The Accuracy of the Portrayal of the 1920s Woman in "The Great Gatsby".

Many American historians have described the 1920s as a "period which crystallized the vast social changes initiated in World War I. It was an era of carefree release" (Jenkins). One of the most significant legacies of this era was the loosening of restrictions on women. By this decade, "Victorianism and the turn of the century Gibson Girl were out, and in her place was a saucy, booze-drinking, cigarette smoking, modern women" (Rayburn). The Great Gatsby …

…correctly portrayed in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Throughout the novel, many different female characters like Daisy, Jordan, and Myrtle accurately represent the different kinds of women in the 1920s. Although each of these characters came from different backgrounds and had different lifestyles, they all seemed to hold a similarity with the 1920s woman. This similarity was the fact that all these women possessed a degree of freedom in their moral and social conduct.