Gender Roles In The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is a novel authored by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925, and it takes place during the 1920s. The narrative follows Nick Carraway as he tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a millionaire fixated on the stunning Daisy Buchanan. Examining this book from a feminist literary criticism standpoint reveals that "The Great Gatsby" promotes patriarchal values and reinforces gender stereotypes.

It is significant to acknowledge that apart from Daisy Buchanan, who is a fundamental character in "The Great Gatsby," the other female characters in the novel play supporting roles. Fitzgerald illustrates women as objects of desirability and physical attractiveness with no self-determination or influence. These portrayals are often stereotypical, as seen

Scott Fitzgerald uses both feminine and masculine imagery in the novel. Feminine imagery is often associated with the wealthy and glamorous lifestyle of the characters, such as the "lavish displays of wealth" and "oranges and lemons" at Gatsby's parties. Masculine imagery, on the other hand, is associated with power and control, such as Tom Buchanan's dominance over his wife, Daisy. As shown in Chapter 1, Tom Buchanan's dominance over his wife, Daisy, is shown when he interrupts her teasing about a book he's interested in and leaves the room to take a phone call from his lover in New York. Daisy follows him hurriedly, and Jordan Baker tells Nick that Tom's lover is in New York. This shows that Tom is not only unfaithful to Daisy but also has power over her, as she follows him without question. The social and cultural context in which the text was written was one of gender inequality and patriarchy. This has influenced Fitzgerald's attitude toward women, as evidenced by the portrayal of female characters as objects of desire rather than fully realized individuals with their own agency and power, as shown in Chapter 2, where Myrtle is portrayed as sensuous despite her stocky figure. She is also described as having a kind of desperate vitality, which suggests that her sexuality is the only thing that makes her interesting, as well as when Tom orders Myrtle to follow him to the train and then taunts her husband, Wilson, presenting Myrtle as a possession of Tom's

Men hold the power in relationships, and women are often objectified and valued primarily for their beauty and desirability. This is sustained by the societal norms and expectations of the time, the 1920s, which placed men in positions of power and women in subservient roles. The conflict between men and women in the novel is caused by these power imbalances and the objectification of women. Women are often caught between the desires and expectations of the men in their lives, such as Daisy being torn between Gatsby and Tom and Myrtle being caught between Tom and her husband,