『위대한 개츠비』의 낭만성과 실용성 연구

Abstract

This paper is designed as a defense of Gatsby and his romanticism, against critical arguments that Gatsby was a materialist and his romantic ideal ended up as a failure. This paper also analyzes the inferior identities that are assigned to women as they become subordinate to male superiority, which Fitzgerald, one of the leading American literary writers, embodies in The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald, along with other representative American writers such as Theodore Dreiser and Ernest Hemingway did not keep up with the progressive change of times when suffrage and educational opportunities were expanded into the colored and women. Women in The Great Gatsby achieve their practical goals through subordinating themselves to the economic, social, and intellectual superiority of men, rather than seeking intellectual achievement or social success abiding by their own will and efforts. Women cannot speak out when they are cornered in subordinate situations and eventually give up their identities as subjective human beings. Fitzgerald's romanticism, which he tried to embody in his own life and in the characters he created and whose possibilities are continuously maximized, is a key quality of his male protagonists. The origin of Gatsby's romanticism is his subjectivity, which is his infinite belief in himself. Like a machine that registers earthquakes ten thousand miles away, Gatsby's sensitivity to possibilities works as a romantic manifestation of his subjective will and infinite belief that transcends time and space constraints. The Copernican revolution is a major axis of Gatsby's romanticism that possibilities exist on the basis of Gatsby's own subjective will and belief, rather than its real existence. Romantic idealism and morality that transcend materialism in the prevailing materialistic era occupy a firm position in the lives of Fitzgerald's male characters. Gatsby's romantic idealism ultimately overcomes the criterion of practicality. Fitzgerald advocates for male characters and their romanticism with a generous eye. In this paper, I analyze the consciousness and behavior of female characters Daisy, Jordan, and Myrtle in the categories of immorality, homogeneity, and subordination which arise from their practical force of life. Furthermore, I discuss the masculinity of Fitzgerald's literary world, embodying masculine superiority in his work by giving only men the spiritual capacity to pursue romantic ideals. While sustaining the value of life of unquestionable practicality, female characters inevitably accept immorality and subordination, and cling to the homogeneity of the upper class to maximize their practical achievement. Through Gatsby, Fitzgerald expresses a romantic ideal that does not compromise with the practical reality where materialism and pleasure prevail. Gatsby is a figure with flaws such as illegal business practices, but he goes beyond practicality to pursue romantic ideals and belief in the possibilities of life. Gatsby's morality is revealed in the confrontation with Tom by being honest about his past and present under any circumstances. Gatsby believes that there are also romantic ideals for those who betray their faith by indulging themselves in materialism and pleasure. He acknowledges equality among people as opposed to those who show exclusivity from different classes. Gatsby's life is led by his subjective romantic will that is not associated with any practical subordination.