This choice of wording is especially apt when considering that Freud describes this personality using Icarus as an exemplar. Icarus, who had risen with his pale and ghostly wings - only to find himself burned by the searing fire of the sun. However, whilst Freud argues his theory using the paternal relationship between Icarus and Daedalus, it is the contrast between masculinity and femininity which drives the plot in The Great Gatsby and King Lear. These characters are so comfortable in the virility that has been given to them that they demand it to be recognised by all. For Gatsby, this is the inability to fathom why Daisy would choose any man other than him - saying "You loved me too?" in response to Daisy's admission that yes, she had loved him, but in addition to her love for Tom(132). King Lear, meanwhile, is overbearingly preoccupied with his daughters demonstrating their undying love for him. Nevertheless, they believe that the females around them shared their desires - and again, their Narcissistic qualities can be observed. Narcissus, who had gazed starry-eyed upon his own reflection and thought it to be someone staring in adoration. As he steps forward, as he raises his hand, as he purses his lips, he interprets his reflection's mirror imagery as requitment of the desire. This mythology may sound absurd when relating it to Jay Gatsby and King Lear - however, both these figures are guilty of misreading the actions of those around him; with Gatsby having the audacity to tell Tom, "Your wife doesn't love you.she's never loved you. She loves me." (130) However, this self-assurance then backfires on him in the same way that Narcissus' self-assurance backfired on him after rejecting Echo and subsequently falling under her curse. A further similarity is that Gatsby and Narcissus are both obsessed with the physical world and material things, with Gatsby bragging that "[he has] got a man in England who buys [him] clothes.
