Daisy and Self Worth

I have been thinking a lot about self worth lately - and it is interesting to me the many ways that self worth can be measured. Today among women (almost entirely because of the media) a woman's self worth is measured by the size pants she is wearing. In the time period of Gatsby, it seems to be all about money (money is still important to the mass majority of people today, but I especially see it in Gatsby). Before Gatsby goes to war, in order to get Daisy, he lies about his family background and tells her that he is very wealthy so that she believes him to be "good enough" for her. Despite their love for one another, Daisy marries Tom. Essentially, Tom is a very rich man that can support Daisy's lifestyle.

Gatsby clearly wants her back and aims for wealth solely to get her back. Interestingly, the way that Gatsby views Daisy is in a fabulous way to be admired. He looks at her as if she is charming, refined, beautiful, and poised. When in reality we can all see that she is very shallow, sardonic, and erratic. She loves money more than any other thing in life, and it shows blatantly in the novel. I usually always sympathize with the woman character in almost every novel that I read, however I cannot bring myself to like Daisy.

I read somewhere that Daisy is a representation of Fitzgerald's own wife. Fitzgerald's wife must have been a lover of material things, and incapable of true love and compassion. Maybe Daisy's character turned out the way that she did because Fitzgerald only knows this type of woman, the type that is detached from anything that does not provide her with consistent luxury.

It is interesting to me that a woman that has her morals completely backwards could have enough self worth to view herself as good enough for the glamorous life she lives. Daisy's self worth does not measure up to the way that Gatsby views her and the result provides readers with some major disconnections.