AO2 ~ Daisy Flashcards
Jordan describing Daisy when she was 18 (they grew up together)
Innocence
**‘She dressed in white, and had a little white roadster’ **
-White reps purity and innocence
-Shows her progression/change to now
Link to name (Daisy) being pure/white on the outside and yellow (corrupt/money-valuing) internally
When she meets Gatsby (in love)
Innocence
“I’d like to just get one of those pink clouds and put you in it and push you around”
-Childlike imagery shows innocence
-Lack of sexual desire/sexuality associated with Daisy
Lack of Innocence (Sexual)
“As he left the room again she got up and went over to Gatsby, pulling his face down, kissing him on the mouth”
-Sexual proactiveness/instigation
Lack of Innocence/Reckless Nature
“Daisy turned away from the woman then…turned back”
-Gatsby here taking the blame for Daisy’s actions
-Lack of willingness of women to take responsibility
-Mental weakness (“lost her nerve”)
Charm/Performativity
**“I’m p-paralysed with happiness” **
-Her first words of the novel
-Affected but playful stutter shows her propensity to perform in social situations
-Performative display of happiness to see Nick
“Then she laughed, an absurd, charming little laugh, and I laughed too”
-Contagiously charming quality to her speech/voice (real vs superficial)
Charm
“The last of the sunshine fell upon her glowing face with romantic affection”
-Pathetic fallacy to symbolise how reader should feel towards her
-Opens possibility that she may use such charm to manipulate/act carelessly
Yet another reference to Daisy’s voice by Nick
Manipulative/Charm
“Daisy’s murmur was only to make people lean towards her, an irrelevant criticism that made it no less charming”
-Desire to garner affection/favour
-Shows the magnitude of her charm
To Gatsby regarding Tom
Manipulative
‘I never loved him’ (she said with perceptible reluctance)
-Telling Gatsby what he wants to hear
-Only to renege on this shortly after (‘I did love him once, but I loved you too’)
Reason for marrying Tom
Representation of Women
‘She wanted her life shaped now’
-Social/Parental pressures
-Economic/Social security
-Notion that even if she does love Gatsby, this takes precedence
Daisy’s letter to Gatsby while he was in the army
Representation of Women/Gender
**‘She was feeling the pressure of the world outside’ **
-Commitment to Gatsby vs Tom being shaped by societal expectations
-Lack of personal autonomy
Betrayal of promise to Gatsby
Representation of Women
‘She wanted her life shaped now’
(‘…by some force-of love, of money, of unquestionable practicality’)
-Fickle and shallow
-Devoid of meaning/substance
-Or…societal pressure/oppression the cause?
Comment by Gatsby about Daisy
Representation of Women
‘The king’s daughter, the golden girl’
-Daisy (& Women by extension) as a status symbol/ idealised trophy wife
-Conflated with money/wealth (‘golden’)
-Objectified as an element of Gatsby’s (American Dream) pursuit
-AO3 link to The Golden Girl
Jordan on Daisy’s old money upbringing
Representation of Women
‘The largest of the banners and the largest of the lawns belonged to Daisy Fay’s house’
-Her extreme wealth explains Gatsby’s obsession~viewed as a status symbol
+ Surname ‘Fay’ is etymological origin of the word Fairy~ascription of magical quality (Daisy as the ‘enchanted object’)
Daisy on her child
Representation of Women
‘I hope she’ll be a fool–that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.’
-Women had the right to vote (19th A), but faced disapproval.
-They were often seen as property of their husbands.
-Daisy feels unfulfilled in her life.
-She thinks her daughter will have a better life by focusing on beauty instead of independence.
