Women In The Great Gatsby

1144 Words3 Pages

F Scott Fitgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, is centred upon 1920’s America. In the text, characters such as Myrtle Wilson, Jordan Baker and Daisy Buchanan are all carefully constructed to reveal various attitudes held by America in the early 20th century. Overall, the construction of female characters in The Great Gatsby showcases an accurate representation of women in the time period the text was composed in. Firstly, how the character Myrtle Wilson is constructed reveals new, sensuous attitudes females of the early 20th century were adopting. In the text, narrator Nick Carraway describes that Myrtle “carried her flesh sensuously as some women can” (page 28), therefore implying that Myrtle Wilson is very in touch with her sexuality and knows This idea is further reiterates Myrtle Wilson’s seductive nature in the text. Men are so fascinated by her that they are willing to be unfaithful to their spouses to be in her presence. However, it seems as if Fitzgerald does not foreground Myrtle’s behavior as positive. In the vicinity of the Valley of Ashes, where Myrtle resides, lay the tired eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleberg, staring down at the society before him. When George Wilson exclaims that, “God sees everything” (page 152), it could be implied that he is talking about the eyes of T.J Eckleberg that are staring down, unsatisfied, at the corrupt American society. As a result of this, a reader could When Daisy exclaims to Nick that, “Tom as God knows where” (page 22) during her daughter’s birth and that she hopes that her daughter will “be a fool – that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (page 22), it reveals the embodiment of an archetypal, subordinate role for women in the 1920’s. Daisy’s quote implies recognition of sexism and patriarchy, and an ensuring sense of herself surrendering to it. As Tom was not present during their daughter’s delivery, it is clear that Daisy realizes that he is having an affair. But rather than confront Tom about this, Daisy chooses to be submissive, not voice her opinion and hope that her daughter will be a fool. This suggests that Daisy is critically aware of the place that women hold in the particular historical context, where being oblivious and ignorant towards a spouse’s actions – being a “fool” – is better than having knowledge of their wrongdoings and feeling as if speaking up about it will not alter the situation. Although she appears superficial at times, the audience should not dismiss the potential wisdom of her character. Although Daisy is talking about her daughter, in many ways, this quotation is autobiographical about Daisy subsiding to cultural expectations regarding women and not confronting her husband about his adultery. However, it is

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