#133 | the king’s daughter, the golden girl
Entry for Lisa's Literary Ladies We Love Celebration.
[While I have nothing against her, I think Carey Mulligan is horrible miscast as Daisy. Mia Farrow is my favourite Daisy actress so far while Kirsten Dunst is my absolute dream!cast, and the one I pictured while reading, so they are on the banner.]
She laughed again, and held my hand for a moment, looking up into my face, promising that there was no one in the world she so much wanted to see. That was a way she had. She hinted in a murmur that the surname of the balancing girl was Baker. (I’ve heard it said that Daisy’s murmur was only to make people lean toward her; an irrelevant criticism that made it no less charming.)
- chapter I, page I3
[What do people plan?]
The narration in The Great Gatsby, and therefor everything we learn about Daisy Buchanan, is extremely biased. While Gatsby idealises her beyond recognition, Nick is, despite his own claim on the very first page, quite judgemental when it comes to his second cousin once removed.
Despite, or maybe even because of, that Fitzgerald manages to portray her as a very complex woman. By carefully deconstructing the "perfect" and innocent girl Gatsby builds in his mind he reveals a character that is much more flawed, layered and compelling. Just like Nick, we, the readers, quickly notice that there is a certain selfishness to her that somehow doesn't make her any less charming or intriguing.
There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams--not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way. No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart.
- chapter 5, page I0I
Gatsby wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy. His life had been confused and disordered since then, but if he could once return to a certain starting place and go over it all slowly, he could find out what that thing was.
- chapter 6, page III/II2
It's very clear from the beginning that Gatsby's obsession with Daisy has less to do with Daisy as a person and more with what Gatsby wants her to be. A standard to which a real person can never live up to. Daisy idealises Gatsby as well, but while he has all the clues to see that Daisy is not quite who he thinks she is, Daisy has a disadvantage because Gatsby has been withholding information from the start (about his family and upbringing, his financial background).
Their views on love are completely different too. While Daisy thinks love can change over time, and that the love she felt for Tom once does not lessen her love for Gatsby in the present, Gatsby is sure that love is unchanging and cannot accept that he is not the only person Daisy has ever loved.
While she idealises their first relationship almost as much as he does, she is much more of a realist (and sometimes even pessimist) than him.
"All right...I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool - that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool. You see, I think everything's terrible anyhow... and I know. I've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything."
- chapter I, page I7/I8
"I wouldn’t ask too much of her," I ventured. "You can’t repeat the past.""Can’t repeat the past?" he cried incredulously. "Why of course you can!" He looked around him wildly, as if the past were lurking here in the shadow of his house, just out of reach of his hand. "I’m going to fix everything just the way it was before," he said, nodding determinedly. "She’ll see."
- chapter 6, page III
And she has to be. I'm sure a part of her wants to believe in love and miracles, but she is more disillusioned than Gatsby and not willing to just throw her stability and security away like that. And why should she? Gatsby spends the five years they don't see each other working on winning her back. Preparing, building towards it. Daisy spends them trying to move on, married, with a child. She has much more to lose than Gatsby.
And all the time something within her was crying for a decision. She wanted her life shaped now, immediately - and the decision must be made by some force - of love, of money, of unquestionable practicality - that was close at hand.
- chapter 8, page 96
She is not just fickle, she also craves the stability that Tom provides, which makes a lot of sense for a woman living in the early twenties. She obviously wants structure and security that Gatsby won't provide at the time.
They were careless people, Tom and Daisy - they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money of their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.
- chapter 9, page 179
Daisy does not get a POV of her own and is neither nice, a good person or otherwise particularly likable. There are not many female characters who are this flawed, and still inspire so much sympathy. They usually don't get away with that much, but somehow Daisy does. She is childish, self-centered, stubborn, and reckless, but still remains relatable through it all. She is charming, sharp and you can't help but feel for her.
[While I have nothing against her, I think Carey Mulligan is horrible miscast as Daisy. Mia Farrow is my favourite Daisy actress so far while Kirsten Dunst is my absolute dream!cast, and the one I pictured while reading, so they are on the banner.]
She laughed again, and held my hand for a moment, looking up into my face, promising that there was no one in the world she so much wanted to see. That was a way she had. She hinted in a murmur that the surname of the balancing girl was Baker. (I’ve heard it said that Daisy’s murmur was only to make people lean toward her; an irrelevant criticism that made it no less charming.)
- chapter I, page I3
[What do people plan?]
The narration in The Great Gatsby, and therefor everything we learn about Daisy Buchanan, is extremely biased. While Gatsby idealises her beyond recognition, Nick is, despite his own claim on the very first page, quite judgemental when it comes to his second cousin once removed.
Despite, or maybe even because of, that Fitzgerald manages to portray her as a very complex woman. By carefully deconstructing the "perfect" and innocent girl Gatsby builds in his mind he reveals a character that is much more flawed, layered and compelling. Just like Nick, we, the readers, quickly notice that there is a certain selfishness to her that somehow doesn't make her any less charming or intriguing.
There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams--not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way. No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart.
- chapter 5, page I0I
Gatsby wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy. His life had been confused and disordered since then, but if he could once return to a certain starting place and go over it all slowly, he could find out what that thing was.
- chapter 6, page III/II2
It's very clear from the beginning that Gatsby's obsession with Daisy has less to do with Daisy as a person and more with what Gatsby wants her to be. A standard to which a real person can never live up to. Daisy idealises Gatsby as well, but while he has all the clues to see that Daisy is not quite who he thinks she is, Daisy has a disadvantage because Gatsby has been withholding information from the start (about his family and upbringing, his financial background).
Their views on love are completely different too. While Daisy thinks love can change over time, and that the love she felt for Tom once does not lessen her love for Gatsby in the present, Gatsby is sure that love is unchanging and cannot accept that he is not the only person Daisy has ever loved.
While she idealises their first relationship almost as much as he does, she is much more of a realist (and sometimes even pessimist) than him.
"All right...I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool - that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool. You see, I think everything's terrible anyhow... and I know. I've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything."
- chapter I, page I7/I8
"I wouldn’t ask too much of her," I ventured. "You can’t repeat the past.""Can’t repeat the past?" he cried incredulously. "Why of course you can!" He looked around him wildly, as if the past were lurking here in the shadow of his house, just out of reach of his hand. "I’m going to fix everything just the way it was before," he said, nodding determinedly. "She’ll see."
- chapter 6, page III
And she has to be. I'm sure a part of her wants to believe in love and miracles, but she is more disillusioned than Gatsby and not willing to just throw her stability and security away like that. And why should she? Gatsby spends the five years they don't see each other working on winning her back. Preparing, building towards it. Daisy spends them trying to move on, married, with a child. She has much more to lose than Gatsby.
And all the time something within her was crying for a decision. She wanted her life shaped now, immediately - and the decision must be made by some force - of love, of money, of unquestionable practicality - that was close at hand.
- chapter 8, page 96
She is not just fickle, she also craves the stability that Tom provides, which makes a lot of sense for a woman living in the early twenties. She obviously wants structure and security that Gatsby won't provide at the time.
They were careless people, Tom and Daisy - they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money of their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.
- chapter 9, page 179
Daisy does not get a POV of her own and is neither nice, a good person or otherwise particularly likable. There are not many female characters who are this flawed, and still inspire so much sympathy. They usually don't get away with that much, but somehow Daisy does. She is childish, self-centered, stubborn, and reckless, but still remains relatable through it all. She is charming, sharp and you can't help but feel for her.