Global InformationDaisy Buchanan information
| Daisy Buchanan | |
|---|---|
| The Great Gatsby character | |
 Daisy Buchanan as portrayed by actress Lois Wilson in The Great Gatsby (1926) | |
| First appearance | The Great Gatsby (1925) |
| Created by | F. Scott Fitzgerald |
| Based on | Ginevra King[1] |
| Portrayed by | See list |
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Daisy Fay Buchanan |
| Gender | Female |
| Spouse | Tom Buchanan |
| Significant other | Jay Gatsby |
| Children | Pammy Buchanan |
| Relatives | Nick Carraway (cousin) |
| Origin | Kentucky |
| Nationality | American |
Daisy Fay Buchanan is a fictional character in F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby. The character is a wealthy socialite from Louisville, Kentucky who resides in the fashionable town of East Egg on Long Island during the Jazz Age. She is narrator Nick Carraway's second cousin, once removed, and the wife of polo player Tom Buchanan, with whom she has a daughter. Before marrying Tom, Daisy had a romantic relationship with Jay Gatsby. Her choice between Gatsby and Tom is one of the novel's central conflicts. She was described by Fitzgerald as a "golden girl".[2]
Fitzgerald based the character on socialite Ginevra King.[1] Fitzgerald and King shared a passionate romance from 1915 to 1917, but their relationship stagnated after King's father warned the writer that "poor boys shouldn't think of marrying rich girls".[3] After their relationship ended, Fitzgerald enlisted in the United States Army amid World War I.[4] While Fitzgerald served in the army, King's father arranged her marriage to Bill Mitchell, a polo player who partly served as the model for Tom Buchanan.[5] Following King's separation from Mitchell,[6] Fitzgerald attempted to reunite with King in 1938.[7] The reunion proved a disaster due to Fitzgerald's alcoholism.[7] Scholar Maureen Corrigan notes that "because she's the one who got away, Ginevra—even more than [his wife] Zelda—is the love who lodged like an irritant in Fitzgerald's imagination, producing the literary pearl that is Daisy Buchanan".[8]
The character of Daisy Buchanan has been identified as personifying the cultural archetype of the flapper.[9] Flappers were young, modern women who bobbed their hair, wore short skirts, drank alcohol and had premarital sex.[10][11][12] Despite the newfound societal freedoms attained by flappers in the 1920s,[13] Fitzgerald's novel examines the continued limitations upon women's agency during this period.[14] In this context, although early critics viewed Daisy to be a "monster of bitchery",[15] later scholars posit that the character exemplifies the marginalization of women in the elite milieu that Fitzgerald depicts.[16] The ensuing contest of wills between Tom and Gatsby reduces Daisy to a trophy wife whose sole existence is to augment her possessor's socioeconomic success.[17] As such, she is the target of both Tom's callous domination and Gatsby's dehumanizing adoration.[18]
The character has appeared in various media related to the novel, including stage plays, radio shows, television episodes, and films. New York actress Florence Eldridge originated the role of Daisy on the stage when she starred in the 1926 Broadway adaptation of Fitzgerald's novel at the Ambassador Theatre in New York City.[19] That same year, screen actress Lois Wilson played the role in the now lost 1926 silent film adaptation.[20] During the subsequent decades, the role has been played by many actresses, including Betty Field, Phyllis Kirk, Jeanne Crain, Mia Farrow, Mira Sorvino, Pippa Bennett-Warner, and Carey Mulligan, among others.
- ^ a b Diamond 2012; Bleil 2008, p. 38.
- ^ Fitzgerald 1925, p. 144.
- ^ Smith 2003; Corrigan 2014, p. 61.
- ^ Mizener 1951, p. 66; Bruccoli 2002, pp. 80, 82.
- ^ Bruccoli 2002, p. 86; Noden 2003.
- ^ McKinney 2017; Noden 2003.
- ^ a b West 2005, pp. 86–87; Corrigan 2014, p. 59; Smith 2003.
- ^ Corrigan 2014, p. 58.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Daisy as Flapper Archetypewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Modern Womenwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Corn liquorwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Premarital sexwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Conor 2004, p. 209.
- ^ Person 1978, pp. 250–57.
- ^ Person 1978, p. 253.
- ^ Person 1978, pp. 250–57; Donahue 2013.
- ^ Person 1978, p. 256.
- ^ Person 1978, p. 250.
- ^ Tredell 2007, p. 95.
- ^ Green 1926.