An Analysis Of The Heroines’ Destiny In The Great Gatsby From Feminist Perspective

Francis Scott Fitzgerald, the great American novelists in the 1920 s, is hailed as the spokesman of the Jazz Age, an outstanding chronicler. The Great Gatsby,,his masterpiece exposes the social features of the time and the ideology of people. The three heroines Daisy, Myrtle, Jordan are the representatives of the flappers of the time. The attractive women with various characters come from different status, but none escape the miserable destiny. Many critics have hard remarks on their images but few make a thorough analysis on the reasons of their negative images. This thesis aims to find out the reasons for miserable destiny of the three leading women’s from feminist perspective. To reveal that the reasons for the miserable fate are not only caused by themselves but also based on patriarchy’s oppression.This dissertation consists of an introduction and four chapters.The introduction part introduces the author and his works, together with literature review both at home and aboard on The Great Gatsby, which provides basic background information for the later analysis.The first chapter deals with the theory of feminism and feminist literary criticism and relevant theories. It lays emphasis on the statement of Simone de Beauvoir, a French feminism critic, that “the woman is not innate, but acquired”. This chapter offers the theory for the following discussion.The second chapter analyzes the fates of the three women from feminist perspective. It points out that the heroines are materialized objects of the male heroes. They are placed to the position of the “other”.The third chapter discusses the reasons for women’s destiny from feminist perspective in detail. The author’s attitude towards new women, the lack of self-awareness long oppressed by the patriarchal ideology and the belief in money first all contribute to their misery.Chapter Four focuses discussion on the positive meaning of women’s resistance. Although it is immature for women to fight against the patriarchal society, it has significant meaning for the development of feminism.