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Women In The Great Gatsby

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The female characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby” play a vital role in the plot and storyline. They also were a vital component of the American dream in the 20s because they were the visual representation of the American Dream. this meant that they had to maintain a certain appearance that would appeal to the men of that time, as the society had placed a high value on beauty and physical appearance of women. despite the major differences and backgrounds between all the female characters in. the novel they all share a common goal and that is to achieve the American dream. In the 1920s women had just gained their rights to vote. Despite it being a step forward from the past, it was all still theoretical as in real life, …show more content…

Unlike Dais, Myrtle was born into a lower class family and married George, a man also from the lower class. From the beginning of the novel, we learn that she is not satisfied with her current status and wishes to join the wealthy lifestyle of the East Egg society. She also wants to achieve the American Dream so badly that she is willing to do anything for it. Her only way in is by being Tom Buchanan’s mistress. He provides her with an endless amount of luxury and treats her wonderfully when it comes to money. As far as emotional and physical well-being are involved, he treats her awfully because he constantly hits and abuses her when he feels like it even in front of his friends. She, as a woman, loses her pride whenever she gets hit because she is being treated like an emotionless object or accessory owned by Tom. Her personal materialistic goals are so blinding to her that she forgets about her rights and her value, not only as a woman but also as a human being. Just like every other character in the novel that has sacrificed something to achieve the American Dream, she also makes her own sacrifices. Her sacrifice is to be disrespected and treated awfully in order to be able to get more money and be part of the wealthy society. She The author describes her to be a fool and it is true to some extent, in the sense that only a fool would be dumb enough to believe that only money brings happiness, which was Myrtle’s belief. In the end, her extreme obsession with money and material possession leads to an unforeseen death and she dies in pursuit of the American

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In his works The Great Gatsby, “Winter Dreams”, and “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”, Fitzgerald shows how women 's attempts to gain independence during the 20th century initially fail due to society 's construction. Majority of the drama that occurs in The Great Gatsby is due to one

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Myrtle downright ignores her own husband, “walking through her husband as if he were a ghost” and approaching Tom with a smile on her face (Fitzgerald 25-26). Though Myrtle and her husband have been married for a long time, Myrtle never got the money and status she wanted. As soon as she met Tom, all she could see was the money that surrounded him. In fact, she even changed her clothes around Tom, “attired in an elaborate afternoon dress of cream colored chiffon, which gave out a continual rustle as she swept about the room” (Fitzgerald 30). Myrtle often tries to come off richer than she is, proven by her various outfit changes in a small party where she wants to “prove herself a woman of Daisy's status through a melange of color, fashion, and commodities” (Goldsmith).

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“The only building in sight was a small block of yellow brick sitting on the edge of the edge of the waste land, a sort of compact Main Street ministering to it, and contiguous to absolutely nothing.” (Fitzgerald, 24). She carries herself in a way that a financially prosperous woman would, although, in reality, she lives in a dingy garage with a man whom she doesn’t love. Myrtle is so besotted with leading a lifestyle similar to that of a person with high social status that she pursues Tom Buchanan, a man of high status and wealth. Her desire to be with Tom is fueled by her desire to be the affluent woman she portrays herself to be.

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At first, Myrtle is just the woman helping Tom Buchanan cheat on his wife, until it is revealed that Daisy is also cheating on Tom. Myrtle is disgusted by her husband and his lack of riches and wealth and prosperity. It is stated in the book that she always felt that she was born to be sophisticated and wealthy and a participant of the upper class. Because of this, she doesn’t complain when Tom, a rich city boy, pushes himself upon her. Tom does not try to hide his affair by any means, which makes Myrtle think there is more there than really is.

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To begin with, Myrtle is ashamed of her class and pretends to be rich and high class in order to impress Tom. In Tom’s apartment in New York, she bought an expensive dress that people from her class typically cannot afford, and talked rudely to the servants that are also of the same class as her: “I told that boy about

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1075 Words | 5 Pages

From the start, Myrtle is born into poverty which automatically decreases her chances of attaining her American Dream. Although Myrtle’s options were limited in terms of building an empire for herself, she still managed to seek out men that could give her what she wanted. In chapter two, Fitzgerald introduces Myrtle in a way that demonstrates her bold confidence despite her lack of money and social status. Because of this, it catches Tom’s eye; he demonstrates a savior complex because she is below him in terms of wealth and status. Essentially, Myrtle falls out of love with men and falls in love with money.

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Myrtle is portrayed as the unfaithful golddigger, the cheating wife looking for money. She is always shown to be attempting to act and dress as the rich people do because that’s what she wants, to be rich off of Tom and to live the life the rich people lived in the great roaring twenties. Only three female main characters, and none of them are portrayed in any way favorably, leaving out another huge group of

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Daisy is stuck in a loveless marriage with Tom, a seemingly just punishment for her crimes, given that Tom will likely continue to be unfaithful to her. Jordan is punished when Nick abandons her. The worst, however, is reserved for the woman who threatened the patriarchy the most - Myrtle Wilson. She violates patriarchal gender roles unabashedly and aggressively, despite the fact that she is from the lower rungs of society. Her husband all but disappears in her presence, and though she suffers abuse at Tom’s hand for stepping out of bounds, her ultimate punishment is that she is hit by the car and killed.

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Myrtle was a “gold-digger”, but she also believed that he would genuinely love her and pick her over Daisy, even though Tom gave no indication of doing so. Like Daisy, breathed out wealth, Myrtle had breathed out vitality and sensuality, hoping for Tom to chose her as his love and for him to give her riches and luxury. As for Daisy, much like Myrtle, was also chasing both money and love, at different points in her life. Daisy, initially wanted love, and she displayed that, by first waiting for Gatsby and then once again when she was newly married with Tom. Over time, like with Myrtle, this dream of love evolved to of riches further on in her life.

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The novel; The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, explores multiple themes. One specific theme, however, that stands out can be considered the gender roles portrayed throughout the novel. Specifically, his portrayal of female characters, such as Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker and Myrtle Wilson. In some respects, Fitzgerald represents gender roles in his novel, in quite a traditional manner. In the novel, men are responsible for earning money, so that they can then care for the women.

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This causes tragedy to happen and it is all through a sequence of events. Simply Myrtle does not love George because he is poor, she decides to have an affair with Tom Buchanan. Even when she is abused by Tom she does not care because all she wants to do is be with Tom since he has more money than he knows what to do with. Nobody wants to be abused it is inhumane. We hear of the abuse when Nick sees, “Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand.

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2439 Words | 10 Pages

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby, is full of themes of wealth, love, and tragedy. Also during the time this book was written, women’s suffrage had begun, so women were taking their first steps towards equality with men. The three main women characters in the novel: Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, and Jordan Baker, all have things in common but can be vastly different; they reflect the view of women in the early 20th century. The Great Gatsby portrays the characters Daisy, Myrtle, and Jordan as stereotypes of women during the 1920s, seen in their behavior, beliefs, and their ultimate fate.

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1180 Words | 5 Pages

When she first laid eyes on Tom, she knew she would be able to have the social status and way of life that came with great wealth. Myrtle’s husband was not rich enough to give her the luxurious lifestyle she craved and Myrtle did not believe her marriage reflected her social class. Her husband worked with cars and didn’t earn a large amount of money nor did he acquire a large inheritance. Myrtle was ready to leave her husband for Tom yet Tom was not willing to give up his reputation for her since he never really wanted her. The day Myrtle was hit by Gatsby’s car she was indeed chasing money.

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Just like Daisy, Myrtle chooses money over love. She cheats on her husband George with Tom. Myrtle was a woman from the lower class who desired to be a part of the higher class. Tom spoiled Myrtle and gave her the lifestyle she always wanted. She belittles her husband and talk bad about him because he is not at the top of the social ladder where Tom is.

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In the decade of the 1920s, there was enormous social and economic change. In this change, great numbers of women went to work and earned their own income. With income comes taxation and in United States of America as James Otis U.S. politician once said, “Taxation without representation is tyranny” (Ratcliffe, 2014). Therefore, what followed was the right of women to vote; with this, the voice of women where now represented in public office changing forever the political life of the nation. This new independence marked a big step to social equality.

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