Love in The Great Gatsby
- Gilli
- Aug 4
- 7 min read
On the surface it seems so, the love affair that is rekindled between Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanon is at the centre of the novel, a focal point that the action of the novel orbits and sometimes touches or crashes into.
The Great Gatsby is a book full of a myriad of relationships of different types and varying qualities so as the novel builds to its inevitable climax let’s look at each in turn, starting of course with that heartbreaking central one.
Daisy and Gatsby
Daisy and Gatsby first met as the USA prepared to join the First World War and immediately fell in love. However it was impossible for their relationship to deepen as they learnt more about each other and not just because Gatsby was about to leave to fight. There is a huge gap between them, Daisy a rich heiress and Gatsby, then at least, a poor lieutenant from a very lower social class and class and money remain central to the plot of the novel. Gatsby becomes a decorated War hero and is promoted to Major by its end and in the intervening years learns the skills and gains the money to become part of the same class as Daisy.
Gatsby has never forgotten Daisy who is his first, and only love, and the driving force in his life was to become rich and successful enough to claim her as his wife and fulfill their youthful dreams. Everything he has done, and does during the novel is with this soul purpose and he seems to feel fulfilled when towards to end of the story, Daisy needs him for the first time although by now he knows Daisy will not leave Tom for him.
Daisy’s love, if we can call it that for Gatsby is of a very different type. Initially in love with him and his good looks and charm it is unclear how deep this was, although Jordan does tell us how Daisy initially wanted to call off her wedding to Tom after receiving a mysterious letter on the morning of her wedding.
When she meets Gatsby again she once again falls in love with him though her love is very different in quality and feels more like an attempt to relive a magical time when she was happy and knew herself to be loved. Like Gatsby she is essentially a tragic figure, the “Poor Little Rich Girl” that Noel Coward once wrote about.
Daisy and Tom
War parted them and then after the war Daisy married Tom Buchanon who is both rich and from her own class. The depth of any love she had for Tom is hard to tell. Tom had had a number of affairs during their marriage one of which caused such a scandal that they had to leave town. Tom does insist that Daisy used to love him though she disputes this. For someone like Daisy, “a beautiful little fool”, marriage followed by motherhood was expected of her, and would also have been part of Tom’s life plan. Their marriage and Tom’s reaction when he realises what is going on between Daisy and Gatsby highlights the double standards of the era. For Tom, affairs are something he expects Daisy to put up with, and pretend ignorance of while her affair, such as it is, with Gatsby is cause for anger. Ultimately though there is something that ties Daisy and Tom together that is stronger than any love affairs either has - money.
Tom and Myrtle
Tom’s current affair is with Myrtle, the unhappy wife of the local garage owner, and is Daisy’s opposite in both looks and class. It appears to have been going on for some time and the fact that Tom has rented an appointment for them both, a love-nest, gives us an insight into his wealth. For both of them their affair is an escape from their respective spouses and we are given an insight into Myrtle's feelings at least by her sister’s assertion that they would both like to get divorces and marry. However what we know, but Myrtle doesn’t is that’s Tom’s assertion that Daisy is Roman Catholic and thus won’t agree to divorce is a lie. However while he doesn’t want to leave Daisy the tragic event which starts the build up to the novel’s climax shows us the depth of his feelings for her.
Myrtle and George Wilson
The other married couple in the story, George is the owner of the local garage and unlike the other characters in the book is not living the American Dream or enjoying the hedonism of the 1929s. We are given a hint that he may be struggling financially, he wants to buy Tom’s old car, repair it and sell it on. George’s love for Myrtle is possessive and he afraid of loosing her. George’s behaviour to Myrtle is abusive and threatening and there are hints of him being mentally unstable. George knows Myrtle is having an affair but doesn’t know with whom even as the book builds towards it’s climax in which George is the protagonist.
By examining her relationship with George we can easily see why Myrtle would have been susceptible to Tom’s charms and how her affair with him seems to offer the chance of escape from George and and a different, happier life. She has no affection for George and longs to escape but is trapped by circumstances and lack of money.
Jordan Baker
Jordan is part of Daisy and Tom’s social group and has known Daisy since childhood and more importantly knew her when Daisy and Gatsby first met and fell in love. She and Nick have a short relationship but this is ended by Nick after Gatsby’s death much to her chagrin. Although Jordan comes from the same background as Daisy she has chosen a different path in life. Jordan is an example of what was described as the “new woman “ she’s independent and has her own career as a professional golf player. She views the relationship between Daisy and Tom and the drama caused by his affairs and Daisy’s awareness of these almost as entertainment and as a natural part of their marriage. She also plays an important part in bringing about the meeting between Daisy and Gatsby that starts their love affair.
At the start of the novel Jordan is the only person who knows both Daisy and Gatsby, their history and also where both live. She has also attended Gatsby’s parties and yet it is not until Nick joins the group that she sets the wheels in motion. The reason for this is not made clear, is it boredom on her part, wanting something to happen or is it that a neutral place, such as Nick’s bungalow is needed as a venue?
Nick Carraway
“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.
“Whenever you feel like criticising anyone,” he told me, “Just remember that all the people in the world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” “
Doing his best to follow this advice defines so much of Nick’s character and how he both observes and interacts with the other main characters. Although he knew Daisy when he was younger and was at Yale with Tom he is not part of their social set as he doesn’t come from the same monied background. After the war he moves across America from the mid-west to the east coast and New York to start work as a bond man and he gets in contact with his cousin, Daisy and gets drawn into their social group. He meets Gatsby and hosts the first meeting in his cottage which is the start of their affair and which ultimately results in tragedy.
Although Nick admits he doesn’t like this new social set, due to their lack of morals and ethics. He dislikesTom and Daisy due to the ways they use their money to escape from difficult situations they find themselves in while it is their money that binds them together.
The only person Nick forms a friendship with is Gatsby and this friendship is reciprocated and valued by Gatsby. In fact Nick is the only person that Gatsby trusts with the truth about his life and how he has done everything with the aim of winning Daisy.
As an outsider Nick is in a unique position to observe and comment on the events of the novel but how he feels about them means this view is not objective.
Nick’s last words to Gatsby show us that Nick’s friendship with and liking for Gatsby is genuine.
“They’re a rotten crowd. You’re worth more than the whole damm bunch put together.”
Nick is true to himself and Gatsby’s only true friend as shown by the fact that he alone deals with the aftermath of his death, and that together with Mr Gatz (Gatsby’s father) the only who attends his funeral.
Disillusioned with life in New York, Nick finishes his relationship with Jordan before moving back home, and the book ends as it begins with words from Nick.
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
Another character?
The action takes place during a long, hot, New York summer and there are references to the heat and how it influences the actions of the characters in it. The heat peaks simultaneously with the climatic events of the novel and then as Jordan predicts
“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp again in the fall.”
Conclusion
The Great Gatsby is so much more than just another tragic love story, there’s so much more to it than that and like all the greatest novels it can be read repeatedly with new insights. It is a beautiful, melancholic novel and I love it.
Gilli
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