Sexism In The Great Gatsby

How do we know if someone is sexist? In this context, someone is sexist if they belittle women or use stereotypical gender roles. An author who does this is F. Scott Fitzgerald. Born Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald on September 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota, Fitzgerald is an American short-story writer and novelist best known for his turbulent personal life and novels like This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and the Damned and The Great Gatsby. The 1920’s was an era in which women had more freedom from the duties previously imposed on them, however Fitzgerald decides to portray women in his novel, The Great Gatsby, as foolish and disloyal, ultimately bringing upon the downfall of men. The novel is set in the Roaring 20’s and it is narrated
In the novel, female characters are depicted as shallow, selfish beings that are seen as possessions, instead of people, by the men in their lives. Fitzgerald’s sexist behavior can be observed through his portrayal of women, more specifically through his portrayal of Daisy, Myrtle and Jordan.
One of the most important women in the novel is Daisy Buchanan. She is Nick’s cousin, Tom’s wife and the love of Gatsby’s life. However, there is very little physical description of her throughout the novel. What is most described about her is her seductive voice. Daisy is portrayed as the typical rich housewife. She is aloof, does not work and does not take care of her own children. We can see all of this within the first chapter. Daisy talks about the longest day of the year and how even though she always waits for it, she always misses it. This makes her come off as quite unintelligent to the reader. As for her occupation, she clearly does not have a job as this is never mentioned and she never seems to be truly busy. Fitzgerald depicts Daisy as a bad mother; her child is taken care of by nurses rather than her. This can be observed when in Chapter 7 Pammy, Daisy’s daughter, is brought downstairs
Scott Fitzgerald was sexist in his writing of The Great Gatsby through his patronizing depiction of women. The main female characters in the novel, Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson and Jordan Baker, are portrayed in a harsh way. Daisy conforms to stereotypical gender roles. Myrtle Wilson is a sexual object, deserving no type of respect from men like Tom Buchanan or Nick Carraway. Jordan Baker is a successful woman whose accomplishments are diminished by the way Fitzgerald makes her out to be haughty, dishonest and masculine. All this being said, it is hard to blame Fitzgerald for his prejudice and ignorance since he was raised in a world that thought men were better than women. However, as we are currently living in a patriarchal system, should we be justifying the actions of ignorant men or raising awareness and educating people on the importance of gender