Explore Fitzgeralds Presentation of love in The Great Gatsby, making connections to E.L. Doctrows Ragtime.

Moreover, lust is the most prominent part of ‘The Great Gatsby’ as it shows us that lust sometimes can lead to love. Lust is shown most clearly by the relationship between Tom and Myrtle. As Nick tells us of the abuse with which Tom treats Myrtle – as he ‘broke her nose with his open hand’ – we can begin to see that Tom sees Myrtle as an object for his personal desire. We can deduce from this event that Tom is using both of the women in his life to assume an air of power and dominance; he can have a wife and a lover and no one can stop him. Also, the description of Myrtle being ‘faintly stout’ but able to carry her ‘flesh sensuously’ can bring the reader to think about why Tom would have chosen her.  This is in stark contrast to Daisy’s description, showing us that Myrtle is not Tom’s usual ‘type.’ The adverb ‘sensuously’ can bring the reader to assume that this is why Tom chose her as his lover. This also can imply that Myrtle, as in 1920’s America, had followed the new Flapper culture whereby women had started to peel away from the natural way of life and assumed their own independence through the way they dressed and acted. This is significant to the way the whole novel flows because lust is the basis for this relationship and when Myrtle dies we do see the effect it had on Tom as ‘he was bending over it (the body), motionless,’ showing that although Tom didn’t love Myrtle, he did have feelings for her. This, again, is parallel to Ragtime. The contrast of the Eskimos and the relationship Father has with Mother shows that in white America, Mother is the object of Father’s sexual needs. We are told that Mother has a ‘fastidiousness’ nature as opposed to the Eskimo woman who ‘actually pushed back’ implying that Mother is quick to please her husband with what he wants. It also suggests that Father is shocked by the addition of ‘actually,’ showing that he is surprised and it is not usual in the time period or in America.

Less clear than the previous areas is the homoerotic undertones in the novel, which can be seen through Nick. Some critics have suggested that Nick’s fascination with Tom’s form could, instead of being for the interest of the reader, be Nick’s thoughts. Several times throughout the book we are told of Tom’s masculinity. Very detailed analysis is given by Nick to the reader in the first encounter when ‘great packs of muscle shifting when his shoulder moved.’ Nick seems to talk a lot about Tom’s physique portraying, subtly, his sexuality. During the time the novel was written, Homosexuality was a taboo so if Fitzgerald intended Nick to be gay, he couldn’t outright specify it. Another way Nick’s sexuality is questioned can be through his drunken rendezvous with Mr McKee. This strange turn of events whereby McKee’s hands inadvertently stray and touch a forbidden lever, to a bedroom scene (one of only two throughout the duration of the novel) where McKee is ‘clad in his underwear … with a great portfolio in his hands’ and Nick ‘standing beside his bed’ can elude homoerotic connotations which, although not ever stated, are very symbolic in themselves. ‘The lever’ we are told of, although on the surface we presume it to be a lever control, in symbolic terms, is phallic and can be seen as an erect penis. The same goes for the ‘great portfolio’ which, whilst not stating what it is, has phallic symbolism under the surface. Nick does seem to be attracted to Jordan, a female. However, the descriptions of her are quite masculine. She has an ‘erect carriage’ which is emphasised ‘by throwing her body backward … like a young cadet.’ Of the three women in the novel, Jordan seems to most shy away from the natural conventions of a woman. Nick seems to regard her cautiously and he is uneasy and a little awkward around her. Unlike Fitzgerald, Doctorow seems to show the homosexuality in his novel outright. We are told of the intimacy between Goldman and Nesbitt as Goldman begins by commanding Evelyn out of her clothes and then to ‘knead Evelyn’s neck …thighs and calves.’ This seems to have a different effect on the novel, making it seem that, at the period of time set, homosexuality was fine. This could be however, because the book was published in 1975, where he had no restrictions on what he could write.

Finally, there is a relationship in ‘The Great Gatsby’ which would be considered in the 1920’s to be strange – the relationship of Myrtle and her husband. George is subservient to his wife. George is a ‘spiritless man, anaemic’ with a ‘damp gleam of hope sprang into his light, blue eyes’ when he sees Tom and Nick. The use of colour in that Wilson’s eyes are ‘light, blue’ can show us that he is watery and ineffective at reigning his wife in and that she can therefore, do whatever she wants, mirroring that Tom can do whatever he wants. Then later on in the chapter Myrtle is seem to ‘walk through her husband as if he were a ghost,’ showing that he is hopeless to stop her and also she is the dominant one in their relationship. This is strange because in the 1920’s women would have been expected to respect and obey their husbands. The relationship between Mother’s Younger Brother and Evelyn Nesbit is seen to parallel this. We are told of Mother’s Younger Brother as waiting on Nesbit ‘in his doggish silent way.’ It shows that in both cases a woman domineering over a man was strange and that both were inefficient to tell the woman they loved to stop.

In conclusion, love is tainted by all aspects of the lives the characters lead, be it sexual desires or personal benefit. All the relationships in The Great Gatsby lead to failure as they are not fundamentally based on love but a burning desire for money or lust. There is no such thing as a pure, untainted love in The Great Gatsby and that in itself shows what their lives must have been like. The relationships of all the characters go some ways into the tragic ending of the novel and the consequences of these final events.

Bibliography

• Books

-Spark Notes: Ragtime

-Spark notes: The Great Gatsby

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