Abstract

 F. Scott. Fitzgerald is one of the most renowned American writers during the period of the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. His works reflect the social environment a lot, including the collapse of American puritan moral values, the rise of hedonism and individualism, and the breakdown of American dream. The Great Gatsby is the same. In it, Daisy and Jordan, characterized by Fitzgerald, are beautiful, materialistic and greedy, but they are trendy, independent at the same time. This paper will focus on the so-called flappers from the perspective of feminism and give the readers a new interpretation. This paper consists of three parts. The first part analyses how Fitzgerald depicted female characters and how their fate was arranged by him. So we can get the point that he and his embodiment, Nick, were misogynists and they tried to objectify women. The second part analyses that Daisy and Jordan were victims of upper class and patriarchy. The third part talks about bright qualities in them. To sum up, Daisy is the victim of male characters and patriarchal society, and she used to gain freedom. Daisy shouldn’t be spit upon but should be taken pity on.

Key Words: Fitzgerald; The Great Gatsby; Daisy; Feminism

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-1

2. The Objectification of Women-4

2.1 Patriarchal Perception of Women-4

2.2 Nick and Fitzgerald as Misogynists-5

2.3 Daisy Complicit in Objectification7

2.3.1 The Pure, Innocent and Romantic Girl.8

2.3.2 The Desperate Girl, a Material but Loyal Woman8

2.3.3 The Disloyal and Immoral Woman.9

3. The Victims of Patriarchy-.10

3.1 Daisy's Victimizer Image-10

  3.2 Jordan-new woman image12

  3.3 Myrtle-selfish mistress image13

4. The Bright Qualities of Female Characters 15

4.1 Liberation of Women-15

4.2 Apperance of Professional Women-16

5. Conclusion-17

Bibliography-18

Acknowledgments-19