How Does Myrtle Use Patriarchy In The Great Gatsby

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Myrtle will never be able to gain success due to her accomplishments being limited because of the man she married. This ties in with the still apparent influences of the patriarchy limiting what a woman can accomplish without the presence of a successful man. We can see the effects of the patriarchy in how men treat Myrtle and vice versa. Myrtle is heavily sexualized by the male characters in the book showing how her appearance shapes the way men treat her. “ Her face, above a spotted dress of dark blue crêpe-de-chine, contained no facet or gleam of beauty, but there was an immediately perceptible vitality about her as if the nerves of her body were continually smoldering”(25). The way they describe

These traits of hers do captivate Tom Buchanan who is able to provide her with the more lavish lifestyle that she is missing with George. Their apartment is described and it is much nicer than her current living arrangements with George. “The apartment was on the top floor---a small living-room, a small dining-room, a small bedroom, and a bath. The living-room was crowded to the doors with a set of tapestried furniture entirely too large for it, so that to move about was to stumble continually over scenes of ladies swinging in the gardens of Versailles”(29). Tom was born into money and easily gained success while George has worked so hard all his life only to have significantly less. Tom acts as an escape from poverty for Myrtle and her life changes drastically depending on which man shes spends her time with. With George, she continues to live a poor life filled with hard work but with Tom, she is able to live comfortably and lavishly. Her social standing and quality of life are directly connected to the man she’s