Discuss which one of these two texts you feel evokes a more sympathetic response to the human desire for meaningful relationships
Feel free to rip it apart
also do you think there are too many quotes? and any suggestions for a better conclusion would be good too, cheers
A similar perspective of the desire and struggle of individuals to achieve idealised love is revealed through both F.Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s (EBB) Sonnets from the Portuguese. The enduring relevance of this universal struggle across contexts is represented in both texts, drawing out feelings of sympathy for both lovers in their desire for meaningful relationships, however the response of a contemporary audience is largely drawn from the depiction of contextual influences on their love. The Sonnets of EBB explore the attainment of love and its transcendence of physical and contextual constraints in the dynamic Victorian era hopeful of change, in comparison to the destructive pursuit of love centred on hedonistic, material values and corruption in The Great Gatsby. Ultimately, it is Browning’s sonnets that evoke a sympathetic response from a contemporary audience, further confirmed by her ultimate attainment of such love. EBB’s love, unshackled by worldly constraints, contrasted with Gatsby’s inability to achieve his vision, reinforces the image of a disillusioned postwar society where ideal love has no value.
The contextual impediments of obtaining their idealised relationship is portrayed in both texts, creating elements of sympathy for both EBB and Gatsby who reflect conflicting desires to that of their context. The torch that EBB “holds...out” is a metaphor for the words she cannot form to express her love. The hand would ‘hold out’ the torch and it would then ‘cast light on each’ of their faces.’ This subverts the traditional notion of the submissive woman in Petrarchan poetry, as she is the torch bearer, and therefore the one in control. Similarly, Gatsby inability to express his love is also represented by the green light on the end of Gatsby’s lovers dock in East Egg, as seen from the end of his pier across the water in West Egg. “...distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away...the end of a dock.” The green light, as seen from the end of Gatsby’s pier, is symbolic of Gatsby’s vision and hope that he wed to Daisy, as well as their differing worlds, he from new money in West Egg opposed to the older money classes of the East, reinforcing his lack of prestige and the distance it creates, producing elements of sympathy as he worships his long lost love. [Arms outstretched]...towards the dark water in a curious way...trembling.” EBB, however, denounces her previous position of power and control by submitting humbly to Robert, “I drop it at thy feet.” This suggests her powerlessness to be the torchbearer and consequently reveals to him that she is unable to effectively communicate her love for him in writing. EBB therefore highlights her inability to express her love to Robert Browning as a result of having to follow traditional courtly conventions. The play on contrasting words, “And that I stand unwon, however wooed,” emphasises the paradoxical nature of her situation. EBB thus insists that she retains a tragic identity as the always ‘unwon’ and enduring woman, and the lover who cannot admit love, evoking heartfelt empathy from a contemporary audience.
Fitzgerald’s initial portrayal of Gatsby’s love for Daisy evokes elements of sympathy, but ultimately depicts love as an enticing but destructive dream, rendered meaningless if based on physical and material values. Gatsby’s desire for Daisy and his desire for love, described by Nick as a “romantic readiness, such as I have never found in any other person,” moves beyond a pure and virtuous love for her an an individual lover. Daisy becomes the embodiment of all material and physical desire for Gatsby, highlighted by his remark that her voice “is full of money.” Gatsby thus reveals his fundamental understanding of Daisy’s connection to wealth and the subsequent urgency of his need to acquire it. Moreover, in placing Daisy and the wealth she portrays on a pedestal, Gatsby elevates her beyond the real and attainable, placing her in the untenable position of competing with an illusion of perfection. “There must have been moments, even that afternoon, [...] when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams...because of the colossal vitality of his illusion.” Inevitably, the revival of the love affair between the lovers and the possibility of attaining his dream prove almost anti-climactic, threatening to diminish Daisy’s value as an “enchanted object.” Whilst Daisy’s affection for Gatsby is evident, her “face...smeared with tears,” during their reunion, the importance she places on materialistic values overrides any meaningful connection to Gatsby. This is demonstrated through her marriage to Tom. Whilst Daisy almost changed her mind about marrying Tom after receiving a letter from Gatsby, she eventually went through with the ceremony, “without so much as a shiver...the pearls were around her neck and the incident was over.” During the first meeting of Daisy and Gatsby, Daisy’s response to him is enhanced by his display of material possessions and beautiful objects that he acquired as a part of his quest to win her back. Gatsby unquestionably accepting her consumeristic attitude typical of the postwar 1920s by, “Revalue[ing] everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes.” The relationship between Daisy and Gatsby, moreover, is a result of Gatsby’s idealism of Daisy, romantic love, and corrupted by his obsessive pursuit of material wealth, ultimately draws little sympathy from a contemporary audience.
Browning, in comparison, depicts a love that is able to transcend and strengthen despite hardship, evoking a favourable response to her desire to share a meaningful and lasting relationship with Robert Browning. “While the winds are rough,” in Sonnet XIII indicates the external factors which are acting as obstacles to the relationship and their love prevented from being expressed publicly. This has also been attributed to EBB’s father, a controlling man who had forbidden any of his children to marry. Regardless, the use of the word “beloved” to describe Robert Browning in Sonnet XIV dispels any doubt about her love for him.The desire of EBB to create a significant, meaningful romantic relationship is conveyed by her demands to Robert regarding the nature of his love in Sonnet XIV, urging him not to love her for any particular reason, but simply because he lovers her, “If thou must love me, let it be for nought/Except for love’s sake only.” Browning argues that if there is a particular reason for loving someone, a change in circumstances can remove the reason and destroy the love. She further amplifies this idea by listing conventional attributes admired in women, to warn Robert of these superficial qualities that prevent pure and lasting love, “Do not say/I love her for her smile...her look...her way/Of speaking gently…” EBB metaphorically compares Robert declaring his love to ringing a bell, “toll,” and “silver utterance,” has positive connotations. Silver is less previous than gold, and therefore the love they share, whilst still precious is more real than ideal. Whilst EBB enjoys hearing Robert say he loves her, “Say...Thou dost love me,” she also him to lover her “in silence,” with his “soul,” restating her desire for a deep and lasting love. EBB’s final declaration of love illustrates the depth and worth of their love, hoping that if God allows she will lover him even better after death, “...And, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.”
Ultimately, it is the purity and sincerity of EBB’s love, able to overcome contextual constraints and attain their desired relationship that evokes a greater extent of sympathy, as compared with the materialistic and corrupted ideals of love portrayed in The Great Gatsby.