Women In The Great Gatsby

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Both authors present women in a way that reflects them as inferior to men, both visually and through the use of imagery and symbolism. A victim is a person harmed or injured mentally, physically and sexually as a result of ones actions. Due to their own backgrounds, Williams and Fitzgerald hold a negative perception of women. This therefore portrays, through the readers and audience’s eyes, women as victims as a result of the writers’ past experiences, which is reflected in the two texts. Williams’ motive for presenting women in this way, in ‘Streetcar Named Desire’, could be partly due to his mother who is often described by critics as an “unconscionable snob.” Additionally, through Fitzgerald’s letters it is clear that he had instability…show more content…
‘The Great Gatsby’ was written at a time of personal disillusionment for Fitzgerald as Kathryn Schulz states that he “bled into his work”. Furthermore the novel was afflicted with Fitzgerald’s spite, towards women in particular, which he can deflect through Nick to make his opinions more socially acceptable. Similarly, Williams had begun to be affected by his sister’s psychological problems. He described her as being “awakened in the night by the struggle and in the morning the hideously mangled victim would be lying by her window.” This may have made Williams more compassionate and therefore sympathetic for Blanche, which portrays an ambivalent view. Furthermore, Williams was, arguably, seen as being victimised like women, however through his homosexuality. It can be argued that as a result of their past, violence towards women is another way they become victimised. Cornelius Williams, Tennessee’s father, became increasingly abusive as the Williams children grew older. He notes that his father made a move towards his sister Rose that his father claimed was meant to calm her. These events affected Williams when writing the play. Women are constantly being physically assaulted which is, as some argue, merely the nature of relationships at the time. In the 2013 film version of ‘The Great Gatsby’, the audience witnesses Tom’s animosity towards Myrtle through violent actions (Tom breaking her nose with his ‘open hand’.) This common motif of brutality suggests that women must be physically disciplined because their offence is justly chargeable- in this case Myrtle repeating Daisy’s name
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