Daisy is emotionally isolatedfrom just about everyone. Her husband, Tom Buchanan, has alienated her with his pattern of marital infidelity and well-known affairs. Her friend, Jordan Baker, informs Nick that "'he's got some woman in New York,'" and Daisy childishly insists on calling him names ("'hulking'") that he specifically says bother him. Their few interactions -- where she fails to take him seriously, especially -- convey to us Daisy feels herself to be at...
Daisy is emotionally isolated from just about everyone. Her husband, Tom Buchanan, has alienated her with his pattern of marital infidelity and well-known affairs. Her friend, Jordan Baker, informs Nick that "'he's got some woman in New York,'" and Daisy childishly insists on calling him names ("'hulking'") that he specifically says bother him. Their few interactions -- where she fails to take him seriously, especially -- convey to us Daisy feels herself to be at an emotional distance from her husband.
Moreover, Daisy longs to be assured that she's missed in Chicago and thrills when Nick jokes that the "town is desolate" without her. "'How gorgeous!" she exclaims and says that they should return there tomorrow. She craves others' feelings for her. Further, there's a rumor that Daisy speaks softly so that "people [will have to] lean toward her"; she attempts to bring people physically closer to her, implying that she dislikes the distance between them.
Even when Daisy and her best friend, Jordan, speak to one another, their chatter "was as cool as their white dresses and their impersonal eyes [...]." She is aloof as a rule, and her emotional isolation seems, at times, of her own design, and at other times, it seems imposed upon her. Regardless, it doesn't seem as though anyone really knows the real Daisy. She is clearly disillusioned by marriage and the world -- she tells Nick that she's "'pretty cynical about everything'" -- but she never seems to let anyone in, emotionally. Thus, she remains isolated.
No comments:
Post a Comment