What Is The Role Of Women In The Great Gatsby

The novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is about societal difference between men and women the 1920s. Throughout the novel this theme is played through our main characters: Tom, Myrtle, and Daisy. Fitzgerald uses the possessive relationships between these characters to enlighten the reader about women’s social ranking. He demonstrates how men were able to control women by making them feel inferior. The author describes the importance of social class for women in the 1920’s through the possessive and ultimately destructive relationship of Tom and Myrtle.

Daisy’s reactions to certain events show how she makes decisions based off of what will give her the most money, rather than what will be the best option for her. Daisy was in love with Gatsby, but he was poor and he had to go to war, so she decided to wait for him. However, it took too long for him to return, so Daisy got impatient, and she married Tom instead. Tom was rich, and Daisy knew he would bring her an old money status. When Gatsby finally meets with Daisy again, she sees how rich he is and she regrets her decison to marry Tom. Gatsby shows her his house, and his fancy shirts, which makes Daisy say that “They’re such beautiful shirts… It makes me sad because

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, gender roles are used in a conservative way. The men are to make the money, buy the house, pay the bills and for everything else. The women are there to be the typical “house wife” and have the men buy them things. In the 1920’s men were more dominant over women so the women didn’t really have a high spot in society if they weren’t married to a wealthy man, or if they weren’t a professional athlete or a performer (actress, dancer, etc…). Myrtle Wilson, Jordan Baker, and Daisy Buchanan are an example of women that get dominated by men and prove men had the main role in society but one of them proves that women don’t necessarily need a man. They all prove that women have power, just in a different

Society’s expectations of women now and in the past cause a huge controversy and conflict amongst women. The main three female characters of the novel The Great Gatsby have many conflicts with society and what is expected of them as a female in the 1920s. They are expected to be the server of man and to not be their own person, but this was a conflict with them. Although Myrtle, Daisy, and Jordan show case their conflict with society, they negotiate that conflict with their personality and their mannerisms.

Women have been consistently marginalized and devalued throughout history. In The Great Gatsby, the characterization of women is limited to how the men in their life utilise them- a trophy wife, prize, and paramour. These women are not allowed to develop independently; their importance is dictated by the men in their life. F. Scott Fitzgerald is not bringing awareness to the inequality of women in the Roaring Twenties, but perpetuating it through the lack of characterization the women undergo.

From the beginning of the book we can see that women, in general, in the book are portrayed as naive,brainless, and that they are able to be easily manipulated. At first we notice this with how Daisy is described. And then followed up with how Myrtle is described. Miss Jordan Baker is an exception due to the fact that she doesn't have a significant part in this story. Daisy is described as sensitive, materialistic, and she also believes mostly everything that is said to her.

In "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, he shows women, treated and presented as worse than men, and are rather disregarded and neglected by the male characters. Even Fitzgerald describes and creates the traits of the women in the book in a negative manner.

“People share a common nature but are trained in gender roles” (Blake, Lillie). Women and men are assigned specific jobs and are told at a young age what their futures should look like. Women are taught to be beautiful and dependent on a man. It is accepted more by society for men to take on many mistresses, while not for women. Gender roles are a set of rules of the social norms in the society specifically made for each gender. In the 1920s, women and men had specific roles in the house and in workplace. Throughout The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald argues that in some aspect of life men are superior to women, but on the other hand he asserts that women make important decisions for themselves. Through a multitude of actions and lies between characters, Fitzgerald portrays the social norm in the society, where both men and women are shown to take charge at varying times.

During the 1920’s, women were objectified in society, yet began to show signs of independence by striving for equality between genders. In this time known as the Roaring Twenties, women began to use their voice desiring to live their lives how they chose. F. Scott Fitzgerald, a renowned author, displayed his perception of women attempting to prove their worth through his new book. One of the protagonists in the novel, Daisy Buchanan, challenges the gender barriers and threatens to paint a new image for women by choosing love over wealth. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald displays the modern women’s inability to obtain independence as they were perceived as incapable of making their own decisions and relied on traditional gender

When Daisy is first introduced in the story and movie, she is dressed in all white symbolizing purity and innocence. She, Nick Caraway, Jordan Baker, and her husband Tom Buchanan sit down to have dinner. Her husband mistress calls time and time again. She finally gets up to say something to him but it solves nothing. She sits back down being fully aware of her husband infidelity and does nothing. I wondered why she didn’t do anything about it or leave him. The simple answer was the wealth. Even though Daisy loved Gatsby when she first married Tom, she is staying for the same reason she got married in the first place. She enjoys the lavish life and if she leaves she loses it all. This was typical of women in the 1920s though. Daisy character is questioned many times in this story. First she has a daughter that she barely mentions. Even in the movie the girl only appears once. In the story Daisy says when she woke after giving birth she immediately asks the nurse if she had a boy or girl and the nurse told her it was a girl. She then goes to say “I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope shell be a fool- that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world a beautiful fool.” (Fitzgerald 17) This suggest that she feel like women have no place in the world. This also reflects how Fitzgerald own personal reflection of women. In an article titled Feeling "Half Feminine": Modernism and the Politics of Emotion in The Great Gatsby, Frances Kerr wrote that “"In 1935 Fitzgerald told his secretary Laura Guthrie, "Women are so weak, really-emotionally unstable and their nerves, when strained, break.” (Kerr 406) I think that this is why he made Daisy, who is the main female character in the book, look at herself as having no place in this world and as a fool. The next time Daisy character is really questioned is at the end of the book when she hit Myrtle Wilson and let Gatsby take the blame for it. She didn’t know he was going to get

The great Gatsby gives us an accurate insight into the 1920s zeitgeist regarding the role of women in society. America was in a state of an economic boom and rapid change. Society had become less conservative after world war one. The role of women was revolutionary during this time and although women had a lot more freedom now; they were still confined to their sexist role within society; Men were still seen as the dominant gender. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates the extremities of gender and social class, and the lack of independence this brought upon women. This essay will discuss the three major female characters and the ideas that Fitzgerald confronts of female stereotypes of the 1920s.

Women were not equal to men during the era of the 1920’s. In “The Great Gatsby,” Fitzgerald represents a negative, misogynistic, stereotypical view of the various types of women during the era of the 1920’s. During the that time, women were not portrayed in a positive light., By writing a book centered around that time period, it causes one to wonder the message Fitzgerald was trying to illustrate about women and what he was saying about society as a whole. Fitzgerald represents the view of women within the 20’s by depicting each character as a representation of the many stereotypes occurring within that era. The main characters Daisy, Myrtle, and Jordan each display pertinent roles within the story representing how women’s roles were

As opposed to the other women in the novel, Jordan Baker is treated a little bit differently by the author, as she has certain masculine characteristics. She is a professional golfer who cheated her way to the top. She has masculine habits of drinking and smoking. She does not marry and is not yet willing to devote herself to a man, unlike the other female characters. She is self sufficient and is actively involved in her own interests. Jordan is harsh, cynical, and represents a new type of woman in the 1920's. The name "Jordan" also happens to be a unisex name. Jordan has made it to the elite status and will do whatever she has to in order to stay there, including lying. "She was incurably dishonest" (Fitzgerald 63). In this way, she does have similarities to Daisy and Myrtle. She is selfish and isn't concerned about anyone besides herself. Nick observes this as he watches the way Jordan drives. "'You're a rotten driver... suppose you met somebody just as careless as yourself.' 'I hope I never will. I hate careless people.'" (Fitzgerald 63). In this quote, the reader can see how Jordan is extremely selfish and indifferent. She likes to drive fast and she doesn’t care about the repercussions to other drivers. Jordan is very haughty, arrogant, and condescending, and looks down upon others who she considers to be below her. "'You live in West Egg,' she remarked contemptuously." (Fitzgerald 15). In this quote, the reader can see that Jordan is judging Nick for living on

Daisy Buchanan’s in the Great Gatsby is Jay Gatsby’s one true love. He throws huge parties in hopes of gaining her attention and winning her over. Her role throughout the Great Gatsby was that her beauty drew the attention of everyone. She is the definition of the American Dream and Gatsby seen her as part of his American Dream. “He knew that Daisy was extraordinary, but he didn’t realize just how extraordinary a “nice” girl could be” (Fitzgerald,149). This quote shows how Gatsby knew that Daisy was right for him. In spite of this women's roles were still not equal to men. For example, it was okay for Tom to cheat on Daisy, but it was absurd for her to cheat on Tom with Gatsby. In the 1920 the ideal woman was supposed to find a husband to take care of them.Marriage was almost a necessity as a means of support or protection. There often was pressure to produce children. (Women’s Rights, 4)

The Great Gatsby, and it gives us an insight into the gender roles of past WW1 America. Throughout the novel, women are portrayed in a very negative light. The author’s presentation of women is unflattering and unsympathetic. The women are not described with depth. When given their description, Fitzgerald appeals to their voice, “ she had a voice full of money”, their looks “her face was lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes, and a bright passionate mouth”, and the way in which they behave, “ ’They’re such beautiful shirts’ she sobbed”, rather than their feelings or emotions, for example, Daisy is incapable of genuine affection, however she is aimlessly flirtatious.