Stott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby includes two women: a "charming" (14) young woman and cousin of the narrator, Nick Carraway; Daisy Fay Buchanan, and a "sensuously" (28) captive wife of an impoverished character, George Wilson; Myrtle Wilson. Myrtle and Daisy have many similarities; however, there are subtle differences between them.
Daisy Fay's lighthearted and sensitive personality causes her to be defenseless towards the men in her life. At the beginning of Fitzgerald's book, she is described as a very attractive and cheerful woman. "Her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes and a bright, passionate mouth, but there was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget: a singing compulsion, a whispered 'Listen', a promise that had done gay, exciting things just a while since and that there were gay, exciting things hovering in the next hour" (14). .
Daisy Fay, the name itself has a hidden meaning to it. Daisy, also globally known as a delicate white flower; and Fay, also known as an elf such as those in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream who hide from reality and put-on an affectation as airheads; which is what Daisy's character is. This is evident when she says, "I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she's a fool – that's the best thing a girl can ever be in this world, a beautiful little fool" (22). Regardless of her cheerful character, Daisy is usually described in the colour white; a colour with a lack of substance and integrity. This inconstancy shows when Daisy is secretly maltreated by her husband, Tom Buchanan. "'Look!' she complained; 'I hurt it.' We all looked – the knuckle was black and blue. 'You did it, Tom,' she said accusingly. 'I know you didn't mean to, you did do it. That's what I get for marrying a brute of a man, a great, big, hulking physical specimen of a – '" (17).
