Did Daisy ever loved Gatsby?
Did Daisy ever loved Gatsby?
What do you guys think?
(I never read the book)
"...Oh God! It is unutterable!" - Heathcliff
*Spoilers*
I think one of the most telling scenes in "The Great Gatsby", regarding Daisy's true feelings for Gatsby, was in the shirt scene (where Gatsby is showing her all of his material things and she cries into a pink shirt). He's just shown her all of the material wealth he's accomplished, when she'd last remembered him as a poor boy. Some critics say that Daisy was crying over their lost opportunity for true love; others say she cried over the sheer magnitude of the wealth that was before her. I think Daisy was crying for Daisy, for her lost opportunity to have everything SHE ever dreamed of; great wealth and a man who totally adored and would dote on her. The irony of the situation couldn't have been lost on her; she'd made the choice to marry Tom--perhaps totally on her own or influenced by years of social programming--probably thinking "well, Gatsby will never be wealthy, anyway. at least I'll live in the comfort I'm accustomed to. People can't have everything their heart desires."
So she chose wealth over true love. Then, she realizes at the moment of holding the shirts, that she could've had both---a passionate, lifelong love affair AND lots and lots of money. In rich girl fashion, she cries because she could've had more than she already has--something she never dreamed could be possible. Instead, she had the money, but was locked into a typical marriage to a very wealthy man---someone who has too many options as a result of his wealth, therefore, is often tested of his character (as we know, Tom failed that one). I'm sure Daisy loved Gatsby in the best way she could--but love to Daisy was about how it made her feel. Would she still be sorry for their lost opportunity to be together, had he remained as poor as she remembered him? Could she have stood by him while he readjusted from being at war or worked to make his fortune?
The events at the end of the story happened exactly as they should've for Daisy, who only ever had to deal with the "pretty" side of life, or the mildly unpleasant--at worst. She loved her daughter without having had to feed her(and at one point, change her diaper), discipline and care for her. She could enjoy lunch without having to prepare it, love Gatsby without ever having to stand beside him through hardship...kill someone with a car and never have to face the consequences of such an action (except having to live with the knowledge of its aftermath being visited upon others). Daisy had kept herself so dreamy and childlike, that she'd distorted those qualities to mean lack of responsiblity and the ability to manipulate others to get what she wanted (notice the passive aggression she displays throughout the film--and novel, for that matter). She was, perhaps, well-meaning...but also selfish and evasive. Her well-honed charms hid these character flaws from Gatsby, who remained true to her until his death.
I wonder if the Wilsons represent the thing that Daisy rejected? Working your way up with no guarantee that you'll get anywhere. Perhaps Myrtle is Daisy before she got hold of Tom's money in the sense that she wasn't going to earn any through work. It's no surprise that Daisy runs her over since she did this to herself when she sold herself to the money.
Marlon, Claudia and Dimby the cats 1989-2005, 2007 and 2010.
*Spoilers*
That's really interesting - I never thought about how much those two women were alike. I wonder if that was what was most appealing to Tom - this hunger in these women, for his ability to "save" them from their circumstances; with Myrtle, it was showing her something other than economic poverty, with Daisy, it was financial security and the danger of marrying "beneath" herself in class.
I think Daisy and Tom were far more suited to eachother than they initially realized and despite the reader's hope that something deeper is in Daisy, I think she married Tom so that he could "save her from herself"; maybe she didn't like that she could fall in love with a poor boy and thought it showed some kind of defect on her part. I'm sure she did love Gatsby but I'm willing to bet she resented herself for it. Love with a "poor boy" was so complicated so...unstable. She liked wealth and liked being wealthy and once Gatsby was gone, it was relief - she could rest on her choice...because it was always about her, anyway.
Thank you. Your comments are just as interesting.
Watching it this time, I was reminded of how symmetrical the characters in The Prairie are and how this story has so few characters and so many analogues. It's almost Marxist in its anatomy of economic determinism.
Mr Wilson's hopelessness before Tom is like Gatsby's to Daisy. Tom and Daisy deserve each other, the vapid bastards! Notice as well how Tom resembles GW Bush, the man who gives hereditary privilege a bad name? Mr W and Gatsby are unmanned by the women they love; Tom isn't and he's a fascist git. Only Nick stands up to the prevalent supinity to women in a relatively honourable way and you can't trust him because he's an unreliable narrator. Hmmmmm, the gay reading gets more plausible by the day.
Marlon, Claudia and Dimby the cats 1989-2005, 2007 and 2010.
tetrabean, Squeeth2 - brilliant comments, kudos and thanks to you both. This thread is a treasure trove.
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