8/17/2019 In the Great Gatsby Fitzgerald Presents Hostility Towards Women

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Laura Stewart

In The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald presents hostility towards women.

 The Great Gatsby features several prominent female roles, however,positive female representation in the novel is limited. Throughout the

novel, Fitzgerald presents hostility towards these females characters,seemingly disproving of their new social freedoms, inuence on malecharacters and hedonistic lifestyle. !erhaps this hostility represents hisdi"culties with women in his own life such as with #elda or Ginevra $ing,or perhaps he more broadly disapproves of the changing role of women inpost%&&' society. (ither way, Fitzgerald clearly presents hostility towardsthe female characters in his novel The Great Gatsby.

 The )rst female character we see Fitzgerald present hostilitytowards is indisputably the most important female character in the novel.*Golden girl+ aisy -uchanan is initially characterized by her voice, a low*murmur+ whose purpose *was only to mae people lean towards her.+

Fitzgerald uses this to immediately present this character, and morebroadly women in the novel, as manipulative creatures, deliberatelycreating enchanting illusions to entrap men. Fitzgerald describes at lengthaisy/s *arrangement of notes+ in a *singing compulsion+ to associate thecharacter with mythical sirens who would often cause a sailors downfallwith their beautiful singing. Fitzgerald substantiates this idea with Gatsby0sultimate demise in water. Through this, he suggests women have anegative inuence on a man0s life serving at best as a distraction or evendeliberately causing destruction in a man0s life. In the '123/s singlewomen were no longer as restricted as they once had been and were nowable to engage with men unchaperoned, Fitzgerald clearly displays this as

a negative advancement and a display of hostility toward the women inhis novel. Fitzgeralds presentation of aisy as a romantic idol in his novelagain shows his hostility towards women. 4lthough aisy is clearlypresented as capable of love, or at least deep a5ection, she is seeminglyincapable of sustained loyalty or care. 4fter losing Gatsby *by ne6t autumnshe was gay again, gay as ever+ and after being traumatically reminded of her lost love through a letter, she manages *ne6t day at 7 o/cloc 8tomarry9 Tom -uchanan without so much as a shiver+. Through theseinstances, Fitzgerald presents aisy as a sel)sh character, aware only ofher own needs and unable to prioritise true connection or love above thelu6ury and comfort provided by money. aisy0s actions clearly representthe consumerism of the '123s. The morals of post%war 4merica were

being re:ected for the retainment of wealth and possessions; which wasencouraged by the technological advancements maing mass productionpossible and by the emergence of advertising. aisy0s connection withconsumerism along with her sel)sh attitude to relationships demonstrateFitzgerald0s low opinion of women and the hostility he displays towardsthem. Fitzgerald continues to display hostility towards women through thecharacter of aisy through her involvement with the death of myrtle&ilson. Through Gatsby, Fitzgerald tells us *First aisy turned away fromthe women towards the other car, and then she lost her nerve and turnedbac+. Through this aisy is presented as immoral, as we see her againunable to maintain the right decision and it is a clear demonstration of hersel)shness and her belief that her life was more important than that ofanother; which is another hostile representation of her character.Fitzgerald also presents hostility towards women through the lac of

8/17/2019 In the Great Gatsby Fitzgerald Presents Hostility Towards Women

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Laura Stewart

conseummings, the characters name associates her with two well%nownsports cars of the time, which is )tting as she represents the fast%pacedhedonistic lifestyle of a wealthy female of the '123s. -aer is described as*incurably dishonest+ and Fitzgerald adds insult to in:ury with the

8/17/2019 In the Great Gatsby Fitzgerald Presents Hostility Towards Women

3/3

Laura Stewart

new movement in society while also demonstrating his hostility towardswomen.

Fitzgerald also presents hostility towards women in general in hisnovel. The women we see at Gatsby0s parties are presented as immatureand crude, simultaneously emancipated and yet dependent on men in aconvoluted parado6. Ae describes the * Bld men pushing young girlsbacwards in eternal graceless circles+ demonstrating the oppressiveatmosphere created by the men preventing further moves forward forwomen and the futility and pointlessness of the lives they were e6pectedto lead. espite the advancements of the '123/s, women still had limitedcontribution to society and were e6pected to spend their days on trivialpleasures . Ae continues to demonstrate his hostility as he describes the*puppish+ way the women acted and how they *swooned bacwardplayfully into men/s armsC nowing that someone would arrest theirfalls.+ Through this Fitzgerald suggests that women in the '123/s havebegun to tae advantage of the protective nature of men, acting

reclessly, drining and dancing provocatively because they now the willnot bear the conse