Looking back, are Daisy and Myrtle as different as they are portrayed? In the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there are two unique influential female characters.
The men in their relationships dictate the control they lose and gain throughout the novel. Daisy and Myrtle are different regarding the amount of control in their lives and relationships but their issues become relevant when money is involved. Daisy is described as the “golden girl” in the novel. She was “by far the most popular of all girls in Louisville” (Fitzgerald 74).She is pretty, rich, and charming. Living life in East Egg, it seems like she has it all.
But looking deeper, Daisy does not exert much control in her relationships or life. When she marries Tom Buchanan, she marries for money and not love. She has “old money” which meant she was born into wealth and cannot earn all the money she has been given by herself. Then there’s Gatsby.
He is someone Daisy can confidently say she has control over. Daisy at first rejects him because of his lack of money but is later mesmerized by his wealth and success.Unfortunately, Daisy is caught between a relationship with Gatsby and a relationship with Tom and can’t do anything about it. Even though she is well aware that Tom is cheating on her, leaving him is not easy at all. Dealing with Pammie, a child with Tom, adds to complications. Myrtle on the other hand could be called the exact opposite of Daisy.
She lives her life in the “valley of ashes”: a “desolate area of land where ash takes the form of houses” (Fitzgerald 23). Having no opportunities along with hardly any money, Myrtle is living in a depressing place.She seems to have more control in her relationships than in her life. Her husband George is completely faithful and good to her.
She knows she has all power to control him and take advantage of his obliviousness when she says “he’s so dumb he doesn’t know he’s alive” (Fitzgerald 26). The only problem with her relationship with George is that she doesn’t love him and it is apparent when she says “When I married him, I knew right away I had made a mistake” (Fitzgerald 35). She prefers being with Tom and his money.Myrtle is less in ontrol with him but knows she has the capability to use his money whenever she pleases.
She must remember that Tom can leave any time. Tom knows that he can control her however he likes and it shows when he “broke her nose with his open hand” (Fitzgerald 37). When Tom does this, he shows that he is and plans on staying in control of Myrtle. The most important similarity between the two women is that their choices are being influenced by money.
Daisy chooses to be with Tom but later wants Gatsby back considering that he is now wealthy.She displays this at Gatsby’s house when she notices Gatsby’s clothes and says “It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such-such beautiful shirts before” (Fitzgerald 92). She wishes she could be a part of Gatsby’s luxiourious life and regrets not marrying him. She allows status and wealth to rule her life and become the deciding factor in her relationships which leave her unhappy.
Myrtle, on the other hand, wants to be with Tom because of his ability to buy her whatever she desires.Both these women chase after material things and happiness through men. Neither women focus on the character of men but how much money they possess. Daisy and Myrtle are two very different people with similar intentions in mind. Daisy and Myrtle control only part of their relationships. The reason they both lose control is because they get side tracked over their preoccupation over money and status.
They are both chasing after the same thing but left seeing that they have no control left in their lives.
