Is Daisy histrionic?

[Mo]

At first, I want to say at the end she appeared selfish, shallow, and as Nick Carraway says, careless. She said she loved Gatsby and told him she never loved Tom. When they confronted Tom, she backed away on what she said to Gatsby. When the person she said she loved died she couldn’t be bothered to attend the funeral, even though no one was there to see her.
Then I started to think about Histrionic personality disorder. The symptons, according to DSM-IV, are:

*is uncomfortable in situations in which he or she is not the center of attention

*interaction with others is often characterized by inappropriate sexually seductive or provocative behavior

*displays rapidly shifting and shallow expression of emotions

*consistently uses physical appearance to draw attention to self

*has a style of speech that is excessively impressionistic and lacking in detail

*shows self-dramatization, theatricality, and exaggerated expression of emotion

*is suggestible, ie easily influence by others or circumstances

*considers relationships to be more intimate than they actually are

What do you think?

[Benja]

They all seemed a bit histrionic to me, bar Nick.

[Matthew]

Myra wrote: "At first, I want to say at the end she appeared selfish, shallow, and as Nick Carraway says, careless. She said she loved Gatsby and told him she never loved Tom. When they confronted Tom, she back..."

I doubt Fitzgerald intended that when he wrote her. She was meant to parody and criticize a woman he knew and who rejected him in real life (Ginevra King), so I think he was mainly being critical. But it would have been timely, as this concept was well known by Fitzgerald's time. Who's to say that he didn't think her faults arose from an actual personality disorder?

[T.R.]

Hard to say...she definitely has all the "symptoms." It's difficult to determine, however, whether Daisy's issues stem from nature or nurture. Her family background seems to have groomed her to act as a super-spoiled debutant, so if she didn't actually suffer from a true, Histrionic Personality Disorder, she probably developed one over time :/

[Akherousia]

Nope. Daisy was the typical average-to-good-looking young woman, whose life is so easy because most guys want to get with her, she doesn't have to have to behave like a human being.

[Sandra]

I think that deep down inside, Daisy loved Gatsby to death, however due to her life situation; being married and a mother, she knew, not much could be changed. At that time period, divorce was really looked down upon, and she would probably end up on a street. She was scared to go to Gatby's funeral, for people would start talking, spreading rumors, even though Tom already knew of their affair. Reputation is what matters to the rich. And she did not want hers to be 'dirty', as it were. Daisy is deeply confused and troubled character, that a lot of people like to judge. Of course, she does appear as indecisive and, even annoying, yet, when trying to see the whole picture, we learn that she was really miserable without Gatsby, then she had her daughter, and it covered it up a little bit, she gave Daisy something to live for. Then, Gatsby SUDDENLY expects her to drop everything, even though that is what Daisy wants to do, it not as simple as it appears in a book.

[Eva]

I think she is historic for it's time, she wanted to relive the past momentarily but at the end of the day all she wanted was security from what she was comfortable with. Maybe she felt a little insecure with the uncertainty of a future with Gatsby.

[Kathy]

Yes. Epitomy of the young rich woman of the 1920's. Either did not see, or did not care in general. She wanted to live a fast life, but drew back from any real danger right back to her safe little world.

[Matthew]

A true histrionic need a certain amount of talent in the arts of theater in order to be effective. Borderline Personality Disorder seems more realistic:


A pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

(1) frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.
Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in Criterion 5.

(2) a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation

(3) identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self

(4) impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, Substance Abuse, reckless driving, binge eating).
Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in Criterion 5.

(5) recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior

(6) affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days)

(7) chronic feelings of emptiness

(8) inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights)

(9) transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms

Reprinted with permission from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision. Copyright 2000 American Psychiatric Association

[Kathy]

I would say more narcististic (sp?). For Daisy it was all about Daisy. She lived in Daisyland.