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Stereotypes Of Women In The Great Gatsby

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“I hope she’ll be a fool--that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, beautiful little fool”(Fitzgerald 17). This line, stated by Daisy, accurately demonstrates the perception of women during the 1920s. Women were seen as objects and deemed incapable of intelligent thought. In The Great Gatsby, author F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays women based on similar stereotypes from this time period. Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, and Jordan Baker are all prominent female characters in the story whose behaviors and actions, although different, showcase the common desires and struggles of women at the time. Throughout the story, various examples and themes of women relying on men and their wealth for comfort can be observed. The two most conspicuous …show more content…

Jordan, Daisy, and Myrtle behave in a certain manner to avoid feeling hurt and suffering. The most obvious example is that of Daisy as she consistently fakes her innocence throughout the story. This can be observed when she admits to Nick that she believes “everything’s terrible” and that she has “been everywhere and seen everything and done everything”(17). This implies that she is not the pure and innocent being that she portrays herself as to others, contradicting her seemingly unknowing behavior. She most likely depicts herself as unaware and lesser-minded in hopes of remaining the picture perfect “golden girl” that she is often described as as well as to avoid conflict and confrontation. She could also be attempting to convince herself that certain aspects of her life are not as miserable as she believes by denying their existence through a mask of innocence. Contradictory to Daisy, Myrtle paints herself as an outspoken, opinionated woman. However, her desire for control over Tom and hope in their future seems to be a way of reassuring herself that she does mean something to him. For example, when at her party, as she and Tom discuss whether she has the right to say Daisy’s name in front of him, she begins to shout “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy! I’ll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai--”(37) and is cut off by Tom hitting her. This event demonstrates that Myrtle did want to feel power over Tom at least in terms of his wife, Daisy, by being able to speak her name. This lust for power most likely stems from Myrtle’s own insecurities as she could feel intimidated by Daisy and her influence on Tom over her own. She also uses her hope in their future as a way of distracting herself from the life she chose. Finally, Jordan is illustrated as an individualistic character, making her different from both Daisy and Myrtle. However, she also has a major flaw as Nick mentions

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During chapter 2, when Nick arrives at Myrtle and Tom’s apartment, Myrtle discusses about her regrets about marrying George and says “I knew I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in, and never told me about it”(Fitzgerald 35). It really shows where Myrtle’s heart is for George. She just looks for money in man. It’s ironic though, while she uses her love to deceive George, her love is also deceiving her because Tom claims that “Daisy catholic and don’t believe in a divorce”(Fitzgerald 33).

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She blames George for this but it isn’t his fault. Myrtle soon realizes this and becomes jealous of Toms partner Daisy. Daisy encompasses all that Myrtle wishes to be. When in the city in Toms private flat, Myrtle says "Daisy! Daisy!

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Even Nick, who is an extremely pure and honest character in the novel decides after a while that she is not interesting to him. Fitzgerald also gives Jordan negative attributes, like being a liar, cheater, arrogant, and she does not think the rules apply to her. None of these are positive things that someone strives to be, and Jordan is all of these things. Nonetheless, Jordan Baker is treated like a queen compared to Myrtle

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Tom gained a sadistic satisfaction by knowing he was superior to Myrtle. Tom couldn’t have this feeling towards Daisy because Myrtle is just his mistress. “The fact that he had one was insisted upon wherever he was known. His acquaintances resented the fact that he turned up in popular restaurants with her and, leaving her at a table, sauntered about, chatting with whomever he knew” (Fitzgerald 24). Tom was so pitiful.

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Although Daisy tries to hide Tom’s affair, Jordan knows and explains to Nick that “Tom’s got some woman in New York” (15) and says that most everyone knows, because Myrtle doesn’t hide in the shadows. For example, when she calls Tom during dinner time it is her way of demanding recognition and attention. Overall, Myrtle’s prominent voice and actions that she uses to make herself known express an accurate version of a 1920s woman who was fighting for her rights and

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From the start, Myrtle is born into poverty which automatically decreases her chances of attaining her American Dream. Although Myrtle’s options were limited in terms of building an empire for herself, she still managed to seek out men that could give her what she wanted. In chapter two, Fitzgerald introduces Myrtle in a way that demonstrates her bold confidence despite her lack of money and social status. Because of this, it catches Tom’s eye; he demonstrates a savior complex because she is below him in terms of wealth and status. Essentially, Myrtle falls out of love with men and falls in love with money.

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Myrtle thinks that marrying him was mistake and she tries to get people to feel sorry for her since George had to borrow suit for their wedding. She seems to try to be justifying why she married him in the first place. As well she knows that Tom is not going to leave Daisy so she is not going to leave Tom.

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Acclaimed author Oscar Wilde once said, "Women are made to be loved, not understood". The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald epitomizes this concept. For while the star of the novel may be Jay Gatsby, it' stage women who take the stage. Although Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, and Jordan Baker are very different characters, they also share various similarities. Fitzgerald creates numerous stereotypical traits within his female characters to depict how women are perceived as shallow and unintelligent in current society.

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The feeling she has for Tom doesn’t end very well on her behalf. Both Tom and Myrtle are married to other people, but they still choose to cheat with each other. Even though this is a very bad thing to do; they still choose to partake in it until Myrtle’s husband finds out about these little shenanigans. Later in the book, Myrtle thinks that Tom is driving a yellow vehicle. She desperately wants to get out of her house, so she hurdles her way towards the road.

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The Great Gatsby, therefore depicts “the new social and sexual freedom” enjoyed by women through the lives of Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker and Myrtle Wilson who are “the focus [of both] romanticism and the moral indignation. They are symbols and are seen as objects which speak to the still unstable role of women in the society” (Fetterley

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Throughout history, women of many cultures have been denied equality with men. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s fictional novel, The Great Gatsby, he shows the struggles of distinct female characters. The novel takes place in America during the 1920s and focuses on American ideals and societal issues. Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, and Jordan Baker were all women in this novel that had societal restrictions limiting their ability to pursue their own desires, motivations, and needs. Daisy Buchanan’s desire was to marry rich and to lead an ignorantly bliss lifestyle.

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“I hope she’ll be a fool a beautiful little fool” (Fitzgerald 21). The Great Gatsby commences with the main characters, Nick, is off to New York to visit his cousin his Daisy. Nick discovers different affairs between his cousin and her husband Tom that create problems throughout the book. The is of feminism is necessary in Fitzgerald’s book. Feminism is the portrayal of women’s rights on the basis of the equal right of sexes.

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Lois Tyson’s review of The Great Gatsby through a feminist lens describes how F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel promotes patriarchal gender roles for many different reasons. First, Tom Buchanan strongly believes in patriarchal gender roles because he has double standards for men and women. Tom believes that he should be able to cheat on Daisy, but when Daisy cheats on him it represents that the traditional form of marriage will be ruined. Tom also assumes that society depends on the stability of the patriarchal family and that the stability of the patriarchal family rests on the conformity of women to patriarchal gender roles. Next, Tyson suggests that because Nick is the narrator his views and beliefs represent the novel’s ideological bases, and

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As we get to know throughout the novel, both of them have an affair, Daisy meets again with her old love, Gatsby, and Myrtle is the mistress of Tom. Daisy comes from a wealthy upper-class family and she has been raised in privilege while Myrtle has to fight for everything she has. Myrtle is attempting to give the impression of a wealthy, high-class woman, but she does not have the figure of a high-class woman. She has a “thick fish figure” (25) which connotes that she is not a skinny type nor beautiful. The appearance of Daisy is the contrast of Myrtle.

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Fitzgerald depicts the women of the novel as deceitful, sexual beings that are naturally subordinate to men through Daisy, Jordan, and Myrtle. Daisy exemplifies the naturally inferior role of women relying on the wealth of men in their lives to take care of them. When Daisy talks about her daughter she claims, “a fool–that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool”(21) establishing women’s subordinate role in which they are ignorant to the affairs of their husbands and expected to rely on their beauty to carry them through life. When Daisy is accused of infidelity with Gatsby in the hotel, Gatsby claims that Daisy is attracted to men of wealth and, “only married [Tom] because [Gatsby] was poor and she was tired of waiting for [him]”(137).

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