Daisy's Betrayal In The Great Gatsby

In The Great Gatsby, Daisy’s betrayal takes place in order for Daisy to have stability in her life with Tom. Since their first encounter five years earlier, Daisy has led Gatsby to believe that she is in love with him and that they were going to be together, “they were so engrossed in each other that she didn’t see me until I (Nick) was five feet away,” (Fitzgerald 48)

Although at first, their encounter is described as “a terrible mistake,” (Fitzgerald 94) her attitude towards Gatsby changes when she enters his immense mansion and sees the vastness of Gatsby’s wealth, “That huge place there?’ She cried pointing, (Fitzgerald 99) Gatsby then realizes that he has been betrayed when he accuses Daisy of never loving Tom, only to discover that Daisy

However, Gatsby’s great plan that he instructs Daisy to follow is impractical, “He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you.’ After she had obliterated three years with that sentence they could decide upon the more practical measures to be taken. One of them was that, after she was free, they were to go back to Louisville and be married from her house—just as if it were five years ago.” (Fitzgerald 118) Therefore, it goes in conflict with Daisy’s own desires, since Gatsby’s main source of income is mostly from illegal activities, “that drugstore business was just small change, but you’ve got something on now that Walter’s afraid to tell me about.” (Fitzgerald 143) As Gatsby’s career involves illegal activities that need to be kept secret, the nature of Gatsby’s career is far too risky for Daisy to be able to live with, assuming that Daisy and Gatsby would get married. In a way, Daisy knows all along that she is never going to leave Tom for Gatsby, although for a short period of time she too is caught up in the possibility of escape and to live the life that Gatsby dreams of. But, she never truly believes it as much as Gatsby. Even though Daisy is in an unhappy marriage with Tom, she and Tom “weren’t unhappy either. There was an unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the picture and anybody would have said that they were conspiring together” (Fitzgerald

In doing so, the woman would have to follow her husband’s lower caste and this would bring bad luck to the family of her husband, “How many times did I tell him that marrying a noblewoman would only bring bad luck?” (Rusmini 126) Moreover, this form of marriage is a disgrace to both parties. Therefore, these two people of different castes, Telaga and Wayan must possess sufficient courage in order for them to break society’s principles, “I must be brave, for my own sake.” (Rusmini 112) This is where the rising action and eventual climax of the novel occurs; Telaga has chosen the path that she believes will bring her happiness if she marries Wayan. Telaga is ready to change the course of her life from being a Brahmana woman to a Sudra woman, “I’ve taken leave of the ancestors, and now I’m going to give up the name Ida Ayu . I’m going to be a true commoner!” (Rusmini 144) In the eyes of their in laws, it is madness. Nevertheless, Telaga “wanted to tell him that she had been happy, that her marriage to the commoner, Wayan, had taught her something of the meaning of life.” (Rusmini