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Idealised Love In The Great Gatsby

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The texts ‘Sonnets from the Portuguese’ (1845) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ (1926). Both explore the universal values of idealised love, limitation of time and hope of restoration. As such inherently reflected through their relevant contexts of the Victorian Era and 1920’s Jazz age value systems. Even though the text share similar themes their interpretation completely differ influenced by diverse historical context, personal experiences and human values. The enduring value of love is explored in the Great Gatsby primarily expressed through the relationship of Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan. However, in the text, every relationship is corrupted by greed, lust or ego. Daisy is most corrupted as …show more content…

Her subjective female voice challenges the gender expectations of the Victorian Era. In the 19th century, strict social rules guided the interaction of men and women. Victorian women weren’t allowed to meet men without permission or supervision. Additionally, most marriages were based on money and materialistic means. Browning being sickly, missed out on dating and meeting men leading to her disbelief in materialism and love. However, through her sonnets, she expresses idealised love for her husband Robert Browning. Highlighting transformation from a melancholy mood to a positive outlook on love showcased through the capitalisation of positive connotations such as “Beloved” and “Dear”, signifying power and importance for her lover. Love is the cause of her metaphorical rebirth portrayed through the capitalisation of “Spring” the season of love and new life. Further in Sonnet XXI the onomatopoeia “toll”, is the sound of a bell an announcement of love. She wants the whole world to know of the love she has attained. Further engraved with the repetition of “love me”, mimicking a cuckoo song. In the final, sonnet XLIII Browning use of the anaphora "I love thee”, truly expresses the limits of her love. Ending with a hyperbolic statement “ I love thee better after death” referring to her pursue of eternal and idealised love. Therefore, even though set in the materialistic Victorian era context Browning defied her Era proving that eternal love could be found overlooking materialistic standers and focusing on the nobility of

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