Character Analysis: Daisy

Other characters in the book:

Daisy Buchanan, a central character in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, serves as both a living person and an idealized symbol, shaping the novel’s narrative and reinforcing its central themes. While her presence is essential to the romantic and dramatic tension of the story, Daisy also functions as a representation of wealth, desire, and the American Dream itself, beautiful on the outside but hollow within. Her character embodies the complexities of love, gender expectations, class, and the illusion of fulfillment in 1920s America.

Daisy is the emotional centerpiece of The Great Gatsby. Her past romance with Gatsby and his relentless pursuit of her are the novel’s driving forces. Although she is not the protagonist, Daisy’s influence over Gatsby’s motivations makes her central to the plot’s progression. Her marriage to Tom Buchanan, her reunion with Gatsby, and her ultimate retreat into her privileged world shape the novel’s tragic trajectory.

Through Nick Carraway’s eyes, readers are introduced to Daisy as ethereal and enchanting, “her voice was a wild tonic in the rain,” Nick says, hinting at her emotional pull. Gatsby’s life has been defined by his attempt to recreate a perfect moment from the past, when he and Daisy fell in love. For Gatsby, Daisy becomes an ideal, a dream that defines his sense of purpose. She is not loved for who she is in the present, but for what she represents: beauty, status, and a time when Gatsby felt infinite potential.

However, Daisy’s role is not merely as a passive love interest. She is also a decision-maker whose actions, or lack thereof, have serious consequences. She is complicit in Gatsby’s downfall, not only by failing to stand by him after Myrtle Wilson’s death but by allowing him to shoulder the blame for an accident she caused. In doing so, Daisy reveals her core trait: emotional cowardice. She prefers the safety of her social class and the familiarity of her marriage to the uncertainty of change, even if it means betraying the man who has devoted his life to her.

Daisy functions as one of the novel’s most potent symbols. On one level, she represents the American Dream, or rather, the corruption of that dream. For Gatsby, Daisy is the prize that signifies he has “made it.” She becomes a material object, conflated with wealth and status, that he believes will complete his identity. However, just like the American Dream itself in Fitzgerald’s eyes, Daisy is ultimately hollow and unobtainable in the way Gatsby imagines.

Her voice is famously described as “full of money,” linking her directly to wealth and privilege. This observation reveals that Daisy is not just an object of romantic love but an emblem of a lifestyle Gatsby yearns for. Her voice, mesmerizing and luxurious, symbolizes the seductive promise of affluence and social acceptance.

Daisy also symbolizes feminine beauty and fragility, as well as the social limitations placed on women. On the surface, she appears delicate, charming, and somewhat helpless, a Southern belle transplanted into the glitzy, fast-paced world of East Egg. But this apparent vulnerability conceals a more profound selfishness and passivity. Daisy uses her charm to manipulate situations while avoiding the responsibilities of her choices. In this way, she becomes a symbol of moral irresponsibility and the emotional detachment of the wealthy elite.

Daisy's character reflects broader societal issues in 1920s America, particularly around gender roles, class divisions, and the illusion of progress. At first glance, she seems to embody the archetype of the traditional woman: beautiful, soft-spoken, and domesticated. But she also has traits associated with the "New Woman" of the Jazz Age: she's witty, flirtatious, and willing to engage in extramarital affairs. However, unlike Jordan Baker, who embodies modern independence more fully, Daisy remains trapped in a patriarchal structure. She returns to Tom not because she loves him, but because he represents stability, wealth, and social standing.

Fitzgerald critiques this societal expectation that women must remain within their class boundaries. Daisy might love Gatsby, but she is ultimately unwilling to sacrifice her lifestyle and privilege for him. Her failure to choose Gatsby reflects not only personal weakness but the broader reality of class immobility and the performative nature of social roles. Despite Gatsby's immense wealth, he is still seen as an outsider by people like Tom and Daisy, who come from "old money."

In this light, Daisy becomes a metaphor for how the American Dream fails those who are not born into privilege. Gatsby's entire life is built on the pursuit of Daisy—and by extension, the pursuit of social acceptance and success. But Daisy, like the green light at the end of her dock, remains just out of reach. She embodies an inherently flawed dream: based on illusion, wrapped in beauty, but devoid of substance.

Additionally, Daisy's carelessness is emblematic of the moral decay Fitzgerald saw in the upper class. She and Tom are described as "careless people" who "smash up things and creatures and then retreat into their money." This detachment allows them to avoid consequences, unlike Gatsby, who pays with his life. Daisy's wealth insulates her from the real world, allowing her to float through life untouched by the suffering she causes.

Despite her flaws, Daisy is not a one-dimensional villain. Fitzgerald presents her with emotional depth and vulnerability. Her voice, beauty, and fleeting moments of sincerity reveal that she is not entirely devoid of feeling. She weeps over Gatsby's shirts, not because of the fabric, but because they represent everything she once hoped for and cannot have. When Gatsby insists she declare that she never loved Tom, she breaks down, crying, "I did love him once, but I loved you too." This moment captures Daisy's internal conflict and her inability to reconcile love with social reality.

Many readers experience conflicting emotions toward Daisy. Her betrayal is infuriating, yet her situation as a woman bound by societal norms elicits some sympathy. She is both a victim of her time and an agent of destruction. Fitzgerald's genius lies in this moral ambiguity, which makes Daisy a complex and enduring character.

Daisy Buchanan is more than just a love interest or a plot device in The Great Gatsby; she is a richly symbolic character who embodies the novel's central themes. Through Daisy, Fitzgerald critiques the illusions of wealth, the corruption of the American Dream, and the social constraints placed on women. Her beauty and charm mask a more bottomless emptiness, reflecting the disillusionment that lies beneath the surface of 1920s prosperity.

Ultimately, Daisy is both a dream and a disappointment. She inspires Gatsby to reach for greatness, but is incapable of fulfilling the promise she represents. In doing so, she stands as a haunting reminder that not all that glitters is gold, and that some dreams, no matter how passionately pursued, are destined to remain unfulfilled.