Women In F. Scott Fitzgerald's Winter Dreams

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Men and women have been portrayed differently varying on the changing periods of time and what is going on in those moments. This general rule also applies to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams”, in this story, the main characters are Dexter, Judy, and Irene. Dexter is used to represent all men and Judy and Irene are representing all women. In the story, when talking about the men, the first and only thing that is talked about is their amount of wealth and their status in the society. All of the decisions made from the men’s significant other revolve around whether or not he is wealthy. When possible love interests of Dexter are mentioned, they are depicted by their beauty/ physical appearance and few other traits. Judy is said to be breathtakingly …show more content…

“Her name was Irene Scheerer and her father was one of the men who had always believed in Dexter. Irene was light haired and sweet and honorable and a little stout and she had two beaus whom she pleasantly relinquished when Dexter formally asked her to marry him.” (Fitzgerald pg. 974). Dexter had everything that he would need in Irene, a family that liked him and she was committed to him, unlike Judy who bounced back and forth between men. Irene even gave up two other men in order to be with Dexter, something that seemed impossible for Judy to do. “He sat for an hour with Irene Scheerer and talked about books and about music” (Fitzgerald pg. 975). Irene was different, Dexter was able to have smart, intelligent conversations with her about various subjects. He was able to spend time with Irene and get to know her personally. “He knew that Irene would be no more than a curtain spread behind him, a hand moving along gleaming tea cups, a voice calling to children…” (Fitzgerald pg. 975). After the harsh reality of things ending with Judy, Dexter was looking for someone to fill a void. Irene was that someone in Dexter’s life that would have his children but would mean little importance to him. She was someone who was easy to get rid of in the sight of Judy