A Male Dominated World: Opinions of Women in The Great Gatsby
A look back at the 1920’s reveals not only modernist themes, but also F. Scott Fitzgerald’s continuous belief in male dominance. He shows that women are insubordinate to men through their immorality, dependence on men, and choosing of money over love. The novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, tells the sad story of Jay Gatsby and his true love, a married woman named Daisy Buchanan, through the narration of Nick Carraway. Daisy, a fickle woman, is not the only distasteful female in the novel. All three of the main women, including Daisy’s friend Jordan and Tom’s mistress Myrtle, display poor examples of women. Meanwhile, Tom Buchanan, the brooding husband of Daisy, is the only hated male character out of the three main men. Although Fitzgerald was a successful writer, he failed to depict any women from The Great Gatsby in a positive light. The characterizations of Myrtle, Jordan, and Daisy as unsavory human beings portray Fitzgerald as a male chauvinist.
Myrtle is introduced to the novel as the immoral mistress of Tom, and her reliance on men shows the stereotypical female that is a fixture in the writing of F. Scott Fitzgerald. The immorality of Myrtle comes to light during the reader’s first meeting of her, as she discusses her unhappy marriage to her husband: “‘I knew right away I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in, and never even told me about it, and the man came after it one day... I gave [the suit] to him and then I lay down and cried to beat the band all afternoon’” (35). This scene portrays Myrtle as an emotional woman who gets angry over the silliest of things. It also proves that Fitzgerald believes women have very little substance and few cares other than material possessions, because Myrtle is crying because her new husband is poor. This soon after her marriage is a time when love should be on the forefront of her mind, rather than the financial situation of her husband. Later in the novel, Myrtle is once again characterized in a negative light as she is controlled by her husband, George Wilson. He locks her in a room like an animal after deciding to force her to move west with him, away from the distraction of Tom Buchanan. Myrtle escapes from his grasp, only to enjoy seconds of freedom before she is struck by a car and killed. In the writing of this action, Fitzgerald implies that it would have been smarter to follow Wilsons command to move and thus avoid an untimely death. This teaches women everywhere to listen obediently to their husbands. The almost immediate demise of Myrtle also exemplifies that a woman cannot survive on her own without the assistance of men for longer than a couple of moments, again showing Fitzgerald’s chauvinistic attitude. Looking at the various exploits of Myrtle, the reader begins to understand the negative characterization of women that carries on throughout the entire novel.
Jordan Baker is supposed to be a strong woman of her day, one with a successful career and the ability to decide her own future, but Fitzgerald turns this potentially revolutionary character into an impulsive and self-centered brat. When driving with Nick, he rightfully calls her a rotten driver, but she insists others, “‘Will keep out of [her] way... it takes two to make an accident’” (58). This passage indicates that Jordan doesn’t think about how her actions affect others in the world around her. Through this passage, Fitzgerald persuades the reader that women are not only self-centered, but also a danger to society, using Jordan’s poor driving skills as proof. Near the end of the novel, at Jordan and Nick’s last meeting, Jordan reveals that she is going to wed another man. Nick believes she is lying, but the action remains despicable from both sides. If she is really to marry another man, then she is doing so impulsively and quite possible just to spite Nick. This would express a woman poorly using her freedom to make decisions, again proving that Fitzgerald believed women should be controlled by their male counterparts. However, if Jordan was lying about her engagement to a man, she is revealed as pathetic and attention seeking, because she wants Nick to fight for her. Fitzgerald cleverly engineered this passage to make Jordan look like a villain from both perspectives. Although Jordan had the potential to be a model for women everywhere because she supports herself and has the freedom to make her own decisions, Fitzgerald’s narrow minded perception of females prevents him from creating a woman of intelligence who makes good decisions.
The worst of all, Fitzgerald’s creates his main female character of Daisy, who shows the same concern of money over love as Myrtle and the same self-centeredness as Jordan, tying them together into a character that truly represents Fitzgeralds’ poor perspective of women. Daisy’s concern for money is shown time and time again as she tries to decide between Tom and Gatsby. Early in her life, Daisy left Gatsby for the more secure income of Tom Buchanan. Years later, when Daisy witnesses Gatsby’s new wealth in the form of his mansion and lavish parties, she decides Gatsby is the one she loved all along. Through this writing, Fitzgerald reinforces women’s need of money over love. Simultaneously, he demonstrates the fickleness of a woman’s heart, especially when Daisy turns back to Tom once Gatsby takes responsibility for the death of Myrtle Wilson. Fitzgerald also takes the time to address the inconsideration of women when Daisy does not even come to the funeral of Gatsby. In taking responsibility for Myrtle’s murder, Gatsby saves Daisy’s life and eliminates his own. This is because even though Daisy is the killer of Myrtle, George Wilson kills Gatsby, believing him to be the culprit. Even so, Daisy is not even considerate enough to come to his funeral or honor Gatsby's life in any other way: “[Nick] tried to think about Gatsby then for a moment, but he was already too far away, and [he] could only remember... that Daisy hadn’t sent a message or a flower” (174.) This passage implies Daisy is not even thankful to Gatsby for saving her life, which is yet another horrible representation of women by Fitzgerald. She also comes off as too self-centered, through her inability to send any sort of thanks, to realize that if not for her, Gatsby would be alive. In connecting the care of money over love and self-centered attitudes of Myrtle and Jordan, Fitzgerald shows that he believes all women act in such a repellent manner, and secures his beliefs of male dominance.
Through the women of The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald constantly reinforces his belief that males dominate society. Myrtle’s reliance on men and care only of money proves Fitzgerald believes women cannot make successful decisions on their own and want only superficial items in life. The carelessness and impulsive decision making turn Jordan from a potential model for women everywhere into one who does not care how her decisions affect others. Daisy’s care of money and self-centered attitude as the main female character shows Fitzgerald thinks women want only what is best for themselves. Fitzgerald’s poor opinion of women causes him to create an obvious collage of their flaws through his characterization of Myrtle, Jordan, and Daisy. While the 1920’s seemed a freer time for women, for Fitzgerald it was a time to lower their standing in society even further.
A look back at the 1920’s reveals not only modernist themes, but also F. Scott Fitzgerald’s continuous belief in male dominance. He shows that women are insubordinate to men through their immorality, dependence on men, and choosing of money over love. The novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, tells the sad story of Jay Gatsby and his true love, a married woman named Daisy Buchanan, through the narration of Nick Carraway. Daisy, a fickle woman, is not the only distasteful female in the novel. All three of the main women, including Daisy’s friend Jordan and Tom’s mistress Myrtle, display poor examples of women. Meanwhile, Tom Buchanan, the brooding husband of Daisy, is the only hated male character out of the three main men. Although Fitzgerald was a successful writer, he failed to depict any women from The Great Gatsby in a positive light. The characterizations of Myrtle, Jordan, and Daisy as unsavory human beings portray Fitzgerald as a male chauvinist.
Myrtle is introduced to the novel as the immoral mistress of Tom, and her reliance on men shows the stereotypical female that is a fixture in the writing of F. Scott Fitzgerald. The immorality of Myrtle comes to light during the reader’s first meeting of her, as she discusses her unhappy marriage to her husband: “‘I knew right away I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in, and never even told me about it, and the man came after it one day... I gave [the suit] to him and then I lay down and cried to beat the band all afternoon’” (35). This scene portrays Myrtle as an emotional woman who gets angry over the silliest of things. It also proves that Fitzgerald believes women have very little substance and few cares other than material possessions, because Myrtle is crying because her new husband is poor. This soon after her marriage is a time when love should be on the forefront of her mind, rather than the financial situation of her husband. Later in the novel, Myrtle is once again characterized in a negative light as she is controlled by her husband, George Wilson. He locks her in a room like an animal after deciding to force her to move west with him, away from the distraction of Tom Buchanan. Myrtle escapes from his grasp, only to enjoy seconds of freedom before she is struck by a car and killed. In the writing of this action, Fitzgerald implies that it would have been smarter to follow Wilsons command to move and thus avoid an untimely death. This teaches women everywhere to listen obediently to their husbands. The almost immediate demise of Myrtle also exemplifies that a woman cannot survive on her own without the assistance of men for longer than a couple of moments, again showing Fitzgerald’s chauvinistic attitude. Looking at the various exploits of Myrtle, the reader begins to understand the negative characterization of women that carries on throughout the entire novel.
Jordan Baker is supposed to be a strong woman of her day, one with a successful career and the ability to decide her own future, but Fitzgerald turns this potentially revolutionary character into an impulsive and self-centered brat. When driving with Nick, he rightfully calls her a rotten driver, but she insists others, “‘Will keep out of [her] way... it takes two to make an accident’” (58). This passage indicates that Jordan doesn’t think about how her actions affect others in the world around her. Through this passage, Fitzgerald persuades the reader that women are not only self-centered, but also a danger to society, using Jordan’s poor driving skills as proof. Near the end of the novel, at Jordan and Nick’s last meeting, Jordan reveals that she is going to wed another man. Nick believes she is lying, but the action remains despicable from both sides. If she is really to marry another man, then she is doing so impulsively and quite possible just to spite Nick. This would express a woman poorly using her freedom to make decisions, again proving that Fitzgerald believed women should be controlled by their male counterparts. However, if Jordan was lying about her engagement to a man, she is revealed as pathetic and attention seeking, because she wants Nick to fight for her. Fitzgerald cleverly engineered this passage to make Jordan look like a villain from both perspectives. Although Jordan had the potential to be a model for women everywhere because she supports herself and has the freedom to make her own decisions, Fitzgerald’s narrow minded perception of females prevents him from creating a woman of intelligence who makes good decisions.
The worst of all, Fitzgerald’s creates his main female character of Daisy, who shows the same concern of money over love as Myrtle and the same self-centeredness as Jordan, tying them together into a character that truly represents Fitzgeralds’ poor perspective of women. Daisy’s concern for money is shown time and time again as she tries to decide between Tom and Gatsby. Early in her life, Daisy left Gatsby for the more secure income of Tom Buchanan. Years later, when Daisy witnesses Gatsby’s new wealth in the form of his mansion and lavish parties, she decides Gatsby is the one she loved all along. Through this writing, Fitzgerald reinforces women’s need of money over love. Simultaneously, he demonstrates the fickleness of a woman’s heart, especially when Daisy turns back to Tom once Gatsby takes responsibility for the death of Myrtle Wilson. Fitzgerald also takes the time to address the inconsideration of women when Daisy does not even come to the funeral of Gatsby. In taking responsibility for Myrtle’s murder, Gatsby saves Daisy’s life and eliminates his own. This is because even though Daisy is the killer of Myrtle, George Wilson kills Gatsby, believing him to be the culprit. Even so, Daisy is not even considerate enough to come to his funeral or honor Gatsby's life in any other way: “[Nick] tried to think about Gatsby then for a moment, but he was already too far away, and [he] could only remember... that Daisy hadn’t sent a message or a flower” (174.) This passage implies Daisy is not even thankful to Gatsby for saving her life, which is yet another horrible representation of women by Fitzgerald. She also comes off as too self-centered, through her inability to send any sort of thanks, to realize that if not for her, Gatsby would be alive. In connecting the care of money over love and self-centered attitudes of Myrtle and Jordan, Fitzgerald shows that he believes all women act in such a repellent manner, and secures his beliefs of male dominance.
Through the women of The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald constantly reinforces his belief that males dominate society. Myrtle’s reliance on men and care only of money proves Fitzgerald believes women cannot make successful decisions on their own and want only superficial items in life. The carelessness and impulsive decision making turn Jordan from a potential model for women everywhere into one who does not care how her decisions affect others. Daisy’s care of money and self-centered attitude as the main female character shows Fitzgerald thinks women want only what is best for themselves. Fitzgerald’s poor opinion of women causes him to create an obvious collage of their flaws through his characterization of Myrtle, Jordan, and Daisy. While the 1920’s seemed a freer time for women, for Fitzgerald it was a time to lower their standing in society even further.