Expectations Of Women In The Great Gatsby

“Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you..." has been the expectation of women since Eve ate the fruit from the forbidden tree, and gave it to Adam(Genesis 3:16). Fitzgerald illustrate most women in the novel as submissive, manipulative, and selfish as if they are sinful in their very nature. They are also painted as inferior to their husbands. However, the men are shown as herculean both dominant and powerful. Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby highlights the significant differences of the expectation of sex.

Daisy Buchanan is the epitome of the sinful woman. During her first appearance in the novel the reader gets a sense of the manipulative side of her as she talks to Nick with her voice as “a singing compulsion” that men

Jordan breaks the social norms of society and makes her own path. Jordan goes to bed early when Nick meets her because she has “to play in a tournament” because she is a professional golfer. She breaks the norms because she has a career, and it is in a sport which is suppose to be a masculine field. She also is not ladylike in the fact that she “lied” and “moved her ball from a bad lie in the semi-final round” which is cheating(57). Jordan lives independently and is in control of her life. She does what she wants and is not concerned about other people’s opinions. Jordan also is the complete opposite of women like Daisy because she does not like “being at a disadvantage” which means she wants to be the dominant one and have control over herself(58). Jordan also has “demands of her...body” which hints that Jordan is not the purest woman(58)). She does not care about chastity and the old ways, and instead she embraces the new age and creates her own rules. Jordan does not conform to the stereotypical women. She becomes her own woman even though she is sinful, and she does not let anyone control her and does not please anyone, but