Femininity In The Great Gatsby

Known as the "Roaring Twenties", the 1920's were a celebration where people longed for normalcy following WW1. This decade was characterized by prosperity, leisure, technological advances consumerism, and modern values. Many people became rich and wealthy. People inhearited "old money" and some found ways to obtain "new money". This decade was also when women's rights became an important topic of debate. Femals began to re-invent themselves from the idea of the "traditional" woman. Women were beginning to work, pursue educations and careers; they were drinking openly, accompanying men while being unmarried, cutting their hair short and purposefully downplaying their femininity. In 1925 F. Scott Fitzgerald published his novel The Great Gatsby, …show more content…
She is described as a captivating, young girl that leads others on with her naive and innocent presentation. "Her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth..." (Fitzgerald 9). She builds the American Dream by showing the beauty and happiness of her life. She is the perfect ideal for what a young woman of wealth should be. She comes from a well-know, wealthy Southern family and is expected to act like it. She was expected to marry in her 'class', establish a sense of security, gain social status, create a home for her family and have children as she was supposed to. However, Daisy showed faint resistance towards her expected lifestyle and the oppression she faces daily. While speaking whith Nick about her daughter she says, "I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool -that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool," (Fitzgerald 17). Daisy isn't as daft as society would believe her to be, she knows first-hand that the only way her daughter will make it during a time like this is to be a "fool". During this time, society prefferred women to be simple, eloquent, obideant and naive. They also did not value educated women. Because of her not wanting her daughter to wish for more than she could have, Daisy wanted her to become a "beautiful little fool". Daisy is a product of her raising and has expectations set for her as a woman in the 1920's. She tries to please …show more content…
The very first encounter we have of her we can instantly tell that she is different. She is a golfer, just like Tom had been at University, she is cynical, strong and mysterious in her appearance and demeanor. "She was a slender, small-breasted girl, with an erect carriage, which she accentuated by throwing her body backward at the shoulders like a young cadet. Her gray sun-strained eyes looked back at me with polite reciprocal curiosity out of a wan, charming, discontented face" (Fitzgerald 11). She is considered to be one of the more "progressive" women of this decade. She dressed more boyish than most, hoping to become more equal to men. Because of her being a more aggressive and modern woman she was criticized for being that of a feminist character. With that being said, Jordan was brought up in the same class as Daisy, she just wasn't okay living like that. Jordan became her own person instead of giving into her peers preseption of her. She chose a career over a family, which was a rare occurance during this time, she is free to come and go as she pleases and has