Love and Money.
"Love - what does that amount too! Will it clothe you? Will it feed you? Will it pay the bills?" pg 17
This quote and the characters reactions and are very interesting to me. The way the mother dismisses the young woman trying to talk at all then saying this. Then in at the end of the scene the young woman even says that she will probably marry him, after going on a spiel about how she doesnt like him. After all isnt it more practical?
This is reflected in The Great Gatsby with nearly every women character, and it seems like a common theme. With the statistics of marriages ending in divorce does love really matter in the world? If Love doesnt matter then why not marry someone who will move you up in social standing and give you a better life?
Im not saying that Love is non-existent and it is unimportant, but theoretically if you havent found someone and you get the chance to improve your quality of life then why not?
In some other cultures we see arranged marriages where the whole purpose is to create strong bonds between powerful families. At first the participants arent that into each other but they learn to love each other over time. When the relationship starts this way it has a chance to build up over time and thus it can be stronger. In a typical American relationship we often see several years of dating and "love" then a marriage.
But the marriage is the last thing, there isnt as much room to grow after that.
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Dennis G. Jerz on Love and Money.: Angela -- I doubt that an unma
Justin Iellimo on Love and Money.: I think the statistics for div
Angela Saffer on Love and Money.: I also wrote about this, but a
Christopher Dufalla on Love and Money.: I wrote about the same thing,
Justin Iellimo on Love and Money.: I think the statistics for div
Angela Saffer on Love and Money.: I also wrote about this, but a
Christopher Dufalla on Love and Money.: I wrote about the same thing,
I wrote about the same thing, Josh. It occurred to me that there was perhaps a lapse back into the ideas in Gatsby (arranged marriage, social status, etc.), but I also thought that perhaps the mother was simply bitter about what her married life had been like. What if she had married for love, it was poverty, and now she relies upon her daughter for support? Perhaps she doesn't want the daughter to make the same mistake that she did, but instead at least have money and someone that cares about her, even if it is for the wrong reasons.
I also wrote about this, but a few pages ahead. Jones makes her skin crawl. she can't stand being touched by him without flinching. The fact that she actually went to her mother for advice was surprising, but then for her mother to shoot her down and say it doesn't matter?
However, we are not even sure how old this "young woman" is. which makes me question, if she's getting into her 30's, does her mother just want her to settle down? Or is she more of our age and shouldn't even be involved yet?
here is a link to my blog
http://blogs.setonhill.edu/AngelaSaffer/2009/02/in_forced_love.html
I think the statistics for divorce are skyrocketing for different reasons. First off, how many people rush into a marriage with someone who they do not actually love. The idea that the person may feel like they are running out of time and will eventually fall in love with the person after they are married just does not have a realistically happy ending. This rarely actually happens. Second, people who marry just for financial reasons just usually are not very happy in their lives. Improving your quality of life is always something to strive for, but is it really worth it at the price of being miserable with someone you hate for the rest of your life? Or, why not just do what most people would do and what the young woman did: marry for financial gain and then just fool around. Why not just work hard for your own things and be happy with yourself as a person instead of submitting like the girl does throughout the story.
Angela -- I doubt that an unmarried woman in her thirties would still be considered a "YOUNG WOMAN" in the 1920s. A young mother, perhaps, yes.
Certainly the way the YW calls for her mother makes us think of her as young, so that would be a good reason to cast her as a young woman. We can assume that the YW's father is dead, which suggests that her mother married an older man.