Abstract

 Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald is one of the most popular novelists in the 1920s. His representative work is The Great Gatsby. The twenties were a special period in the American history. During which time the economy was very prosperous. At that time, new women appeared gradually. They were different from the traditional women in that they embraced fashionable things and did everything independently regardless of the traditional values. They symbolized a change in the perception of sex, fashions and many other aspects at that time. Although in the appearance of “new women”, they were still the time of the patriarchal society, where women had to submit to men anyway. Since the publication of The Great Gatsby, it receives many many criticisms. Some critics disapprove of the three heroines--Daisy, Jordan and Myrtle as they think they are the negative images. However, few do a thorough and fair research on the images of three new women.

    This thesis intends to analyze these three heroines from the feminist perspective. It will vividly demonstrate the feminist behavior of the three heroines and reveal the real causes of three heroines’ miserable destiny. The thesis consists of five parts. Part One introduces the background of Fitzgerald, his contribution to the literature, the main plot of The Great Gatsby and the literature review of the book. Part Two, Part Three and Part Four mainly deal with the behavior of the three heroines from the feminist perspective. The conclusion part summaries the main idea of the thesis and reveal that the real reasons of their miserable fate are mainly caused by the patriarchy’s oppression.

Key words: New Woman    Patriarchal Society    Miserable Fate    Victim

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1 Introduction-1

   1.1 Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby-1

   1.2 Literature Review-2

2 An Analysis of Daisy-2

   2.1 Daisy's Pursuit of True Love in Patriarchal Society-2

   2.2 Sophistication in Daisy's Character-4

3 An Analysis of Jordan-5

   3.1 A Professional Woman Golfer-5

   3.2 Self-Esteem and Sophistication in Her Personality-6

4 An Analysis of Myrtle-7

   4.1 An Extramarital Affair with Tom-8

   4.2 The Bold Speeches-9

5 Conclusion-10

References-13