Women's Roles in the Great Gatsby Essay Example

“Everyone should be considered and treated equally” is the most common phrase you will hear whether it's with race, gender roles, or quality in general. Throughout the 1920s women began to gain recognition with the women's movement which gained them the right to vote. Women were known to stay in the house and rely on their husbands. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and women's roles both show how women were treated throughout the 1920s. With one being fictional yet having historical context and allusions, they show the reader how tough life was for women. F. Scott Fitzgerald does a great job of showing how each gender role played which also showed who did the most work. The Great Gatsby and women's roles in the 1920s can both show how they were seen as weak and dependent, however, they made an effort to change that through the use of their voice and individuality.  

To begin, Fitzgerald shows the ways gender roles are mirrored throughout The Great Gatsby and during the roaring 20s. Women were seen as housekeepers and they were meant to take care of the house. Women were also judged based on what they wore. In “How Flappers of the Roaring Twenties Redefined Womanhood” Pruitt writes how women were mainly defined on the way they acted. She writes “Sheer stockings, sometimes even rolled below the knees, completed the scandalous look” (Pruitt 1). In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald describes women the same exact way especially when they used to go to Gatsby's parties.  In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald describes women as weak, worthless, and beyond dependent on their husband or significant other. Daisy Buchanan is Nick's cousin and is Tom's wife. Throughout the book, we can see how she has evolved as a person. She at first was just being used for money however, she eventually made her way through and began to use her voice. Fitzgerald switches between the present and the past when talking about Gatsby and Daisy's teen romance. To illustrate, Fitzgerald states “Daisy was young and her artificial world was redolent of orchids and pleasant, cheerful snobbery and orchestras which set the rhythm of the year, summing up the sadness and suggestiveness of life in new tunes'' (Fitzgerald 151). Analyzing this quote, the narrator begins to talk about the past. Gatsby went to war and Daisy was waiting for his return; however, she eventually gave up and repositioned herself in her place in society. This can show how women such as Daisy in this case were dependable on their significant other. She felt safer with Gatsby and another factor that can contribute to dependence.

 This can connect with the 1920s because many women had to rely on men for their wellbeing. In an article, family life in the 1920s was introduced and explained. This article can also demonstrate how men were typically the main part of the household. While women were meant to stay at home as housekeepers and raise their children, they weren't allowed to go out or work. Meleen illustrates this by saying, “Men typically worked long hours in professions involving hard labor” (Meleen 3). Analyzing this quote, women typically relied on men for money and bringing money to the house in order for the family to have a roof over them. Following the same article, it was very rare for married couples to be divorced or go their own ways. This could potentially be because they wanted a significant other for money as well as protection. According to statistics, Meleen writes, “In 1920, nearly two-thirds of all people over age 14 were married[...]while only around 250,000 out of 37 million people were divorced” (Meleen 4). This can be alluded to in The Great Gatsby because Daisy and Tom are married however, Tom cheats on her with other women. Daisy is aware of this however, she chooses to not say anything. If she were to say something, a huge scandal would occur between the two with everyone in society. Connecting this with “Women's Status and Rights, 1929–1945” by Jill Frahm, she talks about the marriages that occurred and how during The Great Depression, marriages were affected as well as jobs. Once the depression hit, she writes, “Not only the loss of a husband's salary but also a smaller salary coming into the household forced women to provide goods and services that had previously been bought or hired. Although the depression often reinforced the traditional family division of labor, women's work at home became more valuable during these years” (Frahm 2). The reason why she stayed with Tom was that she knew he could provide her with whatever she needed since he is wealthy. These two examples can portray how women such as Daisy depended on men whether it was for money or to just be around them since they felt safe. 

 Throughout the years, however, we see how women worked for their independence as well as their rights. This can also go along with The Great Gatsby because, throughout the book, we see how Daisy begins to grow as an independent woman. When The Great Depression and World War II occurred, women were restricted from doing activities that we are now permitted to do. All of this, however, took a turn throughout the second World War. In a mini-book/ article called The New Woman: Changing Views of Women in the 1920s by Estelle B. Freedman, she writes “The new woman wanted the same freedom of movement that men had and the same economic and political rights. By the end of the 1920s, she had come a long way. Before the war, a lady did not set foot in a saloon; after the war, she entered a speakeasy as thoughtlessly as she would go into a railroad station” (Freedman 353). Analyzing this quote, women were allowed and permitted to do what we do in the present day. During the pre-war, women were meant to stay at home and not do anything at all, just take care of the house and raise their kids. However, they were allowed to enter speakeasies, have the right to vote, and were able to get out of the house. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald shows an example of speakeasies. In chapter four, Fitzgerald describes the way Nick meets Meyer Wolfsheim. He meets her at a speakeasy which shows the growth between the time periods. It also shows that women attend bars like these or even parties to live their life. They don't have anyone stopping them no matter how hard and controlled their life was back in the roaring 20s,

Following along, change within gender roles that occurred during these world events can be seen in “Women's Status and Rights, 1929–1945” by Jill Frahm. In the article, she demonstrated how women were determined to fight for their rights and to be treated with liberation with men, and to be able to express themselves. She writes “The greater responsibilities that women had in the home when men lost jobs or experienced pay cuts sometimes changed family dynamics, giving women a larger voice.” (Frahm 2-3). Women at first used to be shy or were afraid to speak up. Throughout these events, it gave women the chance to be able to utilize their voice after having everything bottled up or feeling the need to be controlled. In “The Great Gatsby, an example of this is when Tom and Daisy attended one of Gatsby's parties. At the time, Daisy was fully aware that Tom was cheating on her even though they have a child together. As soon as they arrived, Daisy says “Go ahead… and if you want to take down any addresses here’s my little gold pencil” (Fitzgerald 105). While women’s individualism began to show later on in the book, we can see that Fitzgerald incorporates male individualism very early on in the book. He writes “A colossal affair by any standard- it was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden. It was Gatsby’s mansion” (Fitzgerald 5). Fitzgerald incorporates this into his writing early on because men were a more high class than women. He chooses to incorporate this within his writing because he wanted to show that after she was with Gatsby or whenever she is around him, she begins to show her independence. In another source from The Guardian “The 1920s: ‘Young women took the struggle for freedom into their personal lives”, women began to fight for their rights. They applied for unemployment to get a job and protested for the right to vote. Mackrell writes, “Towards the end of the decade, some feminists would argue that women’s great achievement in the 20s was learning to value their individuality” (Mackrell 2). This can be incorporated by the other two examples because the sources talk about individualism. Everyone had to step up and show that they don’t need the opposite gender beside them anymore. They could be freer and do what they have always wanted to do.   

Briefly, it is clear to see how The Great Gatsby and the 1920s can show individualism and the changes between women’s roles. There was a long period of time when women were just housekeepers but that all changed when great events such as The Great Depression and World War II took place. These events changed American society in a positive way. It gave women the voice and courage to be able to express themselves after holding everything back for the longest time. This would later on hold a positive effect for their future and serve a purpose to them. The 19th and 20th centuries was the decade that persuaded and encouraged everyone to do their part if they wanted to make a change to the world.