Gender Roles In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

“People share a common nature but are trained in gender roles” (“Grace Farrell”). Women and men were assigned specific jobs and were told at a young age what their futures should look like. Women were taught to be beautiful and dependent on a man. Men were taught to be strong and have authority. Society is accepting for men to take on many mistresses, while not for women. Gender roles are a set of rules containing the social norms in the society specifically made for each gender. In the 1920’s, women and men had specific roles. Women would be librarians, teachers, or social workers, taking care of the children and house as well (Americanhistoryusa). Men would be bankers, farmers, or factory workers (Entrepreneur). Through a multitude of actions and lies between characters, Fitzgerald portrays the social norm in the 1920 society, where both men and women are shown to take charge at varying times. Throughout The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald argues that in some aspect of life men are superior to women, however, he does asserts that women do make important decisions for themselves. …show more content…
Fitzgerald's portrayal of women in The Great Gatsby emphasizes that women themselves believe that they can play larger role in society, compared to what men believe. For instance, Jordan Baker is a prominent example of women being independent from men, she says, "the object she was balancing had obviously tottered a little and given her something of a fright. Again a sort of apology arose to my lips. Almost any exhibition of complete self-sufficiency draws a stunned tribute from me" (9). Jordan Baker does not rely on a man, and Nick is taken back since he is used to seeing Daisy and other women rely on men. Most women are dependent on their husbands and are lost without them. Jordan is an independent woman who has passions and goals in life and specifically in golf. Jordan is going to live a successful life without a man