Women In The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby describes the American Dream through the unique perspectives of the characters. The story closely depicts life in the roaring twenties and follows the protagonist Nick Carraway through his various experiences with the title character, Jay Gatsby, in his attempts to win over Daisy Buchanan, the love of his life. However, Daisy chooses to marry her husband, Tom Buchanan, over Gatsby for his extreme wealth. Tom is hypocritical, arrogant and controlling, constantly forcing his own patriarchal ideals onto other people. He values loyalty in women yet has been caught having various affairs. One of his mistresses, Myrtle Wilson, cheats on her husband with Tom for his money because of her dissatisfaction

Although Daisy is seen being able to act independently and making her own decisions, she is unable to do so whenever she is faced with a choice that would leave a lasting impact on her life. The two decide to confront Tom about their relationship after weeks of planning. However, when the time comes, “she hesitated,” and when Gatsby started to pressure her into confessing, Daisy realized that “she had never, all along, intended to '' leave Tom for Gatsby (Fitzgerald 132). After weeks of preparation, Daisy ultimately fails to make the choice to change her life and chooses Tom over Gatsby. In this instance, Daisy has complete control over her future through her choice between Tom and Gatsby. However, with her agency, she instead decides to appeal to both of them out of fear of losing the happiness that being with Gatsby brings, and the wealth and status that Tom provides her with. She is especially conflicted because in a male dominated society, it is harder for a woman to achieve the same amount of success as a man. Including her unemployment, Daisy is unable to support her wealthy lifestyle by herself. In the end, Daisy is unable to take action and make a definite choice between the two. By the end of the novel, instead of going to Gatsby’s funeral and taking responsibility for killing Myrtle, Daisy “retreated back into [her] money,” avoiding the situation entirely, “and let other people clean up the mess [she]had made.” (Fitzgerald 179). To avoid the responsibility of owning up to her actions and resolving her conflicts with Gatsby, Daisy moves out with Tom despite her unhappy marriage with him. Despite all of her experiences, Daisy continues to stay with Tom and her life reverts to how it was in the beginning. Daisy’s need for luxury and material comforts over anything else prevents her from ever