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Women's Role In The Great Gatsby

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A woman's role in the 1920’s was to act subordinate towards dominant men. Smoking, drinking, and flirting were the characteristics of women of this time. Feeling powerless to change their lives, women of the 1920’s did not strive to find happiness. Jordan, Myrtle, and Daisy, although unhappy with their lives, do not strive to find happiness by making a change.In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, each of the main female characters is portrayed as a miserable figure who do not have the power to change their lives.
Jordan, a cynical professional golfer, struggles to succeed in a world filled with male dominance. Jordan is in a male dominated profession due to the fact that most sports professionals in the 1920’s were dominated by men. …show more content…
Myrtle is the most pathetic female character in the novel because she is low class and in an abusive relationship, but exposed to the upper class that she will never be a part of. She feels that the only way to be a part of the higher class is to have an affair with Tom, Daisy’s husband, even though he “broke her nose with an open hand” (37), hurting her physically, and also emotionally. Myrtle accepts physical abuse as a part of her role as a female in a relationship with a man. She is shown as a pitiful character because she truly believes that she is happy. Her definition differs from reality, due to her upbringing in the lower class, which accepts physical abuse by men as a social norm. She “carried her surplus flesh sensuously as some women can”(25) revealing her insight into how higher class women behave. During this time period, women of lower class could attract upper class men using their sexuality. It was the only way a higher class male would pay attention to a lower class female. This would happen because men also enjoyed the dominance they felt towards a low class female. Myrtle is able to leave her low class world by changing into “an elaborate afternoon dress of a cream-colored chiffon”(30), which made her feel as if she was part of the high class she so desires. It was as if “her personality had also undergone a …show more content…
Daisy, an inheritant of old money, and the wife of a wealthy man, seems to have it all. Daisy reveals to Nick that she has “ha[d] a very bad time… [she’s] pretty cynical about everything”(16). With the reality of her imprisoned marriage, it is no surprise she is unhappy. Her husband is cheating on her, and he is not discreet about it. Daisy knows Tom is cheating but she is unable to fight back due to the subordinate roles women have to play in marriages. To try and distract herself from her unhappiness, Daisy believes that all women can do is “be a fool-- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool”(17). Daisy understands the roles women play during this time period, and although her understanding of the gender roles shows she is not oblivious, she acts incognizant towards Tom’s affair so that she will not get hurt. Not only does she try to act as if she does not know or care about what is going on, but in addition, she also likes to uphold an image of a wealthy happy wife. Daisy’s voice is symbolic of her attitude towards her husband, which reveals how she truly feels. Daisy tries to show off as happy and joyful, but “her throat full of aching, grieving beauty, told only of her unexpected joy”(28), which is depicting how she is truly unhappy if one looks beyond her appearance. When Daisy is with

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