What Is The Feminist Issue In The Great Gatsby

Feminism: The Real Problem in The Great Gatsby

Margaret Atwood stated, “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.” Men think they are superior, if women laugh at them it angers them, but women don’t worry about getting laughed at, they are more worried about doing something wrong and having a man kill them. Feminism in The Great Gatsby is the literary criticism that seems most prominent. Feminism is seen throughout this novel not only through the women who are main characters but some of the less important characters as well. This reoccurring theme is shown through the character Daisy plays, Tom beating Myrtle, and Jordan’s description.

Throughout almost the entire novel Daisy seems to struggle with who she wants to be with; Tom who

The novel depicts her as inferior compared to her husband Tom. Her home is referred to as “Tom Buchanan’s” by Nick, who is her second cousin. He does not say Daisy’s home. At one point in the novel Daisy says, “All right I said, ‘I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (Fitzgerald, 17). This gives the reader an insight on what women were viewed like in the early 1900s. Daisy thinks women are not smart, but just for looks. They are not supposed to question men but rather be a good thing to look at and bear children, none of which takes any intelligence. Feminism is shown in how Daisy is glad the baby is a girl because she is a fool and will listen to men like she is supposed to and not question them. In one article it states “Daisy allows herself to be bought-like a piece of property in an economic transaction” (Beaty, “Feminism in The Great Gatsby”). This shows how Daisy lets Tom’s money rule her. Tom knows she