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  • Essay / The New Woman of the 1920s in “Winter Dreams” by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    One of the main ideas that drives “Winter Dreams” is the liberation of women, which throughout history has often been associated with the Roaring Twenties. Although the concept and title of The New Woman were first coined in the late 19th century, it truly began to spread nationally and across all social classes in the 1920s. At the time, women gained the right to vote, wore lighter clothes, and partied with their male counterparts late into the night. Old conventions were broken and gradually abandoned, as were the morals and ethics that men and women abandoned in favor of individual freedom. It was a time of carefree living, of living fully and letting go of inhibitions. Fitzgerald illustrated the savagery and rebellion of women in particular in this story through the ever so beautiful and yet heartbreaking character of Judy Jones. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why violent video games should not be banned'?Get the original essayJudy Jones, daughter of the wealthy Mr. Mortimer Jones, is introduced as a "magnificently ugly" eleven-year-old girl, who is " destined to grow “to be of inexpressible beauty and to bring an end to misery for a large number of men”. Unsurprisingly, the protagonist, Dexter Green, is destined to be one of these miserable men. The term “magnificently ugly” can be perceived in different ways; however, one of these opinions is that the term reflects the fashion or trend of the time. Judy's attire may have given her the appearance of a rich girl, with her "five small new golf clubs in a white canvas bag", items that she is definitely the one to use but she has a nurse to carry for her. Also, the arrogance she shows through her bad character; Demanding a caddy when there isn't one and trying to beat his nurse with a golf club only justifies his spoiled, rich temperament. It is possible that Judy's obvious wealth is what makes her appear "beautiful" despite the ugliness of her age and crude manners. Additionally, Judy possesses a "radiant" but "obviously artificial" smile – which Dexter finds "absurd" and "absurd", but seems "convincing" to him. It seems like he hates that smile, but what he's really chastising is the power it has over him. This smile is constantly mentioned throughout the story. Fitzgerald emphasizes her affectation, thus highlighting the fact that Judy's smile is also the result of fashion or trend, as she smiles in such a way that "her lips twitch at the corners" and later, as as a young woman, this smile would be described as: “…less a smile than an invitation to kiss”. Maybe it was the trend to smile that way, maybe she saw it somewhere and imitated it. Judy doesn't smile because she really wants to, but because that's what women did at the time - so her particular smile is often "insincere". Judy's self-confidence is obviously the work of her rich upbringing. Additionally, she grew up in an era of women's liberation. In the 1920s, women were enthusiastically and successfully doing things that had been forbidden to them in the past. They achieved a kind of independence, thus radically changing the role of the New Woman, from one initially seen as merely eligible for higher levels of knowledge, such as obtaining a doctorate, to that of a New Woman who can participate in various male-dominated activities. The time was clearly.