such as Tom Buchanan and George Wilson appear to represent the traditional man, thus satisfying the ideal gender roles of a male-dominant society. Though it appears that Nick Carraway’s admiration for masculinity allows him to suffer from his potential anxieties about his own masculinity, Carraway’s male chauvinistic mentality is certain because of his enforcement of traditional gender roles that exerts dominance over women in the novel. Carraway’s attraction to Jordan Baker’s masculine traits and his fascination with the socioeconomic status of men, such as Jay Gatsby’s and Tom Buchanan’s, display his conformity to the ideal, traditional standards of gender roles in a male-dominant society that explain his admiration for masculinity.
Myrtle Wilson is a poor woman from the desolate area known as “The Valley of Ashes” located between New York City and West Egg. Myrtle is the opposite of Tom Buchanan, the man she is having an affair with. One day when Tom and Daisy have a get together with Daisy’s cousin, Nick Carraway, and her best friend, Jordan Baker, Tom goes into the other room to take a phone call. The person on the other end of the call in none other than his mistress, Myrtle Wilson. Jordan explains to Nick that Tom has a mistress, which confuses him. When he leaves Tom and Daisy’s house, he thinks to himself, “It seemed to me that the thing for Daisy to do was to rush out of the house, child [Pammy] in arms- but apparently there were no such intentions in her head”
In the novel, Daisy knew her husband, Tom Buchanan, was cheating on her. Although she knew he was having an affair, she had done nothing except accept her fate and lead a miserable life. When Tom’s mistress called their home while they were having dinner, Daisy was aware that it was his mistress that called. She even mentioned that “It couldn’t be helped!’ while crying with tense gaiety’’ (page 20). I believe it was inappropriate and unacceptable for Myrtle to call their home and especially at that time of the day. Although what Tom and Myrtle were doing was completely immoral, they should have at least shown Daisy some respect. Tom’s actions proved that he had no respect for his wife and he treated her as a fool. If he had considered his wife to be an important person, he would not have
In the book “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Men had social power over women. Especially true for the time period in the 1920’s in which it’s portrayed, due to the fact that it was still during the time of women’s suffrage and regarding sexual inequality. Power can be shown over Daisy through Tom and Gatsby, along with the power Myrtle's’ husband holds over her, although it isn’t frequently shown because of their social ranking. Women in the 1920’s were trying to go against their social standard in which they were regarded as possessions to a mere household. The 1920ś was an American time era where social and gender inequalities were being tried, primarily shown through the flapper culture. Women were more promiscuous and were partaking
During Fitzgerald’s time, the 1920’s, women’s rights became an important topic of political and social debate. Females began to re-invent themselves, taking back the traditional ideal of a women. They were now working, pursuing educations and careers; they were drinking openly, accompanying men while unmarried, and cutting their hair short in order to downplay their femininity. Throughout the text of The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald draws on the use of the classic female figure and compares it closely with the new progressive female that emerged during his time. Draws on the use of the changing gender roles to create his female characters.
Daisy can be seen as a symbol for the prosperous future for women while Tom is a symbol for what is keeping women grounded. Daisy is known to be more independent than other women in the novel. She speaks her mind and does not care about the consequences as long as she is doing what is right. Daisy takes her life into her own hands by proclaiming her love to Gatsby; “She had told him that she loved him, and Tom Buchanan saw. He was astounded” (pg.125). Without prior knowledge of Daisy and Tom as characters, some may believe that Daisy is being rude and unapologetic towards Tom, her husband, but as the reader knows, this is not true. Since Tom has been abusing Daisy throughout their entire relationship, it is admirable that Daisy feels confident enough in herself to express her true feelings no matter how it will affect Tom. Daisy does not do what is expected of her. For example, after she proclaims her love for Gatsby, it is expected that she would choose him over Tom, but that is not what she does. Instead she chooses to be with Tom. Although, this is a questionable decision, it is still impressive that she takes her own matters into her own hands and does not let the men around her determine her future. Tom, on the other hand, has proven to be a sort of villain in the novel as he is unfaithful, aggressive and abusive to Daisy as well as to his mistress, Myrtle. The fact that Tom is unfaithful is introduced when Jordan Baker says “Tom’s got some woman in New York” (pg.16, line 17-18). Tom is, also, very controlling over Daisy, for example while Daisy starts going around more often with Gatsby he says “By God, I may be old-fashioned in my ideas, but women run around too much these days to suit me.” This is a prime example of male arrogance. He makes it seem as if women, or specifically Daisy, only go around doing things to please men when this is utterly false.