Abstract: As the representative novel of F. Scott Fitzgerald, the preeminent American author, The Great Gatsby has been a blockbuster since its advent due to its unique pulchritude in personality image shaping, and it is hailed as one of the greatest American novels. Critics generally ascribe the cause of Daisy’s tragedy to Fitzgerald’s deliberate design. Patriarchal society is adapted from the ancient Greek patriarchies and described as a “patriarchal society” by modern historians and sociologists. This paper attempts to probe into the cause of Daisy’s tragedy, based on a relatively new perspective—patriarchal society, aiming at reminding modern people of the importance to achieve a harmonious co-existence of the two sexes.

Key words: The Great Gatsby; patriarchal society; Daisy; victim; tragedy

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 About Francis Scott Fitzgerald-1

1.2 About The Great Gatsby-2

2. An Overview about Patriarchy-3

2.1 Evolution of Patriarchy-3

2.2 The Female Status in Patriarchal Society-4

3. Daisy’s Tragic Situation-6

3.1 Daisy’s Love-6

3.2 Daisy’s Marriage-7

3.3 Daisy’s Compromise on Life-8

3.4 Daisy’s Tragedy of Personality-9

4. The Objective Reasons for Daisy to Become the Victim of the Patriarchal Society-11

4.1 The Female Prejudice under the Patriarchal Society-11

4.2 The Immature Feminism Development in 1920s or 1930s-13

4.3 The Prevailing Male Chauvinism under the Feudal Society-14

5. The Subjective Reasons for Daisy to Become the Victim of the Patriarchal Society-15

5.1 Daisy’s Own Character Factors-15

5.2 The Conflicts in Daisy’s Self-consciousness-17

5.3 The Deformed Development of the Values in Daisy’s Thought-18

6. Conclusion-19

References-22