This criticism allows readers to dig deeper into a story to produce new understanding that what is portrayed on the surface. .
In using psychoanalysis, the classic novel, "The Great Gatsby" evolves from a tragic love story into one full of dysfunction. The romantic relationships in this novel provide some human behaviors that serve as rich topics for psychoanalytic criticism. The obvious route to take in psychoanalyzing this work would be to look at each character individually and work from there, but a more powerful understanding can take place while looking closer at the relationships portrayed in this specific story. The powerful romance between Gatsby of Daisy actually displays all of the elements of the dysfunctional relationships showed in the novel, revealing a pattern of psychological behavior that will seem to take over the entire story. This pattern is grounded in the characters' fear of intimacy, which is the often subconscious fear of closeness that frequently affects people's personal relationships (Firestone & Catlett, 2013). .
The first theme that we see prevail is the fear of intimacy that dominates Tom Buchanan's character throughout the entire story. When Tom is introduced in the story, he is engaged in his latest affair with Myrtle Wilson, being just one of his many continuing extramarital affairs. In placing his interest, time, and energy in more than one woman it protects him from real intimacy with either. Tom's relationships with women, especially his wife, uncover a deep rooted desire for ego satisfaction over emotional intimacy. For Tom, Daisy represents social superiority; she's not the kind of woman who can be acquired by a "Mr. Nobody from nowhere" (Fitzgerald, p.137) like Jay Gatsby. Myrtle Wilson is used to boost Tom's sense of masculine power, which could be why he brings her to high end restaurants where they are seen by his male acquaintances and why he introduces her to Nick so soon after their reunion.