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A Psychoanalytic Reading of the Great Gatsby

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A Psychoanalytic Reading of the Great Gatsby CR:tTICAL TrIEORY TODAY pattern of psychological behavior that is common to all of the novel's main characters and responsible for a good deal of the narrative progres- sion. Through a psychoanalytic lens, then, The Great Gat-shy becomes a psychological drama of dysfunctional love. ('Gv~nhl.~lt:t"§TI.AJi~l<eG(Qlt to Dc with It??j)~ 1~ P§y<c1~\D>«1llill«1lly1ic JRe<ill&iIDlgof The Great G(JiJ.1l:§by O. rne area or hinman 1oerhaviavior exp_1]'orea" m .1:'.SCO.l~t .Fitzgerald1·' s ThThe Great Gatsby (1925) thai: has important implications for psychoanalytic criti- cism is found in the romantic relationships portrayed in the novel. In- deed, even for readers not viewing the novel through a psychoanalytic lens, one of the most memorable qualities of the book is the force and endurance of Gatsby's love for Daisy, the emotional magnetism of which, for many fans, renders The Great Gatsby one of the great American love stories. For a psychoanalytic reading, however, the interest created by the romance bet-ween Gatsby and Daisy lies not in its apparent uniqueness but in the ways in which it mirrors an of the less appealing romantic rela- tionships portrayed in the novel-those between Tom and Daisy, Tom and Myrtle, Myrtle and George, and Nick and Jordan-and thereby re- veals a pattern of psychological behavior responsible for a good deal of the narrative progression. As we shall see, this pattern is grounded in the characters' fear of intimacy, the unconscious conviction that emotional ties to another human being will result in one's being emotionally devas- tated. This psychological problem is so pervasive in the novel that The Great Gatsoy's famous love story becomes, through a psychoanalytic lens, a drama of dysfunctional love. For the sake of clarity, let's begin by exam- ining the relationship most obviously based on fear of intimacy: the mar- riage of Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Perhaps the dearest indication of fear of intimacy in the novel lies in Tom Buchanan's chronic extramarital affairs, of which Jordan became aware three months after the couple's wedding. Jordan tells Nick, I saw them [Tom and Daisy] in Santa Barbara when they came back [from their honeymoon] .... A week after I left ... Tom ran into a wagon on the Ventura road one night and ripped a front wheel off his car. The girl who was with him got intothe papers too because her arm was broken-she was one of the chambermaids in the Santa B.. Ci_arbaralC. Ho__ t.e...•l (°0_1_°O£.''1'J ell-_o'!'JLt\ CHAPTER 2: PSYCHOANALYTIC CRITICISM Vlhen we meet Tom, he's engaged his latest affair, ume Dividing his interest, time, e11ergJT between two women , "r 1" '1' ; protects rum rrom real intimacy '\NIlH ertner. Indeed, TOTu)s WTlIith women, mciucmg' 1 " hius wne,.:c reveai'11HIS' d_ esrre' rorr ego gratincauon'ro' than for emotional intimacy. For Torn, Daisy represents social superiority: she's not the kind of woman who can be acquired by a "Mr. Nobody ~T 1 "("~7 I 7) like I r: 1 ~, 'rC_)T '-1 \';-" 1-iownere \ L ;(11.. A e Jay valSoy. 10m s posseSSIon Of rvryrt e VI,uson->- W_IOfj]1 - l\TnICK,1 descriiescnoes as a "sensutousj,[ous] " "srnouLaenng1]'" 'NOn1a)]wnn'.1 «an, 1 ,-, "1)0 r -, rmme, d'late 1y perceptible'" vrtalrty ~~:1-;30 C'2)l1.. _.-ren:u:orces. 'Iom s sense his own masculine power, which is why he brings her to fashionable restart- rants where they are seen by his male acquaintances and why he introduces her to Nick so soon after their reunion at his East Egg home, interest in other women is so routine that Daisy has come to expect V\1hen 10m tens her he wants to eat supper with a group of strangers 2'1 Gatsby's party, rather than with her, because he finds one of the men amns- . "".' 1·'- -;. '1.11 1 ~4 v' • .1 mg, she immediately reanzes 'mar ner nusbanu IS pursumg anotner VvOTDan: orrers£f' rum", .cc httles 1 gala-a 1 pencu.~" 111• case He" wants to addresses," "[sjhe looked around after a moment tne,1, gm'1' was common "but pretty '''(-''~'\111.; en. of-:\). Daisy's fear of intimacy, though as intense as Tom's, is not 0.$ immediately apparent Indeed, her marital fidelity, Ii.'. 1 d -" ~ ,," ., 1\- 1 " uatsoy, an I her distress over 10m s mvorvement with Myrtle might sug- gest to some readers that Daisy desires emotional intimacy with fHIS-- ,Dana.1 Jordan-- - ,S description1 " Off Daiuatsy atterr: •Her 'tnoneymoon remrorces , , interpretation: 11' , ' - .3 b .' , 1 1 vct 'r I a never seen a girl so mac a our her nusoano. II ne Iert room a minute she'd look around uneasily and say "Where's Tom. gond" and wear the most abstracted expression until she saw him corning in the door. She used to sit on the sand with his head in lap by the hour rubbing her fingers over his eyes and looking at him "with UTl,-- fathomable delight, (81-82; c11. £1) - ~ ., l' i"" 1,' ". , However, me history 0f ana umsy s relanonsmp suggesfs lOgICalII • 1 mo tirves thatt pome. " to a d'nrerentcc .c mrerpre(anonz,.» /' ' 0';:f Jr",J2!lSY'"S Gtvlgl1r1 l' 7 ..» in her husband. ,-1"t 1SO"VIOUSbvi that'I .itJ!aISY"" ulCH1..1"', r love1 'T'rom WHen1 Silt1 marrreo ., u cf r 1 tried to call OL the wedding] ". theh evemng.• oerore wnen en} overseas letter from Gatsby. In fact, her behavior upon receiving , r: ',1 " h ' 'I ""1 - »: 1 'n" 1c 1:- 1_0,-"'1- ' -~,"f.'-' , " suggesls {Hat S ie marrrec om, LO.l.zeepJ. ersen rrorn ,\~-1dib '0 ars!)!, 36 CRITICAL TI-iEORY TODr\Jr r: ·1 r- " • • h ".C 'j « • . 1 'J • ~~ [" 11 ' , ror me nrsr ume m __er H:i.C, ana she cneo ana crrec.... l/\ je ... got ner into a cold bath. She wouldn't let go of [Gatsby's] letter .... [Ajnd [she] only let [Jordan] leave it in the soap dish when she saw that it Vias coming to pieces like snow" (81; (h. 4). Why else would she marry Tom, when she onviobvi usry. prefcerrea 1 Gat~, soy, who~O snsl e oeliieved was "'rCr. om much' the, same strata as herself ... fully able to take care of her" (156; en. 8)? Yet just .1 1. s: .' J c . r 1 rnree months aner the weeldimg sh_e seemec 0b sessrv., ery tond or ner new husband. What happened in this short time to change Daisy's attitude so dramatically? Given Tom's compulsive pursuit of women, it is probable that by the time he and Daisy arrived in Santa Barbara, Daisy already sus- pected him of infidelity. This would explain why she seemed so distracted whenever T011'1 was out of sight. She had good reason to fear that, if he wasn't with her, he might be pursuing another woman, as she believes he V13,S doing, for example, when she "woke up out of the ether with a totally . d d ~ I' "c '. .,' p "1 ,."., ~ ~ aban one lee mg, alter glvmg birth to am my, and Tom was GOO I_."<-..!•l•~owsvV wV'Iher.e...~" (?~"1) chio!.. _1) .. D.l.'c".~'\~.._+lP-""'.!, thl an!_ h.a..".Dt_el"" 1..!.."!.1,_:l...,,i ., £1. 0_. such_! mistreatm1 __ 1 t_ .f... e_ nt..•.'t,.....!.!. J however, Daisy fen head-over-heels in love with him. Although such <1, re- sponse may not seem to make sense, it can be explained psychologically. In psychoanalytic terms, a woman who falls in love with a man suf- fering from severe fear of intimacy probably fears intimacy herself. If she fears intimacy, nothing can make her feel safer than a man who has no desire for it. Upon learning that Torn's interest did not focus exclusively on her, such a woman would have become very capable of loving him in- tensel-y' because he ~posed no threat to her ~orotective shell: he wouldn't have wanted to break through it even if he could have. Pilla this is just what we see in Daisy's changed attitude toward Tom, though she certainly wouldn't use this language to describe her feelings, and it is very unlikely that she was even aware of her psychological motives. A,s we learned earlier in this chapter, fear of intimacy with others is usually a product of fear of intimacy with oneself. Because dose interper- sonal relationships dredge up the psychological residue of earlier family conflicts and bring into play aspects of our identity we don't want to deal with OI even lu10W about, the best way to avoid painful psychological self- awareness is to avoid dose interpersonal relationships, especially romantic relationships, VV'fiY not simply avoid romantic relationships altogether? j-\1- thou1 gh1" this practice• may' b e an etctce:c:«:trvc rrorm orf avoicd ance rCor some people1 '1. r .' h '1' 1 .:I ., 1 ~,.t. r wno rear mtimacy, t ie psycnotogicat wouncs responsiote tor tnat rear usu- ally demand a stage upon which to re-enact, in disguised form, the original woun d,m' g experien, ce, ana1 romantic."., retauonsmp• s provi•oe, an exceu1en1' t stage. For example, if I was hurt by a parent who was neglectful or abusive, I CHAPTER 2: PSYCHOANALYTIC (~RITICISlvl 3/ seek a mate '\1111'10 has these same characteristics, unconsciously hoping to whatever psychological needs were unfulfilled by Ironically, choosing a mate who shares my parent's negative qualities most guarantees that my unmet psychological needs will remain unmet.
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