Essay On Women In The Great Gatsby

Women are constantly objectified in society, whether it is in the present or past. Daisy Buchanan is perpetually invalidated in Fitzgerald’s novel, “The Great Gatsby”. In the novel, she represents everything that a woman wished she could be during this era as she is beautiful, wealthy, and supposedly happy. Although Daisy is not happy with her current situation, she stays in a selfish attempt to maintain her high social status. Fitzgerald writes Daisy in his novel in this way to display how women are constantly portrayed negatively and rely on men to survive.

Daisy lacks the “motherly instinct” that most mothers have, but she still wants her daughter to succeed in life, even if it means being oblivious to life's hardships. It is possible for

Fitzgerald writes this line to emphasize the way that Daisy is only romanticized because of her privilege and attractiveness. When in reality, she is simply a self-absorbed person who has no personality outside of her wealth. Daisy is constantly objectified by men in the novel. Nick emphasizes the effect that Daisy’s voice has on others, specifically men, when he says, “[She had] the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down, as if each speech is an arrangement of notes that will never be played again. . . . [T]here was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared 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 13-14). Fitzgerald goes deeply into detail when he explains the effect that Daisy’s voice has on men to make his point on how Daisy is objectified in the

Jordan Baker tells Nick Carraway how on her wedding day, Daisy said she did not want to marry Tom. She tells him how “[H]e gave her a string of pearls . . . I was a bridesmaid. . . . She...pulled out the . . . pearls . . . ‘Take ’em down-stairs and give ’em back to whoever they belong to. Tell ’em all Daisy’s change’ her mine. Say: ‘Daisy’s change’ her mind!” (Fitzgerald 81). Jordan explains how Daisy attempts to throw away the pearls Tom gifted her because she is having second thoughts about marrying him. It is possible for one to feel sympathetic toward her as she does not want to marry him, but she is pressured into doing so by her family to maintain her social status and wealth. The man that Daisy truly wants to marry is Gatsby. Jay Gatsby speaks to Tom when he says “She never loved you, do you hear? ' he cried. 'She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me” (Fitzgerald 137). Gatsby tells Tom how Daisy never truly loved him and only married him because she wanted a wealthy man and was bored of waiting for Gatsby to return from the war. This proves how Daisy only married Tom for his wealth and how she deep down still has intense feelings for Gatsby, but she ends up making the decision that is expected of her and marries