Folly of the Aristocracy Romance


In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the aristocracy are at the center of the story. Most of the characters such as Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby have wealth whether it is family heritage or acquired. Even in the first few chapters, it is evident that the love relationships between some of the characters are very complicated. Tom is married to Daisy, but has affairs with Mrs. Wilson that lives in the blue-collar valley of ashes. Daisy starts to fall in love with Gatsby again.

From the way things are in the Buchanan household, Daisy and Tom aren’t happy in their marriage. Why don’t they divorce, then, if they have other lovers? This can be explained through the aristocratic ways of the time. Tom and Daisy, both born into the old wealth (represented by residence in East Egg) were raised from childhood being used to the elite position in society. To maintain the wealth and prestige, it was common practice among the aristocracy to marry for social status. This likely forced Daisy and Tom into a stable aristocratic, but unhappy life. Neither of the two are willing to compromise the social status and wealth by divorcing for love. Tom shows his choice of Daisy over Myrtle when he “broke [Myrtle’s] nose” for mocking “Daisy” (37).


Daisy, however, may be more willing to pursue her love for Gatsby. This could be seen as a bold decision to break the traditional aristocratic views. Is this really what is going on? To answer, I imagined if Gatsby wasn’t rich. Would Gatsby still be able to wow her? I answer a confident no. Daisy wouldn’t even look him, for she already shut down the love for the average officer years ago. She chose to marry Tom even after receiving the letter from Gatsby the night before (76). Even though Gatsby is new to his wealth (represented by residence in West Egg) without the aristocratic family background, he is still filthy rich. Daisy is amazed by his mansion and even “began to cry stormily” at Gatsby’s shirt collection. It is revealed that Gatsby spent so much time and money to try to be reconnected with Daisy. He bought the very mansion that looked out to her house across the bay, held frequent extravagant parties in hopes she would show up, and approached Nick with his wealth (hydroplane, business offer, etc) with the knowledge that Daisy was his cousin. I argue that the romance of the rich is still folly because Gatsby had to try so hard to climb the social ladder just to even have a chance with Daisy. Saying this, if Daisy does choose to divorce for Gatsby, she is giving up social status for “love.”

Comments

  1. Claire YOctober 29, 2017 at 5:19 AM

    Nice post Wonyoung! I liked how your style of answering your own questions as they appear throughout your writing. Your analysis offers a clear explanation on the the role of money in upper class marriages.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Malavika VengilattOctober 29, 2017 at 1:18 PM

    Well said Won! I liked how you thought of how Daisy would react differently if Gatsby wasn't wealthy. I agree that neither Daisy nor Tom are willing to give up the security which wealth gives them for love.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownOctober 29, 2017 at 2:19 PM

    Well said Wonyoung! I wrote similarly about how heavily affluence determines Daisy's opinion. You really cleared up how back in those times, marriage was seldom tied with love, more about social status. It's quite sad how they weren't willing to give up their status for love.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownOctober 29, 2017 at 5:31 PM

    Nice post I think that the romance is still existent between Gatsby and daisy because she is willing to choose Gatsby over the easier and safer choice Tom.

    ReplyDelete

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