Fitzgeralds portrayal of the female characters in The Great Gatsby reveals an underlying hatred of women. With reference to appropriately selected parts of the novel, and relevant external contextual information on Fitzgeralds own attitude to women, give your response to the above view.

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Fitzgerald’s portrayal of the female characters in ‘The Great Gatsby’ reveals an underlying hatred of women. With reference to appropriately selected parts of the novel, and relevant external contextual information on Fitzgerald’s own experience of, and attitude to women, give your response to the above view.

In The Great Gatsby women are often presented in less than positive terms, which doubtlessly reveals that Fitzgerald had an underlying hatred of women.  Even when the book was first published, it was not received well amongst women.  In 1925 Fitzgerald wrote to Marya Mannes that, “Women, even intelligent women, haven’t generally cared much for The Great Gatsby. They do not like women to be presented as emotionally passive – as a matter of fact I think most women are.” In examining how Fitzgerald negatively portrays women, a good place to start is how they are reduced to their appearance.

Throughout The Great Gatsby men are described based on their wealth or careers, but women are described based primarily on their appearance, such as the sexualised depictions of Myrtle: “She was in the middle thirties, and faintly stout, but she carried her surplus flesh sensuously as some women can. “ Additionally, Daisy wishes that her daughter will grow up to be, “a beautiful little fool.”  Both Daisy and Myrtle accept that being physically beautiful is the only way they can survive in the harsh 1920s culture. Through this portrayal, Fitzgerald suggests that women are little more than dolls that are beautiful on the outside but empty underneath, demonstrating that he had an underlying hatred of women.

This reflects 1920s culture; on surface level women were becoming more liberated, however any jobs available to women paid much less than their male counterparts which meant that women had to rely on the financial support of a man. Women were still objectified and were forced to use their bodies and sexuality as a commodity in order to support themselves. We see this evidenced in Fitzgerald’s relationship with his wife, Zelda. She, much like Daisy, refused to marry him until he could prove that he was able to support her. Their marriage was difficult and strained, which contributed to the underlying negativity throughout the novel. Fitzgerald did not support Zelda’s attempts to earn her own money, revealing an underlying hatred for women. She almost became a professional dancer and published her own novel, but Fitzgerald believed these things were a waste of time for her.

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Further support for this proposition can be found in how Fitzgerald describes the personalities of his female characters. A key example would be the women attending Gatsby’s parties: “Lucille said, ‘I never care what I do, so I always have a good time.’”  Again, women are portrayed as shallow and epicurean. It is a woman who starts the rumours about Gatsby: “Somebody told me they thought he killed a man once.” They are drunk, slanderous and emotional and Fitzgerald clearly disapproves of this behaviour.  In 1935 Fitzgerald demonstrated his underlying hatred for women when he told his secretary, Laura Guthrie, ...

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