The prevalence of misogyny across American societies is highlighted within both ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘The Bell Jar’ and is a crucial component in shaping the lives, and deaths, of central female characters. Both novels explore the degradation of women during their respective time periods as a result of oppression and restriction within chauvinistic environments. Centred around society in 1950s America, Plath’s novel follows the life of Esther Greenwood, a college woman who experiences a mental collapse on her quest for a brighter future, mirroring the life of Plath herself. In a similar fashion, Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ takes place in America, although three decades prior to ‘The Bell Jar’, with narration from protagonist Nick Carraway telling the story of his escapades in New York during the ‘Jazz Age’. In spite of the authors contrasting perspectives on gender and the thirty year interlude between the two texts, there are striking comparisons regarding themes of sexuality, femininity, inequality and misogyny and the hardships this creates within the lives of female characters.
Both novels present the contemporary sexualisation of female characters alongside an expectation to maintain their physical appearance and the obstructive implications that this has on their prospects, regardless of intellect or financial stability. Fitzgerald illustrates this through his juxtaposing physical descriptions of Daisy and Myrtle. Daisy is depicted as an overtly feminine figure whose dress is “rippling and fluttering” upon her introduction to the novel, connoting daintiness and elegance, perhaps reflective of her wealth and status. Contrastingly, Nick’s first-person narrative perspective continually objectifies Myrtle, describing her to be “continuously smouldering” and carrying her “thickish figure…sensuously as some women can.” The use of the verb ‘smouldering’ and adverb ‘sensuously’ encapsulates the overtly eroticised male attitudes towards females in the ‘Roaring Twenties’ and suggests she invites herself to be subject to the ‘heterosexual male scopophilic gaze’. Fitzgerald may have chosen to use such contrasting portrayals of their physical appearance in order to elucidate the superficial nature of the ‘American Dream’ within this time period, which celebrated prosperity, consumerism and class above all else. Academic A.B. Paulson supports this idea with the belief that ‘Daisy is both a good object and a mother…and Myrtle is the bad object.’However, despite their differing portrayals of status and beauty, both Daisy and Myrtle fall victim to the patriarchy surrounding them displayed through the abuse they face from central male characters and a lack of opportunity across society as a whole.
Similarly to Fitzgerald, Plath explores the importance of appearance and the sexualisation this causes regarding central female characters. In chapter nine of ‘The Bell Jar’, Esther reflects on an experience with a male professional photographer, who says “come on give us a smile” whilst she describes herself as being able to “feel the tears brimming and sloshing in [her] like water in a glass that is unsteady and too full.” This descriptive simile portrays Esther’s clear emotional distress, and comparing her to ‘water in a glass’ suggests she feels imprisoned and caged by the social implications imposed on her due to her gender. The photographer’s clear disregard for Esther, a young impressionable and vulnerable individual, supports contemporary attitudes created by the American Dream, an ideal which promoted a life of ‘perfection’ and glamour where harsh realities, such as the emergence of mental illnesses, are masked by a pretence that all is well. In contrast to this, Plath uses the character of Jay Cee to contradict the presentation of other female characters, as she is depicted to be a successful and driven career woman despite not being described as a conventionally attractive woman. Esther shows clear admiration towards Jay Cee, and believes that “[she] had brains, so her plug-ugly looks didn't seem to matter.” Although this may suggest that Jay Cee is an exception to the conventional image of women in the 1950s or a pioneer concerning the prospects of intelligent females, addressing Jay Cee’s ‘plug-ugly’ physical appearance suggests Esther feels the need to give a perspective on her beauty, perhaps showing that Esther is subconsciously a product of American society. Norma Maxzud, author of ‘A Feminist Analysis on Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar’, believes ‘as a true feminist’ Plath intentionally creates Jay Cee’s character to ‘denounce established stereotypes built up and kept by the patriarchal society.’ Additionally, in spite of the fact that Jay Cee has a satisfying profession alongside her marriage, working for a beauty and fashion magazine means that she remains subject to the societal expectation to conform to contemporary beauty standards and the liberation she has gained is still closely monitored and restricted by a male-dominated world which surrounds her.
Female characters in both Plath’s ‘The Bell Jar’ and Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ experience immense pressure be a submissive partner to a male suitor due to the male orientated nature of the world around them. Plath illustrates this in the opening chapter of the novel where Esther describes young women comparable to herself to be “simply hanging around … waiting to get married to some career man or other.” The use of verbs ‘waiting’ suggests that young women in 1950s America were unable to live a life outside the shadow of a successful and wealthy man. This is reinforced by the verb ‘hanging’ which creates a sense of aimlessness and may also allude to the prominence of mental health issues within the novel’s contemporary time period, including the author of the novel herself. Plath’s autobiographical approach towards her novel, ‘The Bell Jar’, references her own plight regarding a battle with depression, potentially caused by the restrictions imposed upon her, which ultimately resulted in her untimely death at the age of thirty. Maureen Freely, an academic, suggests that both Esther and Plath herself believe if ‘men can excel at their work and also have lovers, spouses and children..why can’t [they]? The answer..is that the world won’t let them.’ This critical reading reinforces the prominence of female entrapment throughout the novel and also in wider society during the time period in which Sylvia Plath wrote ‘The Bell Jar’. This presentation of the relations between man and woman in the 1950s is further unveiled through the advice given to Esther Greenwood regarding potential love interest Buddy Willard, who is described to her as “the kind of person a girl should stay clean for” which aids the interpretation that gender inequality dominated America in the mid-twentieth century. It proposes that women should preserve themselves and withhold their aspirations in both the public and private sphere until they find a husband. Plath’s lexical choice of the adjective ‘clean’ emphasises the degradation of women who may have fornication outside of wedlock, therefore highlighting the moral hypocrisy of men who perceived themselves as having no obligation to remain faithful to their wives.
Fitzgerald’s novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ also conveys the emergence of hypocritical attitudes towards women’s promiscuity. The author portrays this through the common knowledge of Tom Buchanan’s extra-marital affair, declaring that “the fact he had [a mistress] was insisted upon wherever he was known.” Despite her husband’s clear infidelity, which Tom seemingly makes little/no attempt to hide, Daisy deems herself as obligated to remain faithful to him for several years of there tumultuous marriage with her loyalties only straying upon the unforeseen return of Gatsby, whom she pursued romantic relations with years before becoming Mrs Buchanan. However, this relationship dynamic begins to shift in chapter seven of the novel, where “Tom [feels] hot whips of panic [as] his wife and his misress, until an hour ago secure and inviolate, were slipping precipitately from his control.” Here, following the brutal death of Myrtle and threat of Gatsby’s influence on his marriage, Tom’s confusion and bewilderment is emphasises through the adverb ‘precipitately’, connoting the sudden change of events and may reference changing attitudes within society. In the 1920s, divorce cases became much more prominent as the decade was considered to be an age of revolution, with women seeking liberation through the emergence of economic freedoms. Although divorce was much more attainable in this decade, it still generated a certain stigma and was only deemed acceptable in circumstances involving adultery. The ownership of married women is also reflected through Nick’s narration, as he states “I drove over to have dinner with the Tom Buchanans.” By referring to Tom and Daisy collectively using only Tom’s name, Fitzgerald removes Daisy’s individual identity and highlights the lack of independence she has, despite her own wealth and status.
Both Sylvia Plath and F. Scott Fitzgerald explore the immense restrictions imposed upon women in 19th century America and the deeply entrenched entrapment within the relationships of man and woman, although they may have had different motivations for doing so. Due to the autobiographical tone which underpins ‘The Bell Jar’, it is evident that Plath scrutinises repressive attitudes towards the independence of women in order to delineate the misery and hardship this caused for aspiring women alike herself. This is illustrated by Plath in chapter seven, where protagonist Esther proclaims “the last thing [she] wanted was infinite security” instead being consumed by an uncontrollable desire for “change and excitement and to shoot off in all directions like…a Fourth of July rocket.” Esther contests the societal expectations that are imposed upon her to follow a man and become a housewife, as stated by literary critic Rosi Smith who sees her as ‘in conflict with the explicit ideology of her time’. Plath’s use of a simile referencing the national celebration known as Independence Day could be interpreted to insinuate both Esther and Plath’s viewpoints on the growing urgency for female independence. This frustration regarding the impeding inequality is continued throughout the novel, and in chapter 7 Esther ponders on whether being a housewife leaves you feeling “as numb as a slave in some private totalitarian state.” This simile highlights the isolation and hard working nature of 1950s housewives, who were taught as young girls in secondary school who received an education in cookery, managing a household, sewing and how to correctly meet the needs of their husband. The noun ‘slave’ has connotations of entrapment and reflects the regimented lifestyle that women pressured to follow from adolescence. This is supported through Plath’s choice of the adjective ‘totalitarian’ which directly references the controlling and dictatorial style of living enforced in the majority of family homes across America during the 1950s.
Although Fitzgerald also sheds light on the limitations imposed upon women, it can be argued that this may have been unintentionally exposed throughout ‘The Great Gatsby’ as it is believed Fitzgerald conformed to contemporary beliefs regarding the role of women, stating himself that ‘[The Great Gatsby] contains no important woman character.’ However the notion of female entrapment is demonstrated through the relationship between Tom and Daisy Buchanan, as when Tom learns of Daisy’s romantic feelings towards Gatsby he exclaims “she’s not leaving me!” Use of the personal pronoun ‘she’ dehumanises Daisy, creating a sense of ownership as her individual identity is removed. Tom’s indignation at the suggestion that Daisy may leave him, highlighted through the use of an exclamation mark, emphasises his controlling and tyrannical nature towards his wife and the lack of freedom she is given despite being an autonomous being who as of 1920 was able to engage in politics through voting. Leyland J Person comments on this type of interaction which is presented to be a regular occurrence within Daisy’s life, stating that she ‘is victimised by a male tendency to project a self-satisfying, yet ultimately dehumanising, image on women.’ Daisy’s character further reveals the subservience and submissiveness expected from females in chapter one, as when describing her hopes regarding her daughter’s future she states “the best thing a girl can be in this world” is a “beautiful little fool”. The adjective ‘little’ suggests women were considered to have an insignificant and small presence and therefore lacking influence in society whilst the adjective ‘beautiful’ reinforces the continuous theme of materialism throughout the novel which was promoted by the ideology of the American Dream.
The callous and abusive conduct of central male characters towards women in both novels reflects their helplessness and vulnerability as a result of the deeply ingrained misogynistic attitudes regarding women in male orientated American societies. Fitzgerald presents Tom Buchanan, husband to Daisy and lover in Myrtle’s extra-marital affair, to be a highly confrontational and aggressive force within both his supposedly loving relationships and the public realm. This is made explicit through an extreme outburst of anger in which “Tom Buchanan broke [Myrtle’s] nose with his open hand”, which portrays Tom’s complete lack of care for Myrtle, arguably because she is his mistress and therefore considered unworthy of respect. This display of violent behaviour shown by Tom is believed by academic Christine Ramos to be him ‘attempting to maintain his way of life’ yet in doing so ‘Tom has reduced whole people to ashes without any thought of the consequences.’ Despite women’s clear progression in society regarding the fight for equality, shown by their new ability to vote regardless of age or wealth, Fitzgerald’s portrayal of this highly dysfunctional love triangle highlights the ever-present undercurrent of misogyny in both the public and private sphere throughout the ‘Roaring Twenties’, further shown through statistics generated over the time period which reveal only 10% of females had or were in the process of receiving a college education by the end of the 1920s. The toxic and vicious nature of their relationship is further highlighted through the pragmatic and factual tone used to describe this altercation as it suggests displays of violence similar to this should be expected between a man and his mistress, and perhaps also between a man and his wife as until the 1970s domestic violence was treated as a private family matter rather than a serious crime. This is reinforced by the use of the adjective “open” which may allude to both the transparency Tom appears to approach his affair with, but also touches upon the lack of secrecy regarding physical violence within relationships in the ‘Jazz Age’.
Like Fitzgerald, Sylvia Plath also portrays the physically aggressive manner in which men treat women, often centred around sexual motivations. This is illustrated in chapter nine, where Esther is almost raped by Marco, a “woman hater”. Plath describes how Marco is fuelled by his craving for sexual favours as he “squeezes [Esther] so hard she bruises. He reminds her of a snake she once angered at the zoo.” Use of animalistic imagery referring a snake alludes to the sly and cunning nature of men who prey on innocent and vulnerable women. It also creates a biblical allusion to the snake in the Garden of Eden, perhaps suggesting that men alike Marco embody the devil and trick women into committing evil acts such as sex outside of marriage. Plath continues use of dynamic violent language to describe the actions of Marco as “he threw himself down as if he would grind his body through [Esther] and into the mud.” Use of the verb ‘threw’ highlights the intense force imposed upon Esther by Marco and also creates the impression that he treats her as an object merely existing for his own sexual pleasure as in the 1950s sex was not expected to be pleasurable for women, reinforced by the verb ‘grind’ which identifies the intent of Marco as a sexual predator. This extremely threatening and barbaric altercation is reflected in the critical works of Diane Bonds who believes ‘[Esther’s] encounters with men have been nearly devastating’ for her. Referencing ‘mud’ connotes an image of dirt and filth, suggesting Esther may have been tainted by the event, especially if she had been unable to escape her attacker and therefore would have been seen as dirty and used rather than a pure young woman and a suitable wife. In the post-war years, the American dream of the nuclear family defined sexuality in a marital context, leaving no place for single sexual culture or any type of sexuality that was not considered to be mainstream.
Overall, despite the differences in plot and characterisation, both F. Scott Fitzgerald and Sylvia Plath portray the objectification and constraint of women due to patriarchal and misogynistic societies within 19th century America. In both novels the presentation of female characters is largely shaped by wider societal changes within America, such as women gaining the right to vote, whilst still displaying the ongoing oppression through contemporary attitudes centred around chauvinism. Whilst Plath’s ‘The Bell Jar’ openly criticises the gynocentric injustice and rejects pre-existing ideas regarding patriarchy through a female protagonist, Fitzgerald’s approaches the prevalence of sexism within the ‘Roaring Twenties’ through an unreliable narrator, encourage readers of the novel to question their own perspectives on the ubiquity of misogynistic societies. Both authors provide a critical stance on the synchronous attitudes towards the role and treatment of women.