Flamboyance of the Flapper Ladies

During the 1920s lived the post World War I generation, also known as the Lost Generation which consists of the men and women who survived the Great War. This was an era that consisted of glamorous parties in a society where alcoholism was the norm. In the novel The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemmingway, Brett is a flamboyant character who enchants the life of every man she encounters, only to leave them jealous, heartbroken and obsessive. Although she is able to obtain any man she desires, her true love is Jake, the main character of the novel. Their love, however, is hindered by Jake’s impotence and Brett therefore seeks love in anyone she believes is worthy of it. Daisy, a character from the novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, lives during the same time period and in the same society as Brett; however, the two are vastly different. While Brett represents the Lost Generation’s aimless search for happiness and romance, Daisy represents the values of the aristocrats in the wealthy part of New York during the 1920s. Brett is a charismatic and charming woman; nevertheless, she is not happy nor satisfied with the life she has created for herself. Despite of living in all the luxury and attention a woman of that time could desire, she lives aimlessly and unhappily. Brett’s personality represents the Lost Generation’s search for love and happiness. She desperately attempts to fill the love for Jake that can never be consummated with the love she receives from her many admirers. Her carelessness is an illusion to hide her vulnerability and fear of being alone. Never sticking to one partner forces an ultimate independence and results in the lonesomeness she dreads. Brett seduces the lovesick Robert Cohn whom she escapes on a trip with. Jake’s explanation for this was that she, “Wanted to get out of town and she can’t go anywhere alone. She said she thought it would be good for him” (Hemingway, 107). The fact that Brett chooses to spend time with a man she dislikes romantically rather than to go alone shows her fear of loneliness and her need to take care of people. Unlike Brett who is battling with her inner self that on one hand desires Jake but on the other is far too much of a realist to attempt to have a future with him, Daisy abandons the idea of a life with her true love because she is simply too weak do what she wants. Although she claims that she desires Gatsby, she constantly drifts into the arms of what she knows and what is comfortable; her husband Tom. During a heated argument, and the defining point of Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship, daisy backs down and loses her ambition to fight for herself and what she wants. She frantically yells out, “‘Please, Tom! I can’t stand this anymore.’ Her frightened eyes told whatever intentions, whatever courage she had, were definitely gone” (Fitzgerald, 135). At the end, she will always choose the easiest option- even if it includes sacrificing her own happiness. Due to her heartbreak, Daisy has become indifferent to most things in her life, including her daughter whom she rarely mentions. While Brett puts on an act of carelessness she shows true emotion for Jake when she’s around him. For a moment she couldn’t help but to let herself be swept away by the fantasy of a future with Jake as they share a cab in Paris. Brett expresses her feelings for him by saying, “Oh, darling, I’ve been so miserable” (Hemingway, 32). Although with many attempts, Brett has never succeeded to replace Jake. Daisy, however doesn’t fight for her love and carelessly leaves her mess behind her. She shared this carelessness with her husband Tom, and together they were, “careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made…” (Fitzgerald, 179). Wealthy people could afford to have others take care of the damage they had created. Their wealth was their excuse for their lack of affection. It was their shared comfort of wealth over emotions that kept them together. One thing that both Brett and Daisy can agree on is their distaste for love. They have both developed a bitter attitude towards it and Brett describes it as “hell on earth” (Hemingway, 35). She has learnt from the torture of never having who she truly desires that love is nothing but pain. Daisy has realized this too, as she talks about the day her daughter was born she says, “I hope she’ll be a fool- that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (Fitzgerald, 17). Her life has taught her that it’s better to be oblivious of the pain because then it can never be felt. While both Brett and Daisy carry a certain carelessness and enchantment, Brett is looking for love while Daisy is more comfortable with what is familiar. In the end, Brett and Jake come to the conclusion that their life together will forever be a fantasy and therefore Brett returns to her fiance, Mike. Daisy who still has the opportunity to live happily ever after with Gatsby makes a conscious decision to leave him without as much as a word. Both Brett and Daisy return to what they know; however, what differentiates them is that if Brett had a choice she would stay with her true love while Daisy has that opportunity but chooses not to.