F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Battle of the Sexes

Abstract

All of F. Scott Fitzgerald's five novels and most of his large collection of short stories are centred on a romantic love relationship, which is frequently portrayed as a struggle for dominance, and which almost inevitably ends in failure. However, Fitzgerald does not develop the full implications of the relationships he portrays, as his sympathies lie with his male characters to a greater extent, and, although he shows that many of his women characters are aware of their economic and social dependence on men, he does not acknowledge the consequences of that awareness.