Women In The Great Gatsby

As the Roaring ‘20s swung into action after World War I, the role of the average woman started its monumental evolution. After the War, many women began to withdraw from their household duties and were captivated by the idea of having a lavish and carefree lifestyle. This lifestyle, also known as The American Dream, varied from person to person. Most strived for wealth and expensive luxuries, while others sought to find true love and start a family. The variations of this Dream can be seen through the lives of Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Myrtle Wilson. Each of the ladies have different attitudes towards men as well as different goals and aspirations for their lives. These dynamic and audacious female characters display the different female

Due to Tom’s abundance of wealth that has been passed from generation to generation, the Buchanans are labeled as “Old Money” and although Daisy is also wealthy, she still uses Tom as a financial backbone to support the cost of her lifestyle. Nick, the narrator, describes Tom and Daisy as “careless people . . . [who] smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money . . . and let other people clean up the mess they had made” (Fitzgerald 125). This description is vital to comprehending the extent to which Tom and Daisy are influenced by their wealth. Additionally, this statement insinuates that Tom and Daisy are entitled. Often, this cloud of entitlement that surrounds Daisy causes readers to overlook the great amount of power that she holds as a female character. As Tom’s wife, and also as Gatsby’s love interest, Daisy has the power to not only decide her own fate but also the fate of the two men. But, while Daisy is more powerful than some might think, due to her adaptation of her social standing, Daisy’s actions are corrupted by the idea of

Furthermore, while many during this time believe that a woman is meant to tend to the needs of her family, The American Dream changes this, as women like Daisy stray from their traditional roles and become unfaithful towards their families, striving for their own personal goals and aspirations (Samkanashvili). This unfaithfulness is demonstrated as Daisy finds love through her affair with with her old lover and current neighbor, Jay Gatsby. While visiting Mr. Gatsby, Daisy breaks out into a fit of sobs saying, “They’re such beautiful shirts . . . It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such -- such beautiful shirts before” (Fitzgerald 64). Here, while it seems like Daisy is crying out in awe of Mr. Gatsby’s shirts, in reality, Daisy has realized that she truly loves Mr. Gatsby and knows that she cannot be with him due to his lack of financial stability. Although one might him that both Gatsby and Tom truly love Daisy, unfortunately, as a female, Daisy is objectified by the two men; both see her as an object, as a prize to