Deception In The Great Gatsby

In many classic works of literature there are characters that manipulate others to get what they want and to increase their social position. Some classical examples would include Iago from William Shakespeare's Othello, or Jay Gatsby from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Another character that is most well known for their deception of others would be Emma Bovary from Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary. Throughout the novel Emma manipulates everyone around her whether it be Homais’ teenage servant Justin or the merchant L’Heureux. However the person most manipulate by Emma would have to be her gullible husband Charles. Throughout the novel she convinces him to things he would never do like go to the extremely fancy ball, or have an extravagant …show more content…
He was flirting with Emma while he was married to another woman. This fact is so ironic and humorous to me because after they get married she has two different affairs. Emma and Charles also came from two totally different minds of thinking. Charles is adamant about security and starting a family. Emma wants romance and passion and to be treated like a queen. Despite their differences Emma convinces Charles to have a big ,beautiful ,and extravagant wedding. This represents her already tight grasp over Charles and how she is convincing him to participate in things he doesn't want to do. After their wedding the reader sees Emma’s first look at where she will be living. She absolutely detests it from its “Canary yellow wallpaper”(Flaubert 32) to the “other one’s bouquet”(Flaubert 33) in other words Charles’ ex wife’s wedding bouquet. Almost immediately Emma becomes annoyed with Charles and his lack of class. After all of the romantic novels she read at the convent she wants to live “in a scottish cottage” (Flaubert 40) and live with a “husband in a black velvet suit with long coattails”(Flaubert 40). And Charles is most certainly not …show more content…
Now balls aren’t exactly Charles’ forte but Emma would love nothing more than to go visit a fancy house and eat fancy food with fancy people. Emma is noticing how beautiful and handsome everyone is except for Charles because “his pants are too tight around his stomach”(Flaubert 49). Even when Charles attempts to make a romantic gesture and asks her to dance she rudely replies with “You’re out of your mind”(Flaubert) and how he should just stay put and that’s way better for a doctor. Her saying these rude things only seems to increase Charles's determination to please her. For Charles the one thing he seems to desire most is to make his wife happy and sadly he just can’t seem to do it. The only men who seem to be able to please her are the men she read about in her novels. For example the man who invited Emma to the ball the Marquis he is extraordinarily wealthy and is a solidified member of the bourgeoisie. Charles’ seeing her attraction to him is going to become like the