You’ve probably been told that Jay Gatsby is the ultimate tragic hero. He’s the one with the mansion, the mystery, and the "green light" obsession. But if you look closer at the grit and the grime of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece, the real tragedy isn't found in a West Egg library. It’s found in a dusty garage in the Valley of Ashes. Honestly, Myrtle Wilson in The Great Gatsby is the character who gets the rawest deal, and she’s often dismissed as just a "social climber" or a "mistress."
That’s a mistake.
Myrtle is the only character who truly tries to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots with nothing but her own raw energy. She doesn't have a bootlegging empire. She doesn't have a "voice full of money" like Daisy. She just has a desperate, pulsing desire to be someone.
The Vitality of the Valley of Ashes
When Nick Carraway first meets Myrtle in Chapter 2, he’s struck by her "perceptible vitality." She’s not classically beautiful. Fitzgerald is pretty blunt about that, describing her as "faintly stout" and lacking any "facet or gleam of beauty." Yet, she smolders. In a book full of "silver idols" like Jordan Baker and "white palace" inhabitants like Daisy, Myrtle is the only person who feels truly alive.
She lives above a garage with George Wilson, a man who is literally covered in the gray dust of the Valley of Ashes. George is "spiritless," but Myrtle is a fire. This contrast is everything. While the wealthy characters are bored and cynical, Myrtle is hungry. She wants the dog, the lavender-colored taxi, the tapestry furniture that’s way too big for her New York apartment. She’s trying to buy her way into a soul.
The Illusion of Upward Mobility
Myrtle thinks Tom Buchanan is her ticket out. It’s easy to judge her for the affair, but look at it from her perspective. George borrowed a suit for their wedding. He’s "not fit to lick her shoe," or so she says. Tom represents the "old money" world that is supposedly the American Dream.
💡 You might also like: Brother May I Have Some Oats Script: Why This Bizarre Pig Meme Refuses to Die
But here’s the thing: Tom doesn’t love her. He views her as an accessory. When she dares to mention Daisy’s name in the New York apartment, he breaks her nose with a "short deft movement." That’s the reality of the class divide. You can wear the cream-colored chiffon dress, and you can mimic the "elaborate" manners of the elite, but to people like Tom, you’re still just a mechanic’s wife from the ash heaps.
Nick observes that as Myrtle changes her dress, her personality shifts. She becomes "violently affected." She starts acting like a high-society matron, complaining about the "lower orders" as if she isn't one of them. It’s performative. It’s sad.
Why Myrtle Wilson in The Great Gatsby Matters More Than You Think
The pivotal moment of the novel—the car accident—hinges entirely on Myrtle’s desperation. She isn't just a victim of a hit-and-run; she’s a victim of a misunderstanding that perfectly encapsulates her tragic position.
The Fatal Misunderstanding
On that sweltering day in Chapter 7, Myrtle sees the yellow car. She saw Tom driving it earlier. In her mind, that car is her escape. She isn't running into traffic to die; she’s running toward what she thinks is her future. She thinks Tom is behind the wheel.
Instead, it’s Daisy.
📖 Related: Brokeback Mountain Gay Scene: What Most People Get Wrong
The irony is brutal. The "old money" wife kills the "lower class" mistress with the "new money" car. Fitzgerald’s description of her death is notoriously graphic. Her "thick dark blood" mingles with the dust. Her left breast is "swinging loose like a flap." It’s a violent, physical destruction of the vitality Nick admired at the start.
While Gatsby dies in a pool, dreaming of a phone call that will never come, Myrtle dies in the dirt, literally torn apart by the carelessness of the Buchanans.
- Tom tells George that Gatsby was driving the car.
- Daisy lets Gatsby take the fall.
- Gatsby stays outside the Buchanan house to "protect" Daisy, never once mentioning the woman who actually died.
The wealthy "smash up things and creatures" and then "retreat back into their money," as Nick famously puts it. Myrtle is the "creature" they smashed.
The Symbolism of the Torn-Off Breast
Scholars like Lois Tyson have pointed out that Myrtle’s death is a direct commentary on the "consumption" of the poor by the rich. Her body is literally ripped open. Her mouth is "wide open and ripped a little at the corners," as if she were still trying to scream for the life she wanted.
If Gatsby represents the idealism of the American Dream, Myrtle represents the physical cost of it. She didn't have the luxury of "Old Sport" platitudes. She had to fight for every scrap of status she could get, and it cost her everything.
👉 See also: British TV Show in Department Store: What Most People Get Wrong
A Quick Reality Check on Myrtle’s Character:
- She isn't a villain. She’s a woman trapped by 1920s patriarchy and class structures.
- George Wilson isn't a "bad guy" either. He’s just broken. When he discovers the affair, he locks her up because he doesn't know how else to keep his world from dissolving.
- The dog is key. The small dog Tom buys her is a symbol of the "domestic" life she thinks she has with him. In reality, the dog is just another thing Tom can afford to forget.
Actionable Insights: Reading Between the Lines
If you're studying the book or just revisiting it, stop looking at Myrtle as a plot device. She is the moral center of the tragedy because she is the only one who pays the full price for everyone else’s mistakes.
Next Steps for Deeper Analysis:
- Contrast the Colors: Notice how Myrtle is associated with "dark blood" and "brown muslin," while Daisy is always in "white." This isn't just about fashion; it’s about the "purity" that money buys.
- Track the "Eyes of T.J. Eckleburg": George Wilson looks at the billboard and says, "God sees everything." But the eyes are faded and sightless. For Myrtle, there is no divine justice—only the "death car."
- Compare the Funerals: Gatsby’s funeral is empty, which is sad. But Myrtle’s "funeral" is barely mentioned. She is erased from the narrative almost as soon as she is killed, proving Nick's point about the "careless" nature of the elite.
Ultimately, Myrtle Wilson in The Great Gatsby reminds us that the American Dream isn't just a green light on a dock. For some, it’s a yellow car coming out of the dark at sixty miles an hour.
To truly understand the novel, you have to look at the Valley of Ashes. You have to see the dust. You have to recognize that while Jay Gatsby was "great" in his own mind, Myrtle Wilson was the one who was truly, devastatingly human. Overlooking her is exactly what the Buchanans would do. Don't make the same mistake.