Masculinity

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  • Masculinity
    • Infidelity leads to a collapse in manhood
      • Wilson: 'the exact opposite of true masculinity' (Mosse), 'his wife's man', Myrtle's 'life apart from him ... made him physically sick', Myrtle dominates him, calling him a 'dirty little coward'. Tom: 'trembling', 'eyes still flashing'
    • The Great Gatsby is 'a man's book' (Fitzgerald)
    • Women threaten traditional notions of masculinity
      • All Jordan's dresses are 'like sports clothes'
      • Jordan has a 'jauntiness about her movements'
    • Gatsby
      • Exudes 'eternal reassurance' when amongst his wealth but looked 'as if he had killed a man' when Tom devalues Gatsby and Daisy's relationship as a 'flirtation'
      • Loses Daisy and so becomes a 'poor ghost ... breathing dreams like air'- relies on her to confirm his masculinity
    • Tom
      • 'Pearl necklace' bought- Tom maintains his wife and thus his masculinity
      • Defender of 'family life and family institutions'
      • Uses physicality to confirm his masculinity: Daisy's 'black and blue' knuckle, controls Nick as though he was 'moving a checker to another square'
      • Untitled
    • Maleness in America 'has to be kept and re-earned every day' (Margaret Mead)

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