Great Gatsby + Anthology Comparisons
La belle = obsession
Themes: Female voice, appearance vs reality, obsessive love
In both Chapter 1 and the beginning of the poem there are many parallels between daisy and the fairy, later in the poem the fairy causes the knight major distress, even though she was first introduced as harmless, this foreshadows daisys role later in the book and the effect she’ll have on the men around her specifically gastby
The first character the narrator nick carraway introduces to the readers are tom Buchanan, jordan baker and daisy bucnahcn. Nick describes tom and Jordan in great physical detail but the only thing he says about daisy is “her face was sad and lovely”. When describing he talks mainly of daisy’s voice “charming little laugh”. The lack of physical description makes her character harder to envision, she is introduced as less of a physical person and more a mythical creature. Both daisy and the fairy are infantilised using language, the faire is described as “fairys child”, daisys “charming little laugh”. this faslsy presents both women as safe, in reality both men associated with the women suffer greatly because of them. Gastbys obsession towards daisy eventually gets him killed, just like the knight in la belle he is strung along and ultimately left worse off. The focus on her voice, is synonymous with sirens in mythology. Sirens used their voices to trick sailors to their deaths. This notion further adds to the foreshadowing that her character will be alluring and harmful to the men in her life the fairy in la belle poisens the knight and sends him into great distress, she seems to be aware of what she’s doing, “she lulled me asleep”
her actions are intentional, while daisys harm towards gastby is not intentional in the sense she intends it cause harm, she is aware that not being with him is hurting him and goes through with it anyways
At ann in/the ruined maid = society expectations
tom and daisy are the stereotypical perfect 1920s couple whilst living to societal expectations but they still are not happy in their marriage
Despite their outward appearance of success, their relationship is fraught with emptiness and discontent, mirroring the fairy tale façade presented in the narrative of La Belle Dame Sans Merci.
The alluring nature of both Daisy and the fairy serves to critique the societal norms of their time, suggesting that adherence to these expectations ultimately leads to personal downfall.
The juxtaposition of their charm against the backdrop of their destructive abilities highlights the darker aspects of romantic idealization prevalent in the era.
Nick tries to do what society expects of him, “the practice thing was to find rooms in the city|” find rooms, get with Jordan but neither works out fully, he gets a house in a nice area but its next to gastby mansion the stark contrast in description “weatherbeaton cardboard bungalow at eighty a month” and “spanking new” shows how be can’t fully live up to socities expectations. This manifests further into his relationship with Jordan, a relationship which is supposed to be romantic but never actually comes across as it, this mirrors the relationship of the 2 people in at an inn “and we ere left alone as loves own pair yet never the love-light shone,between us there” Tom has an affair “tom got some women in new york” daisy “im pretty cynical about everything”, this parallels the ruined maid in the sense that meeting socital expectations does not equate to happiness “i wish i had feathers”
amelia is a working class girl of the time and fits into that socital expectation but they are not happy
she walks in beauty = beauty of women
This concept of unattainable desires and the façade of happiness is further exemplified by the characters' struggles to achieve their dreams while remaining trapped in a world defined by superficial valuations of success and beauty. Both Nick and Amelia, through their experiences, reveal how societal expectations can suffocate genuine emotions, ultimately leading to disillusionment and isolation in a glittering yet hollow existence.
Beauty of women – how they are described and what that tells the reader about the male leads perception of the relationship. Jordans description is masculine “erect carriage” nick does not see her as a viable romantic partner, byrons description of the women in the poem is all physical “and on that cheek and over that brow” showing how the relationship the speaker wants is purely physical