The aim of this paper is to analyze what message F. Scott Fitzgerald as a modernist writer tries to convey to his readership through the employment of the theme of adultery in his 1925 novel The Great Gatsby. To create a basis, I will shortly present literary modernism and adultery as a theme and establish a profound link between them. Furthermore, I will offer a short overview of how marriage, family, and divorce developed in the U.S. over time. Most importantly however, based on the assumption that committing adultery fulfils different functions in the novel, I will present Daisy Buchanan’s and Myrtle Wilson’s motivations pushing them to do it.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, the Western world went through a process of change and became more modern. Industrialization and its rapidly growing cities led society to shake off Victorian ideals and principles. Also, the Great War from 1914 to 1918 changed people forever. Although it was at first considered to be a great adventure and brought about the empowerment of women, it left countries and societies in a profound crisis and raised endless questions. New ways of coping with reality in this age of uncertainty were needed. The literary genre which today is called modernism dealt with this era particularly through experimenting with literary forms and styles.
F. Scott Fitzgerald was an American modernist writer of the Lost Generation who produced five novels, four collections of short stories, and over 150 short stories, and dedicated his life to depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age. His accurate and posthumously celebrated representations of the societal corruption of the roaring twenties and the failure of the American Dream, as well as the creation of the flapper in fiction have awarded him a permanent place among the immortals of American literature.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Theoretical background
2.1. Modernism
2.2. Adultery in literature
2.3. Marriage, the family and divorce in the U.S.
3. The Great Gatsby
3.1. Daisy Buchanan
3.2. Myrtle Wilson
4. Conclusion
5. Bibliography
5.1. Primary Sources
5.2. Secondary Sources
Research Objectives and Themes
This paper aims to analyze the message conveyed by F. Scott Fitzgerald in his 1925 novel The Great Gatsby through the thematic lens of adultery. By examining the sociocultural shifts regarding marriage, divorce, and the role of women in the early 20th century, the study explores how the protagonist's affairs serve as distinct functions driven by their specific motivations and social circumstances.
- Literary Modernism and its reflection of post-war uncertainty.
- The evolution of marriage, family structures, and divorce in the United States.
- Daisy Buchanan's motivations for adultery as an escape from an oppressive marriage.
- Myrtle Wilson's pursuit of social mobility through her affair with Tom Buchanan.
- The critique of the American Dream and class stratification within 1920s society.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1. Daisy Buchanan
When it comes to Daisy Buchanan’s adultery there are two main reasons pushing her to do it. On the one side, it enables her to temporarily get away from her dull, unhappy marriage to a man who does not treat her well. On the other side, it gives her an opportunity to experience excitement and romance with a former love interest. In the end however, Daisy stays with her husband Tom because they share a bond and have a daughter together, but also due to the stability and safety family life provides her with. To her, the affair with Jay Gatsby functions as a loophole enabling her to experience love and excitement while still enjoying the benefits of her upper class married life which she lives based on the maxim “What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after” (McDonald, 2013: 259).
Through his actions and being, even by means of his outer appearance, Tom Buchanan is painted as an unlikeable character. Generally, he seems to be arrogant, supercilious, entitled, condescending, disrespectful, racist, old-fashioned, patronizing, and sometimes aggressive. As it is, he is completely different from Gatsby. In terms of appearance, Nick describes Tom as “sturdy […], with a rather hard mouth [and] arrogant eyes […,] always leaning aggressively forward” (Fitzgerald, 2013: 7). In addition, he appears to be rather big as he is described to have a “cruel” (ibid.: 7), “thick” (ibid.: 122), and bulky (cf. ibid.: 161) body with “powerful” (ibid.: 147) and “authoritative” (ibid.: 180) arms. With the “enormous power of that body” (ibid.: 7), Tom physically moves people around at his will as if they were puppets, for example when he shows Nick his house or when he firmly seizes the shocked George Wilson after the car accident, shaking him and sitting him down.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter contextualizes the emergence of literary modernism following historical upheavals and outlines the paper's goal of analyzing adultery in The Great Gatsby.
2. Theoretical background: This section details the rise of modernism, the historical literary treatment of adultery, and the evolving concepts of marriage and divorce in the U.S.
3. The Great Gatsby: This chapter focuses on the narrative and character dynamics of Fitzgerald's 1925 novel as an examination of decadence and societal corruption.
3.1. Daisy Buchanan: The analysis identifies Daisy’s motivations for adultery as a search for excitement while maintaining the security of her upper-class marriage.
3.2. Myrtle Wilson: This section explores Myrtle’s desire to escape a lower-class existence and her ultimately futile social aspirations through her affair.
4. Conclusion: The concluding chapter synthesizes the motivations of both women and evaluates Fitzgerald’s critique of the American Dream and 1920s society.
5. Bibliography: This section provides the primary and secondary sources used in the research.
Keywords
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, Adultery, Modernism, Marriage, Divorce, Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, American Dream, Social Mobility, Jazz Age, Victorian ideals, Infidelity, Class stratification, Narrative technique.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary subject of this research?
The work examines the different functions that adultery serves for the female characters Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson within F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby.
What are the core themes explored in this paper?
Central themes include the intersection of marital disillusionment, class differences, social mobility, and the critique of 1920s societal norms.
What is the central research question?
The paper investigates what message Fitzgerald conveys to the reader by utilizing the theme of adultery to explore the motivations and social realities of his female protagonists.
Which scientific methodology is applied?
The author performs an interdisciplinary literary analysis, combining close reading techniques with a historical and sociocultural overview of the period.
What is analyzed in the main body of the work?
The body analyzes the interplay between historical modernist values, the development of American marriage laws, and the characterizations of Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson in contrast to their respective partners.
Which keywords characterize this study?
Key terms include The Great Gatsby, adultery, modernism, social mobility, Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, and the American Dream.
How does the author interpret Daisy Buchanan's affair?
The author concludes that Daisy uses the affair with Gatsby as a "loophole" to experience romantic excitement while preserving the privilege and stability of her marriage to Tom.
Why does the author consider Myrtle Wilson an unlikeable character?
The analysis suggests that the narrator depicts Myrtle with "judging eyes," highlighting her pretentiousness, performative behavior, and lack of refined social manners.
What conclusion does the author draw regarding the American Dream?
The author argues that the novel portrays the American Dream as a lie, exemplified by the protagonists' inability to transcend their origins despite their efforts.
What is the role of the "Valley of Ashes" in the analysis?
The author analyzes the Valley of Ashes as a symbol of desolation and lifelessness that serves as a stark contrast to the wealth of the Buchanans, motivating Myrtle’s social ascension attempt.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Friederike Lang (Autor:in), 2020, The different functions of adultery in F. Scott Fitzgeralds "The Great Gatsby", München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1459299
