How do Daisy’s words reflect the role of women in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, ‘The Great Gatsby’?

Scott Fitzgerald illustrates the extremities of gender and social class, and the lack of independence this brought upon women. This essay will discuss the three major female characters and the ideas that Fitzgerald confronts of female stereotypes of the 1920s. 1. Daisy illustrates the typical women of high social standing; her life is moulded by society’s expectations. She is dependent and subservient to her husband.

Women in the Romantic Era were a long way from being treated as equals; they were expected by society to find a husband, become a typical housewife, and a good mother. So what happens when women get tired of being treated horribly and try to fight back towards getting men to treat them as an equal? Both Mary Robinson’s, “The Poor Singing Dame” and Anna Barbauld’s “The Rights of Women” show great examples of how women in the Romantic Era were disrespected and degraded by men, whereas all they wanted was to be treated with respect and dignity. Females were harassed for doing the smallest thing wrong or for doing something that simply made a male angry. For example, in “the Great Singing Dame” the happy poor woman gets thrown in jail for simply

In marriage, men viewed women more as possessions, but for women it was a fulfilling ambition just to be married (Brown, 1973). Other statements in the book suggest the only valuable part of a woman is her beauty, making it clear that women were not treasured for their accomplishments, although it is critical they have them (El Azrak). Lady Catherine de Bourgh represents the stereotypical woman in this time period as well (El Azrak). She is a very overbearing woman who finds pleasure in dictating other’s decisions to ensure she gets her own way. She strongly believes in the arts, money, and other simple abilities, women are supposed to have.

However, Hope Leslie does not conform to the expected behavior of women during that time, behavior that only further expressed the supposed superiority of males. Hope portrays behaviors and attitudes common in a woman today. Hope is capable of thinking for herself, is courageous, independent, and aggressive. Sir Philip Gardner describes Hope as having “a generous rashness, a thoughtless impetuosity, a fearlessness of the… dictators that surround her, and a noble contempt of fear” (211). In comparison to Esther Downing, Hope is the antithesis of what a young Puritan woman should be, and in turn, Hope gains a great deal of respect from the readers of the novel through her “unacceptable” behavior.

He convinces the women that their place in society is to be helpless and at his mercy. This is especially apparent through Tom Buchanan 's wife Daisy. Daisy believes, “that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” (Gatsby 21) She believes that all she is a beautiful little fool, but no one can blame her. Whenever Daisy is spoken about it 's not in relation to her intelligence, but rather that, “‘Her voice is full of money,’ [Gatsby] said suddenly. That was it.

The reader is able to identify with Jane Eyre as a character through the complex sentence structure that is filled with emotion and imagery. I do agree with you Bella as the 19th century saw woman like Charlotte and Jane being inferior to men in every way possible. It was considered woman who made their own living as ‘un respectable ladies’ with no marriage prospects. This was the lifestyle of both Jane and Charlotte who found ‘acceptable’ work within the eyes of society in roles as ... ... middle of paper ... ...t through Janes quote, “Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do”. P125 I believe it is evident that this is a novel of Jane's independence.

3.89) at the happy beginning of their mar... ... middle of paper ... ...edient to him. Shakespeare portrays women inferior to all men. In conclusion, throughout Othello Shakespeare proves women to be unequal to men. Women were to be submissive and treated as possessions instead of having an equal value of life. Othellos works as an example to prove the way of life of Elizabethan patriarchal society, the suppression and limitations of women.

Women are seen from a biased point of view in pop culture as they are often criticized and portrayed in degrading ways. The Great Gatsby takes place in the early part of the 20th century which is also known as the Roaring 20's. In regards to feminism, the women in The Great Gatsby are mainly depicted as second class to men. The story gives readers an insight of the roles that gender played in past World War I America. In The Great Gatsby, the author Scott Fitzgerald shines a light on the submissiveness of females toward males during the Roaring Twenties by giving the women in the novel an unfair representation as they are often identified as passive or negative “objects”.

Women were seen as highly susceptible to becoming mentally ill because of this belief. Women were subject to only be “housewives.” The novel, Alias Grace, accurately shows the construction of this gender identity through society, sexuality, and emotion while challenging it through Grace’s mother and Mrs. Humphrey. Society shows the stereotypical way of thinking in the Victorian era: women are subordinate to men. This can be seen through Mary Whitney. Mary Whitney tells Grace what her goals should be and how she should act: “It was a custom for young girls in this country to hire themselves out, in order to earn money for their dowries, and then they would marry, and if their husbands proposed they would soon be hiring their own servants in their turn and then they, ―would be mistress of a tidy farmhouse, and independent” (Atwood 182).

Even the clothing that women wore served only to emphasize the womanly parts and the “separation from the world of work” (Abrams, “Ideals of Womanhood in Victorian Britain”). Since women were controlled by society and men controlled society, women were forced into obedience. However, feminism was also on the rise as many women grew tired of domestic life and their place in society which caused them to seek equality with men. This theme, i.e. “the patriarchal forces that have impeded women’s efforts to achieve full equality with men,” is present in Victorian society as well as in Jane Eyre.