back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that's the idea you can count me out... Nowadays people begin sneering at family life and institutions and next they'll throw everything overboard..." (137). This passage implies that a man's affair did not threaten family life or the institution of marriage. However, a woman's affair could easily unravel the threads of social conformity.Throughout the novel, it becomes evident that the "typical" man in the 1920's was expected to take care of the woman in his life. For example when attempting to persuade Daisy to remain with him, Tom states "I'm going to take better care of you from now on." (140). This notion is also exemplified when Nick comments on Gatsby's relationship with Daisy years ago, "but he had deliberately given Daisy a sense of security; he let her believe that he was a person from much the same strata as herself- that he was fully able to take care of her." (156). From these statements, it can be concluded that men were expected to be financially responsible. Thus, men gained a sense of control over women, who were expected to be dependent....
