The Great Gatsby Theme of Marriage

The Great Gatsby questions marriage as representative of love and loyalty. The two marriages we do see here are marked by adultery on the part of one or both spouses. One begins to wonder if marriage is more a matter of convenience than it is of love. The issue is frequently raised of marrying below one’s caste; Myrtle fears that she has done so and Daisy may have not married Gatsby because of it – at least in part.

1. In The Great Gatsby, how common is infidelity? How common is fidelity?
2. Do people marry the ones they love in The Great Gatsby? Can people marry whomever they love? Why or why not?
3. What are the advantages of marriage in this text?

It has been said that love cannot exist without trust – yet The Great Gatsby suggests otherwise: love and trust are in fact mutually exclusive.

Although Fitzgerald suggests that infidelity is widespread in society, he also indicates that the common choice is to maintain a marriage in spite of it. The Great Gatsby therefore argues for the stabilizing force of marriage – and individuals’ need for it.