Fitzgeralds View of Women in The Great Gatsby
开篇：润墨网以专业的文秘视角，为您筛选了一篇Fitzgeralds View of Women in The Great Gatsby范文，如需获取更多写作素材，在线客服老师一对一协助。欢迎您的阅读与分享！
基金项目：本文受（2014年）北京农学院教育教学改革立项“非英语专业大学生语言学习策略与语言能力的相关性研究”和（2014年）上海外语教育出版社有限公司全国高校外语教学科研项目“农林院校非英语专业本科生英语学习风格调查研究”资助。Abstract：F．Scott Fitzgerald，the famous American novelist in the 1 920s，is known as the spokesman and laureate of the “The Lost Generation”．Considered one of fitzgeralds representative works and the finest achievement of his literary career，The Great Gatsby is widely recognized as a classic of American literature．The paper is an investigation of the patriarchal ideology and misogyny，with a discussion of their influence on the portrayal of women characters in The Great Gatsby．
Key Words：Fitzgerald；The Great Gatsby；patriarchal
1A Review of Patriarchal Ideology in Western Culture
The prevailing belief that women are inherently inferior to men is one of the typical patriarchal assumptions that are frequently under the vehement attack of feminists．In a patriarchal society，men dont regard women as truly humans，but objects to fulfill mens needs，objects that can be got with power of money．“Patriarchy subordinates the female to the male or treats the female as an inferior male．” In the malecentered world，women are the shadows of men，the subsidiaries of men．They dont regard women as fully human and just as a form of property，existing for the benefit of men．In the relationship between the two sexes，men are depicted as the protectors and possessors of women，performing the role of a patriarch or master．Women，however，are described as mentally and physically weak．They are in great need of support and protection from men，which is offered at the cost of their submissiveness and dependence．The protection on mens part is in essence the domination over women and a prevention of womens independence．Women are judged by whether they meet the requirements of patriarchal society or not．When they are in line with the image of “ideal woman” preached by patriarchal culture，they are praised as “angels”; otherwise they are condemned as “demons”．
Such a prejudice against women can be traced back as early as to Aristotle，the great philosopher who once declared that “the female is female by virtue of a certain lack of qualities，we should regard the female nature as afflicted with a natural defectiveness”．And St．Thomas for his part pronounces woman to be an “imperfect man”，and “incidental being．” This is symbolized in Genesis where Eve is depicted as lade from what is called “supernumery bone” of Adam．The prejudice against women thus assigns them to a subordinate accessory and passive position．In the established patriarchal culture women have to view themselves as inferior beings to men，and they lose their true self in the inhibition of patriarchy．Deep-planted in such prejudice against women，the male-dominated society assigns them some stereotypes of femininity：formlessness，passivity，piety，irrationality，silence，docility，spirituality，and confinement．The essence of such stereotypes is that men provide women with protection and support in exchange for womens submissiveness and dependence．
The relationship of two sexes portrayed in The Great gatsby reflects Fitzgeralds identification with the Cult of True Womanhood．True Womanhood refers to the widely accepted values in the Victorian Age about womens proper roles．According to Barbara Welters “The Cult of True Womanhood，1820-1860”，“the attributes of True Womanhood，by which a woman judged herself and was judged by her husband，her neighbors and the society，could be divided into four cardinal virtues―piety，purity，submissiveness，and domesticity．” These four virtues together define an ideal image for women from a masculine point of view．Since men are always regarded as the movers，the doers，the actors，women should be the passive，submissive responders accordingly．She would depend on him，respect him，and submit to him．A submissive woman can do nothing but be subject to males control．
2Fitzgeralds Patriarchal Ideology
Kate Millett in Sexual Politics points out that in literature，a cultural product of the patriarchy consciousness，the male authors reestablish the sexual politics of the present world in their micro-world of the novel through their sexual consciousness．Fitzgeralds background and his conceptions of men and women have strongly influenced his portrayal of male and female characters in The Great Gatsby，in which Fitzgerald presents a vivid depiction of feminine world and female characters through a central male consciousness．Fitzgerald once expresses his worry：“It may hurt the books popularity that it （The Great Gatsby） is a mans book．” Although Fitzgerald was convinced that The Great Gatsby was a masterpiece，and his finest work to date，he worried that its sales would be hurt by the lack of an “important woman character”．Fitzgeralds negative representation of women in The Great Gatsby is closely related to his patriarchal ideology．His attitude toward women is revealed by the relationship between him and his wife．
Living in a world that is just starting to consider the possibility that women may have the right to be independent citizens capable of making their own decisions，trained by her mother with loving permissiveness，Zelda displays all the characters of the modern women in the 1920s．She was a heedless and modern Southern belle with many suitors and little concern for convention，freespirited，imaginative and thoroughly spoiled．“Zelda was a natural beauty，with red-gold hair，fine features，and a graceful body．But what distinguished her from other young women was her spirit―playful，often rebellious，and even reckless．” This character was closely related with her family education．As a conservative，Episcopalian，upper middle-class family，her family embodied the tradition and conservatism of the South and reflected the general mores of Montgomery at the turn of the century．“As an icon of the Jazz Age，she struggles against her traditional southern upbringing and its societal constraints to create a new，independent identity…”
Fitzgeralds hindrance to Zeldas creative talents in writing and desire to keep her in family shows his patriarchal tendency．While those challenging the values are criticized as being selfish and insincere，women conforming to the True Womanhood are appreciated as “the angel in the house”．In such a patriarchal culture，women are always the “second sex”，the subordinate beings，and even exchangeable objects．They are called a half of the world，but actually a half inferior to the other half．
In a very real sense，Zelda is a flapper who not only has adventurous behavior and avant mind but also possesses a kind of innate and rich giftedness．Zelda had a mind as witty as Fitzgerald in that era，her affirmations of “I am assuming that the Flapper will live by her accomplishments and not by her flapping” and “the best flapper is reticent emotionally and courageous morally” are a kind of creed for the flappers to their independence．Like Nicole tried to recover her consciousness，Zelda struggled to establish her own identity outside that of her husband．
At various times in her life she threw herself into three creative avenues：writing，dancing，and painting―all areas where she had exhibited talent in her youth．She had once pursued her dream of becoming a painter．Fifty-four watercolor paintings and delicate paper doll constructions exhibited on April 19th，2001，in the Upper Gallery at Ursinus College，demonstrated her artistic talents to some extent．The exhibition highlighted her artistic expression as a painter of brilliantly colored，whimsical，sometimes fantastical works of art and illuminated her flights of fancy，views of the changing early 20th century，and perhaps even fears．Whats more，she was a writer．With her husbands guidance，Zelda began to write and publish essays and short stories that appeared under a joint byline or sometimes under her husbands name．
Fitzgerald regards Zelda as a symbol of part of his success．He was ambivalent about Zeldas struggle for her individuality and self-expression．Although Zelda often expressed an extravagant love for Fitzgerald，and he loyally supported and wrote affectionately to her，they quarreled bitterly and endlessly over her ambitions as a writer and painter，her sexuality，and her right to work and to be independent．Zelda repeatedly said that she wanted a divorce，but without any money of her own，and without the means of earning any，she was utterly powerless in the relationship．Tension and an element of competition crept into their relationship as Zeldas proficiency as a writer grew．After trying her hand at writing yet finding herself overshadowed by her well-known husband，Zelda turned toward ballet，which she had shown marked talent for as a child，in a continuing search for an arena of personal accomplishment．But as with her writing，and later with painting，ballet became an unhealthy obsession．
All that has been mentioned above exemplifies Zelda Fitzgeralds lifelong struggle to create her own artistic identity．Known primarily as the beautiful and eccentric wife of a talented writer，Zeldas search for her own identity was tangled in the web of a disintegrating marriage and a downward spiral into mental illness．But her private struggle for self-expression and happiness took place amid the turbulence of a troubled life．She struggled against her southern upbringing and its social constraints to create a new independent identity，not just for herself but for all American women．Zeldasd story remains relevant to nowadays women who face similar challenges．
References：
Bruccoli，M．J．& Bryer，J．R．F．Scott Fitzgerald in His Own Time：A Miscellany．Kent，OH：Kent State University，1971．
Cooperman，Stanley．F．Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby〖=M〗．Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press，1996．