Women's Roles 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.

Society’s expectations of gender roles in the 1920s impacts men and women’s lives, but the expectations have a much larger impact on women. These gender roles are especially important in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The story focuses more on the men which is a direct reflection of the patriarchal society that the characters live in. Daisy, an important female character, is a victim of society’s discrimination against women. Society’s perception of Daisy overlooks her true value. In Daisy’s time, the men, like Tom and Gatsby, have looser morals but are still superior to her. This leads to the creation of stereotypes causing her to be objectified by the men throughout the book. Once readers see the societal norms from the 1920s, they will begin to understand why Daisy is treated unfairly. The patriarchy that drives Daisy’s community creates the social norm of women being subordinate to men making it seem as though she is a possession rather than a loving companion.

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.

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.

In the 1920’s we see a change in the average American women’s lifestyle, as they begin to seize their freedom and enjoy their lives. As seen in the photographs in Document 3, women started to drink and smoking in public, as well as dressing differently and cutting their hair short. Before this time period smoking and drinking in public would have ruined a woman's reputation. Women took part in attending illegal bars, “speakeasies” along with men, when before it had not been socially acceptable to go to bars. In addition, women started wearing shorter skirts, pumps, and transparents silk hose which was seen as a more daring and fashionable way of dressing.

In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is in love with Daisy Buchanan. She is married to Tom Buchanan. She is very beautiful and charming, but in fact Daisy is merely a selfish, shallow and hurtful woman. Gatsby sees the purity and innocence of what Daisy presents herself to be: “(I’ve heard it said that Daisy’s murmur was only to make people lean toward her; and irrelevant criticism that made it no less charming.) […] but there was an excitement in her voice that men who had care for her found difficult to forget: a singing compulsion, a whispered ‘listen’, a promise that she had done gay, exciting things just a while since and that there were gay, exciting things hovering in the next hour” (Fitzgerald 8). In this fragment it shows that men are being

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

Her actions are viewed as foolish, creating the stigma around women, and though Daisy does not see herself as a fool, surprisingly she expresses that “the best thing a girl can be in this world [is] a beautiful little fool (Fitzgerald, pg 17).” Yet, Daisy is not a fool; she is merely a victim of her environment which is influenced by gender, money, and status. This leads to Daisy having no power or control over her own life and feeling as though women can only be “beautiful fools” as stated earlier.

With Tom neglecting Daisy, she seems a little flirty with men. Daisy seems to have a lustful attraction to her cousin nick saying things to him such as “Are you in love with me?” and “These things excite me so. If you want to kiss me anytime during the evening, Nick, just let me know and ill be glad to arrange it for you.” She feels alone in the world since her husband pays no attention, until he realizes daisy likes Gatsby.

"All right I said, 'I'm glad it’s a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool--that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.'" (Fitzgerald,17). This quote shows that in Daisy mind the best way for her daughter to succeed in life is to be beautiful to draw the attention of men. “(I’ve heard it said that Daisy’s murmur was only to make people lean toward her; an irrelevant criticism that made it no less charming.) This quote explains that Daisy has found a way to draw people closer because she speaks very quietly. Daisy has many interactions with men throughout the novel that shows just how much influence she has over them.

Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald presents the reader with shallow and unlikable female characters; one of which is Daisy Buchanan. When we first meet Daisy, Nick tells us that “her face was sad and lovely” and that “there was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget” (9). Nick is describing to us the manner in which Daisy goes about life. She is cheerful and naive, and yet, a part of her is always unhappy. Fitzgerald portrays her as a young girl having fun in a

Tom takes advantage of this situation and manipulates Daisy to completely depend on him. Daisy has spent her whole life being used to someone telling her what to do, and her relationship with Tom is no different. Even right after they got married, “If he left the room for a minute she’d look around uneasily and say: ‘‘Where’s Tom gone?’ and wear the most abstract expression until she saw him coming in the door” (77). Daisy relies solely on Tom and is “uneasy” without him around. Her dependence on Tom reflects not only his hyper masculinity, but how little he cares about Daisy. Despite this, he knows Daisy will never leave him, and pushes their marriage to the brink by having multiple affairs.

Societal ‘norms’ surrounding gender have continuously remained prominent internationally. Although these standards and expectations continue to shift, women still face oppression today. The novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, demonstrates the expectations of women and their relationships to men in 1920’s New York City through one of the main characters, Daisy Buchanan. A vast majority of Daisy’s actions are to entice and cater to the superior men of the novel. Through this, I was able to reflect upon the evolution of society’s stereotypes surrounding women from the 1920’s. Initially, from reading the novel, I learned about the period of the roaring twenties and how the aspect of class affects the

During the Jazz Era, almost every women was depended on men for their money. Wealth should not considered as important as respect and respect is something everyone deserves, not only men. The Great Gatsby is a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald about rich people that lived in New York during the Jazz Era. The Great Gatsby is about a rich man named Jay Gatsby who tries to win his love back from someone through his power and wealth. The role of women in The Great Gatsby is important because it talks about the amount of freedom and power they have compared to men. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, women are given no respect, controlled by men, and are treated like trophies to win over.