Billante Blogpost 9/24: Gatsby's Mansion

The 1925 novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald is set in Long Island, New York during the Jazz age and follows the narrator Nick Carraway’s interactions with his mysterious, wealthy neighbor Jay Gatsby. Both Gatsby and Nick live in West Egg, which is a “new money” neighborhood and thus is considered less desirable than East Egg where their “old money” neighbors, the Buchanans, live. The Eggs are based on the real Long Island peninsulas. To this day, these areas are some of the most affluent not only in Long Island but in America as well (Danaparamita). Between the twin Eggs lies the “valley of ashes”. This neighborhood represents the extreme poverty at the time and serves as a juxtaposition to the affluent Eggs. Readers see this through Myrtle and George Wilson’s differing approaches to coping with their financial situation. The central house in the novel is Gatsby’s mansion, which is considered over the top even by Nick and others of high social status. Gatsby’s mansion represents overconsumption during the 1920s by illustrating how riches and parties can only superficially cover the true emptiness of Gatsby’s heart and the American Dream may not be as fulfilling as it seems. 

Gatsby presents both himself and his mansion as display items for the purpose of convincing his neighbors that he is worthy of the same respect they give to old money families. The house itself is modeled after the city hall in Normandy, France (otherwise known as the Hotel de Ville). There was a real Long Island estate modeled after the Hotel de Ville in the 1920s called Harbor Hill which was one of the inspirations for Gatsby’s mansion along with Oheka Castle (Danaparamita). Such displays of wealth were representative of the times and Fitzgerald did not stray far from reality with his setting descriptions. Gatsby’s mansion is even described as having a “feudal silhouette”(Fitzgerald, 70.) which even when empty, Nick describes how he feels that guests are hiding amongst all the ornate furniture. This scene stands out as representing how the mansion is nothing without guests as it was made for their pleasure, not Gatsby’s. His home is not a reflection of himself, but a coping mechanism for his internal emptiness and feeling of inferiority regarding Daisy choosing Tom over him. Gatsby surrounds himself with the illusion of human connection by hosting parties but no matter how full of people and souvenirs his house gets, it is still empty of what he truly desires. He uses the house as a prop and a personality instead of forming real bonds with others. In this way, Gatsby both transforms into the house and the house is transformed into him. 

 The valley of ashes was more of a symbolic device rather than a geographically accurate depiction of an area in Long Island, as it was supposed to represent the desolation and poverty experienced by most Americans at the time. It exists between the city and suburbs and is the antithesis of the other two settings presented in the novel. Through only three major areas being described, readers get to see a range of social positions and how despite wealth greatly impacting the circumstances of the characters, no one is satisfied with what they have in the novel. The stark contrast between each of these settings to quietly tackle the topic of class difference, especially through Myrtle doing anything to escape the garage she lives in to go play rich-housewife with Tom in East Egg. The names of each neighborhood are very deliberate as the valley of ashes sounds like the pinnacle of desolation whereas the Egg neighborhoods could be representing the golden eggs in the Jack and the Beanstalk fairy tale or the phrase “good egg”. 

Much like in the novel, there is no good reason for these mansions to be so over the top aside from to show off one’s wealth. In such vast, ornate spaces, it would be difficult to consider estates like those a home in the emotional sense, much like the lack of warmth in the mansions from the novel. These days the Gatsby mansions are open for tours, events, and some are currently on the market (Danaparamita). Very little has outwardly changed about the mansions as they are tourist attractions and considered important enough landmarks not to be torn down, unlike areas that the valley of ashes represents. Fitzgerald would likely be unsurprised to hear that such mansions are still considered culturally relevant and displayed like galleries rather than homes. Gatsby’s famous wistful gaze out the window, away from his home represents his longing for something outside himself and his well ornamented shell of an exterior (that being his mansion). Lack of satisfaction with one’s life despite an excess of material wants being met is instrumental to the plot of the novel and mirrors the escapist tactics of the 1920s socialites living in these mansions. All in all, Gatsby and his mansion parallel one another by being decorated superficially without a sense of emotional 'home' in the interior of either one. 

Citations

Danaparamita, A. (2016, February 8). The Great Gatsby Mansions: National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Great Gatsby Mansions | National Trust for Historic Preservation. https://savingplaces.org/stories/the-great-gatsby-mansions-real-life-homes-that-inspired-the-book-and-film 

Fitzgerald, F. Scott (Francis Scott), 1896-1940. The Great Gatsby. New York :C. Scribner's sons, 1925.