Roles Of Women In The Great Gatsby Essay

Women in society have undergone major changes throughout the years, with more liberty to act as they choose and become more individual. The transition phases of women’s roles are prevalent in the 1920s, the setting for the novel. The Great Gatsby by Scott F .Fitzgerald published in 1925 demonstrates many elements of the Roaring 20s era, most notably the role of women in society. The Jazz Age as it was called, was categorized by lavish parties and reckless behavior. Women became more scandalous and risqué during these crazy alcohol-fueled events. Three different women with varied response and characteristics emerge throughout the plot of the novel, each with a drastic ending for their choices. Women in The Great Gatsby play an important role defined by the time period, “the beautiful little fool” (Fitzgerald 17), through Daisy, Jordan, and Myrtle by the use of motifs and characterization. Daisy, Tom Buchanan’s wife, exemplifies the role of a girl who uses her appearance and charm to advance herself through life. A “beautiful little fool” (17), is what Daisy calls her newborn daughter, hoping that she becomes one in order to be successful. Daisy herself does almost everything possible to exploit and take advantage of powerful men in her life to extort what she wants from

Scott F. Fitzgerald uses the novel to comment on the varied roles of women and how they changed during the time period of the Roaring 20s. Women would soon go through major social reform after both World Wars, granting more freedom such as suffrage. They could also become independent and separate from their husbands if they chose to. Large movements gave way to more freedom and equality for women’s rights. By the end of the novel. a new perspective of women as a whole is understood and realized by the reader through Daisy, Jordan, and