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Who Is Myrtle Wilson Victimized In The Great Gatsby

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Caroline Goveas Mrs. C. Custodio ENG 3U1 8 May 2023 Patriarchal Perpetuation and Victimization in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Human rights lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Shirin Ebadi once said “Women are the victims of this patriarchal culture, but they are also its carriers” (Ebadi). In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel, The Great Gatsby, women portray the changing ideologies of femininity in 1920s society, yet continue to perpetuate the patriarchal structure, by which they are victimized. Women of the 1920s are perpetually criticized by male characters, specifically by Nick Carraway, the narrator. In particular, Myrtle Wilson is manipulated to serve the desires of men, both willingly and unwillingly. Furthermore, …show more content…

In her affair with Tom Buchanan, Myrtle receives not only minimal respect but also endures physical abuse. While engaged in an argument concerning Daisy, Tom made “...a short deft movement…” towards Myrtle, by which he “…broke her nose with his open hand” (Fitzgerald 29). Tom obviously does not respect Myrtle, demonstrated by his short temper, and physical violence towards her. The fact that Tom made a “short deft movement” using “his open hand” when he struck Myrtle, means that he did not think cognitively to close it, and in the heat of the moment, he instinctively swung. Tom seems to lack respect for Myrtle, he is desensitized to hitting her, going as far as to break her nose, and feel no remorse. Myrtle surprisingly, does not have a momentous reaction to this violence. Despite the adversity, Myrtle stays with Tom, as in her mind, he is her ticket to a life of wealth and fortune. Logically, Myrtle should have realized that Tom is an abusive, misogynist, who truly does not love her, however because she sees him as a powerful, wealthy man, Myrtle ignores these obvious red flags. In the pursuit of a better life, Myrtle chooses to ignore Tom’s abusive behaviours, and adheres to the violent, patriarchal power dynamic she is faced with. Moreover, throughout Myrtle’s life, she was sexualized, and her sexualization continued even after her death. Shortly after Myrtle was struck by Gatsby’s car, the men who had found her “…had torn open her shirtwaist, still damp with perspiration they saw that her left breast was swinging loose like a flap, and there was no need to listen for the heart beneath. The mouth was wide open and ripped at the corners…” (Fitzgerald 109). The entire description of Myrtle’s dead body is rather disturbing, not only because of its graphic nature, but also because of how her injured body is objectified. Interestingly, although the men

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Myrtle Wilson was killed in a fatal car crash on Monday the 7th of August, when she ran on to the road and was hit by a yellow car, recently identified as Jay Gatsby’s car. After hitting Mrs. Wilson, the car did not stop. Gatsby was returning from New York to his home, but when travelling through the valley of ashes, Myrtle Wilson ran into the road and was then hit by Gatsby’s car.

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Myrtle has a type of control over her husband and uses him. He is in love with Myrtle and will do anything for her and she uses that to her advantage, as it allows her to order him around. She admits that she has never loved him and would marry

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Nick describes Myrtle on page 125 that: “I realized that her eyes, wide with jealous terror, were fixed not on Tom, but on Jordan Baker, whom she took to be his wife”(Fitzgerald). She was green with envy and this influence her behaviour. Thus, she can not act rationally. As a consequence, she ran straight to the road and towards Gatsby whom she thought was Tom. The car hit her and she dead for her irrational behaviour.

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Although Myrtle is not exactly slick, George is oblivious enough for her to get away with her secrets. Her power is fostered through the manipulation of her husband as Myrtle deceitfully uses, disrespects, and dismisses George. Clearly, Myrtle takes control of the relationship with assertion, while her husband complies and agrees for her satisfaction. This idea is further developed through Tom’s perception of Myrtle. He knows that Myrtle gets what she desires whether it be through manipulation, deceit, or alternative techniques.

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Even Gatsby said "Her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth” (Fitzgerald 14) Even though their relationship was rocky, Myrtle still had a cause of the death. She was the one who jumped in front of the car. She ran in front of the car thinking it was Tom but it was Daisy.

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This is displayed when Tom Buchanan gets annoyed with Myrtle Wilson at the hotel and, “broke her nose with his open hand” (Fitzgerald 41). After Myrtle mentioned Tom’s wife, Daisy, although Tom told her not to, Tom used his brute strength to inflict damage on Myrtle. Not only that, but Myrtle, being dependent on Tom and the freedom that his money brings, chooses to stay with him although he abused her. Women being portrayed as inferior is also shown when Nick attends the Buchanan's luncheon, and Daisy points out Tom’s knuckle, “‘Look!’ she complained.

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Myrtle was killed by Gatsby's car. She thought that Tom was driving the car but earlier, Tom and Gatsby exchanged cars while in New York so that Tom could go to town. Myrtle saw Tom driving the car, and assumed it was his. Later on, Myrtle ran out into the street to try and catch Tom’s attention. Daisy was the one driving Gatsby's car at this point, and was upset due to the earlier events that she wasn’t able to handle the vehicle in a way in which she knew.

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What do I know already? I know that Myrtle has been killed by Daisy. Daisy ran her over with Gatsby’s car.

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Though the reader sees Myrtle’s betrayal, “He thinks she goes to see her sister in New York” (26). Because of this, he is blind to the obvious affair; he does not see it odd that whenever Tom arrives, Myrtle leaves. Wilson lives in a carefully constructed world of lies built around his spouse. This world cannot survive forever; when it collapses, so does he. When Myrtle fatally collides with a car, he becomes violently unhinged.

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Myrtle was the woman that Tom was having an affair with, unbeknown to Myrtle’s husband, George Wilson. Later in the novel, however, Wilson learns of his wife’s affair and decides to lock her in a room while he plans on forcing her to move with him across the country. Fitzgerald exhibits Myrtle’s confliction through the book by stating, “‘Beat me!’ he heard her cry. ‘Throw me down and beat me, you dirty coward!’

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Throughout The Great Gatsby, Myrtle Wilson desired to fit in with the upper class; however, her marriage to George Wilson prevented such from occurring. Myrtle failed to recognize her husband’s hard work and true character due to her efforts to rise in social status. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald emphasized Myrtle’s hatred towards her marriage through her conversation with Catherine, depicting how people of the twenties focused more on wealth and power compared to moral American values. As readers closely evaluate the moment of Myrtle’s dialogue, she dictated her feelings towards her marriage in a way that supposedly justified her infidelity.

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In the novel The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald set in the 1920s, a man named Jay Gatsby who became rich through illegal means tries to win the heart of a woman named Daisy Buchanan, Tom Buchanan’s wife. The wife of a garage owner named George Wilson, Myrtle, is also having an affair with Tom. Throughout the course of the novel, Tom and Wilson run into similar encounters. Both of them discover that their wives have been cheating on them and have comparable reactions. These discoveries and related events reveal their attitudes toward women and become violent.

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Tom’s altercation with Myrtle accentuates his hypocrisy and lack of self-control; while he doesn’t feel guilty for cheating on Daisy with Myrtle, he feels that he has the right to maintain his authority over Myrtle. In this same scene, Myrtle, who is also drunk, draws attention to the negative aspects of her personality.

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Through use of comparison between Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, and Jordan Baker, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s message about women and feminine power is that having a man deprives the women of their power, ranking higher in social standards deepens the wound of selfishness, and being deceptive

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