The Great Gatsby Feminist Lens Essay

The novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald narrates the story of Jay Gatsby through the eyes of an outsider named Nick Carraway. It follows as it shows the efforts of Jay Gatsby's attempts to try to gain his love again, Dasiy Buchanan. Along with his story, we get to see the small parts of the lives of others within the high society of New Long Island. At the novel's climax, events play out between Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom, Daisy’s husband, in which a confrontation plays out within the story as both men try to argue over Daisy and their beliefs on who is right. The conflict between Gatsby and Tom appears to be very tense and frustrating for both men, however, looking through the feminist lens illustrates a deeper meaning. It reveals the critiques of the power dynamic

From the very beginning of their confrontation, Gatsby doesn’t attempt to reason with Daisy, rather ignoring her. As Daisy and Gatsby state, “I’ve got something to tell you, old sport–’ began Gatsby. But Dasiy guessed at his intentions. Please don’t let me know! She interrupted, helplessly. Please let’s all go home. Why don’t we all go home?’...’Your wife doesn’t love you,’ said Gatsby. She’s never loved you. She loves me.’”(130) At first, the way Gatsby is during this confrontation seems like a very dominant, act of bravery against Tom. However, this reveals Gatsby's surface-level perspective. The act of defying Daisy's pleas is inherently selfish in this context as he does it for his values of love not for Daisy, emphasizing the lack of direct power and control she has. She avoids conflict, as she is a docile female keying into the more traditional role of women. This is ironic however due to how she began her relationship with Gatsby behind Tom's back, contradicting that traditional female role. It appears that Gatsby confidently states that Daisy never loved Tom, showing the obsession and love he has for