The Relationship of Marriage and Social Hierarchy

Old Wealth

Nouveau Riche

Although most people are inclined to believe in the American Dream, or the idea that everyone has the same chance to improve their social status, the vast majority are restricted by their family name and reputation. A person’s heritage has always played a significant role within the social hierarchy, even as it pertains to marriage. Early Europeans sought to outlaw morganatic marriage, or intermarriage between people of unequal social rank, as a way of preserving the traditional social structure. Despite the progress made over the past few centuries, social distinctions and exclusions still exist and have a tremendous impact on an individual’s life. F. Scott Fitzgerald and Emily Brontë, authors of The Great Gatsby and Wuthering Heights, respectively, accurately identify the rigid social ranks between individuals, and the factors contributing to their distinctions. Jay Gatsby, the protagonist of The Great Gatsby, comes from a farming family and tries to improve his social status so that can fulfill his personal ambition and marry Daisy. Even though Gatsby gains immense financial wealth, he is still excluded from Daisy’s social class, or “Old Wealth,” because he is limited by his background and lack of education. Similar to Gatsby, Bronte’s main character, Heathcliff, is unable to enter Catherine’s social class because although he too achieves financial wealth, he lacks the true heritage of an aristocrat and a formal education.   

Social hierarchy 

Gatsby’s ambition to be a social elite began during his early adolescence, when he began to concentrate his energy on obtaining economic success. For instance, in his old book where his daily schedule is listed, he devotes an entire hour towards practicing “elocution, poise and how to attain it,” and reminds himself abstain from smoking and chewing (Fitzgerald 173). His devotion to improving his public speaking and mannerisms clearly represents his desire to become a member of the upper class because he must have the ability to pass as elegant in order to fit in. Accordingly, his refusal to smoke and chew tobacco illustrates his determination to differentiate himself from the vulgar activities of the lower classes. Although the real reason Gatsby wants to improve his status lies with his ambition, the abandonment from Daisy also constitutes a significant reason, as well as an excuse. Gatsby recalls the first impression of Daisy as “the first ‘nice’ girl he had ever known,” because they did not have an “indiscernible barbed wire” that separated them (Fitzgerald 148). To Gatsby, Daisy represents an entrance into the exclusive aristocracy, which is demonstrated by the absence of “barbed wire.” Although Gatsby considers the intermarriage of Daisy and him as a shortcut to make the dream of wealth true as the propose chase Daisy in the beginning, he truly falls in love with Daisy after he is in the relationship with her.  However, the failure of his romantic relationship which is result in Daisy abandon him because the pressure from society, made he realized it’s impossible to a man from lower class, like him, marry a upper class woman, no matter how deep their love is. Meanwhile,  it also stimulates him to enhance his status while he feels the humiliation and inferiority of his poverty, which  made the great gap of social status between Daisy and him.

Daisy 

               Gatsby introduces his background to Nick as “[he is] the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West-all dead now. [he] was brought up in American but educated at Oxford, because all [his] ancestors have been educated at Oxford” (F. Scott Fitzgerald, 65). Fitzgerald utilizes that to emphasize Gatsby propose that made other people believe he has potential abilities to be a upper class as well as old wealth member as he was born in a old and well-known family and graduated from a noble college, not just a new wealth. 

"One night, we can build a nouveau riche, three generations to cultivate an aristocrat."
-- Williams  Shakespeare

                Despite that  he tries to defend that he is the Old Wealth, his statements and actions expose his feign. Nick as a gentleman comes from a blue-blood family and his family went to Yale from generation to generation, but he modestly said he went to college in “New Heave”. And it is feigned that Gatsby show him the picture which he took in Oxford and the “Orderi de Danilo”.

Gatsby's party
His house and parties, the symbols of fortunes, were  utilized by Gatsby as measurements to flaunt his riches since he lacks of a background as Old Wealth.

             
                    While Daisy inclined to Gatsby’s position as she condemns Tom reveals Gatsby’s education background, Tom emphasizes the division of Old Wealth and Nouveau Riches as he says: “Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions, and next they’ll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white. “ (F. Scott Fitzgerald, 130).  It illustrates the intermarriage between different social class could not accept by moral  as it insinuates the absurdness of the intermarriage between black, which represent Nouveau Riche, person who born in poverty  and White, which refers to person who inherit money from blue-blood family, represents Old Wealth. Furthermore, Tom emphasize the ideology of social hierarchy to deride Gatsby’s background by improve his own status as a warn to Daisy that it would broke the social order if she chooses a Nouveau Riche. And after Tom reveal Gatsby’s illegal deal, Daisy’s sentiment has changed dramatically as she felt remorse about she tried to go away with Gatsby as she “looked at Tom, alarmed now.”after Tom said, “you two start on home, Daisy, in Gatsby’s car” (F. Scott Fitzgerald, 135). Because the illegal deal, which not only could be consider as the testimony of his corrupt but also deny his background as his fortune was not obtained by inheriting and that made Gatsby lose the potential possibility of enter upper class. “In Gatsby’s car” symbolized Gatsby’s social class, Nouveau Riche.  If Daisy chooses to go with his, then she could not keep her position among upper class any more and would be degenerated into Nouveau Riche as Gatsby.

                  In Wuthering Height, Emily Brontë demonstrates how social status acts as the factor to impact the Catherine’s choice between true love and class.  Compared by the love from Catherine to Heathcliff, which is considered true love, the love to Edger is based on materiality because it seems to be the pursuit of high-quality life under the factors like class, status, wealth, and family, which exerts a subtle influence on Catherine’s values as she explains the different of those two: “My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary” (Brontë, 80). To Catherine, marrying Edgar doesn’t mean she will love Linton more than Heathcliff,  just because she follows the society hierarchy, as she describes Edgar “because he is handsome, because he is young. And he will be rich, and I shall like to be the greatest woman of neighborhood”(Brontë, 76) which means Catherine prefers Edgar for his handsome , young, wealth and status which is laid on external circumstance and is changeable, so Catherine to his love also will be changed with that external things, and her marriage with Edger never means she will leave Heathcliff as she plans “if I marry Linton, I can’t aid Heathcliff to rise, and place him out of my brother’s power”(Brontë, 79), she would like to enhance Heathcliff’s status by her husband’s power, as well as help him get rid of Hindley’s control, though Heathcliff does not like to accept her too much care. Furthermore, it also illustrates Catherine doesn’t satisfy Heathcliff’s current status who is not only living in poverty and also is treated as a slave by his brother, has a great gap from him. Heathcliff is to her what a slave of the lower class is to a lady of aristocratic class. As Catherine once tell her maid that “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now” (I’ll find the page no. ch.9), which means if Catherine marry him, she would degrade in to lower class but marry a upper class men like Edger would make her stay in the aristocratic class.

In a nutshell, both of Gatsby and Heathcliff have similar experiences as they are abandoned by the upper class woman who they love while those women made the choice between the hierarchy of social order and true love.  After they realizes the cruelty of reality of social hierarchy, they obtained wealthy through assiduous working. Similarly, their persistence of love-pursuing is praised and sympathized  by readers. However, their fate are determined while they are born, the love emerges between different social class will not to be end in a happy outcome, wherever how much they did for trying to improve their status. 

More stories about social hierocracy and marriage

Arhduke Franz Ferlinand and Countess Sophie Chotek von Chotkwa

Morganatic marriage  is the marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband’s title and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage. The marriage of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and Bohemian aristocrat Countess Sophie Chotek von Chotkowa is a famous example. Despite that  Archduke who was the heir of Austria-Hungary, finally overcame the great pressure form his royal family and other European upper class to marry Sophie, their marriage, which was a morganatic one, did not gain any esteems from society. Their children took their mother’s family name and rank, and were exclude from imperial succession. Countess Sophie serves as a aristocrat could not be accepted, it is less impossible to Gatsby and Heathcliff  to marry higher status women.

Deposed Queen Yoon

Queen Yoon

Experience of Deposed Korean Queen Yoon is another famous example of  the intermarriage between two extreme social classes. Her husband who served as  King of Korean, in spite of oppositions from royal family and ministers, marriaged with her, the maid who he loved.   Without a powerful upper class background, Queen Yoon treated disrespectful by King’s other concubines who were born in a aristocratic family.  And the envy and resentment of concubine triggered the struggle in palace. As a result, Queen Yoon was repealed and exiled because the traps from other aristocratic concubines. Queen Yoon’s son, Yeonsangun of Joseon, inherited Korean throne after his father’s death. However, the blood purge he emerged a in order to revenged the people who calumniated his mother, brought the rise of a coup caused he was overthrown by aristocrats. 

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Unlink sources:
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004. Print.
Brontë, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York, NY: Signet Classics, 2011. Print.