Character: Daisy Buchanan (Leaving Cert English): Revision Notes
Character: Daisy Buchanan
Overview
Daisy Buchanan serves as Gatsby's love interest and is also Nick's cousin in Fitzgerald's novel. Born into wealth in Louisville, she represents "Old Money" and lives in East Egg with her husband Tom. Her character embodies the contradictions of 1920s American society, appearing pure and charming on the surface while revealing deeper complexities beneath.
Daisy functions as both a character and a symbol throughout the novel. Understanding her dual role is essential for analysing Fitzgerald's broader critique of American society and the American Dream.
Key Background: Daisy's character draws inspiration from Fitzgerald's own wife, Zelda. Both women enjoyed wealth and material comforts whilst conforming to traditional Southern models of femininity. During World War I, Daisy met Gatsby when he was stationed near her home, but she married Tom instead when Gatsby left for the war.
Historical context: Gender and the 1920s
Understanding Daisy requires knowledge of the era she represents. The 1920s, known as the "Roaring Twenties", brought significant social changes:
- Women's rights: The 19th Amendment (1920) gave women the right to vote, though their social roles remained largely traditional
- The flapper phenomenon: Young women with bobbed hair and painted lips who challenged conventional behaviour through dancing, smoking, and greater social freedom
- Gender contradictions: Despite apparent liberation, women were still expected to marry, have children, and maintain domestic roles
Daisy exists within this contradictory time - she appears to embody traditional femininity whilst living through an era of female emancipation. Unlike the more modern Jordan Baker, Daisy represents conservative feminine ideals. This tension is crucial to understanding her character's significance.
Key characteristics
Beautiful and charming
Daisy's name itself suggests delicacy and beauty. Her charm lies not just in her physical appearance but in her mythology - the idealised version others create of her. Fitzgerald emphasises her ethereal quality through white imagery:
- She dresses in white and owns a "little white roadster"
- References to her "white girlhood" and being a "golden girl"
- White symbolises both purity and emptiness in her character
Literary Analysis: Symbolism of White
"They moved with a fast crowd, all of them young and rich and wild, but she [Daisy] came out with an absolutely perfect reputation. Perhaps because she doesn't drink."
This establishes her as seemingly pure in a world of excess, but the white imagery creates a double meaning - suggesting both innocence and the emptiness of her privileged existence.
Artificial and performative
Daisy often appears to be acting rather than being genuine. Her frequent stuttering and artificial responses suggest she's constantly performing:
- "I'm p-paralysed with happiness" - her exaggerated responses seem rehearsed
- Nick notices her "artificial note" when speaking
- She prioritises beauty and appearance over authentic emotion
This artificiality connects to the novel's broader themes about the hollowness of the American Dream and the superficiality of wealthy society.
Sardonic and cynical
Despite her innocent appearance, Daisy shows sharp awareness of women's limited power in society. Her most famous quote reveals this cynicism:
Key quote: "I hope she'll be a fool - that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool."
This comment about her daughter shows Daisy understands that society limits women's opportunities, beauty matters more than intelligence for women, and ignorance might bring more happiness than awareness. She herself feels trapped by these gender expectations.
Bored and privileged
Daisy's wealthy lifestyle leaves her restless and dissatisfied. Fitzgerald uses the metaphor of "silver idols" to describe both Daisy and Jordan - beautiful objects without real purpose or function.
- She asks "What do people plan?" showing her disconnection from purposeful life
- Her days are spent floating around her mansion in white dresses
- She seeks excitement through affairs because her privileged life lacks meaning
Fickle and shallow
Daisy consistently chooses security and comfort over love or loyalty:
- She promised to wait for Gatsby but married Tom for financial security
- She allows Gatsby to take blame for Myrtle's death
- She abandons Gatsby when the situation becomes dangerous
- Her love appears contingent on wealth and social status
Literary Analysis: The Shirts Scene
In Chapter 5, Daisy's materialism is revealed: "They're such beautiful shirts, it makes me sad because I've never seen such - such beautiful shirts before."
Her tears may represent regret for what she sacrificed for money, or simply overwhelming emotion at Gatsby's wealth. This scene demonstrates how her emotions are intrinsically linked to material possessions.
Daisy's voice: A crucial symbol
Fitzgerald makes Daisy's voice a central symbol in the novel. Her voice represents both her charm and the dangers of her allure:
Essential quote: "Her voice is full of money" - Gatsby's realisation that connects Daisy's appeal to her wealth and social status.
The voice symbolism works on multiple levels:
- Charm: Her voice attracts and captivates others
- Artificiality: It's described as having musical, almost unreal qualities
- Class: The voice represents her privileged background
- Danger: Like the sirens in Homer's Odyssey, her voice leads others to destruction
Her voice also serves as a coping mechanism - she uses charm and laughter to avoid confronting difficult realities about her life and choices.
Relationships
With Gatsby
Their relationship represents the collision between dream and reality:
- Gatsby's idealisation: He has created a perfect version of Daisy in his mind that the real woman cannot match
- Past vs present: Their romance is built on memory rather than current reality
- Class differences: Despite his wealth, Gatsby's "new money" status creates barriers
- Daisy's limitations: She cannot abandon her secure life for uncertain love
When forced to choose between Gatsby and Tom, Daisy ultimately chooses the security of her marriage and social position. This choice reveals her priorities and the limitations of Gatsby's dream.
With Tom
Their marriage embodies the corruption of the wealthy elite:
- Convenience over love: Both engage in affairs whilst maintaining their marriage for social stability
- Shared carelessness: They're described as people who "smash up things and creatures" then retreat into their wealth
- Mutual protection: They unite against outside threats, protecting their privileged position
- Lack of genuine affection: Their relationship lacks warmth but provides mutual security
Comparisons with other female characters
Daisy vs Myrtle
- Parallels: Both trapped in unsatisfying relationships, both escape through affairs
- Contrasts: Daisy passively accepts her situation whilst Myrtle actively pursues change; Daisy represents refinement whilst Myrtle embodies sexuality and vitality
Daisy vs Jordan
- Parallels: Both wealthy, both somewhat detached from conventional morality
- Contrasts: Jordan embodies 1920s "new woman" independence whilst Daisy remains traditionally feminine; Jordan is described physically whilst Daisy remains more mythological
Key quotes for analysis
Quote Analysis: Symbolic Imagery
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The couch scene: "The only completely stationary object in the room was an enormous couch on which two young women [Jordan and Daisy] were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon."
- Shows their weightless, directionless existence
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The fool quote: "I hope she'll be a fool - that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool."
- Reveals her cynicism about women's roles
Quote Analysis: Character Relationships
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Tom's control: "I wonder where in the devil he met Daisy... women run around too much these days to suit me."
- Shows the patriarchal attitudes constraining her
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Final assessment: "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy - they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness."
- Nick's harsh final judgement
Literary significance
Daisy functions as more than just a character - she represents:
- The American Dream's corruption: Beauty and wealth that prove ultimately hollow
- 1920s gender contradictions: Traditional femininity in an era of supposed liberation
- Class privilege: The careless destruction caused by inherited wealth
- The past's power: How memory and nostalgia can distort reality
Daisy's symbolic function makes her one of literature's most complex characters. She simultaneously represents the object of desire and the critique of that desire, embodying both the allure and the emptiness of the American Dream.
Remember!
Key Points to Remember:
- Daisy embodies the tension between appearance and reality - beautiful and charming on the surface, but shallow and materialistic underneath
- Her voice symbolises the seductive power of wealth - "full of money" connects her personal appeal to her class status
- She represents traditional femininity in conflict with 1920s social change - caught between old expectations and new possibilities
- Her choices consistently prioritise security over authenticity - she chooses comfort and social position over genuine love or moral principles
- She serves as a critique of American high society - her carelessness and privilege highlight the moral emptiness of the wealthy elite