Thought of as the idealistic woman, the principle of the beauty standard of the roaring 20s, many admire to portray. She is desired by men, successful, wealthy, stunningly poised and held high on the social ladder.  The “Golden Girl” is a social concept that often appears throughout Fitzgerald’s work as a staple in his writing. Through his novels and short stories, the Great Gatsby, Basil and Cleopatra, Winter Dreams and the adapted film, the Curious Case of Benjamin Button , FIztergald use of this stereotype develops deeper and shows the conflicting reality of these women and how nearly impossible it is to be “flawless”. The author’s writing holds a strong and meaningful message that these women are often viewed more for their beauty and appearance, wealth and social status rather than their emotions, thoughts or intelligence. This social pressure to appear as this ideal “it” girl, may be the objective for these women conceited behaviour. Their beauty takes dominance over their male counterparts, Daisy Buchanan, Judy Jones, Minnie Bibble and Daisy Fuller are all able to be influential because of their alluring attraction. These characters shine light on the dark reality of the Golden Girl label and represent  the dangerous that lurk within this social construct. 

In the novel, The Great Gatsby, the reader follows the story of the protagonist, Jay Gatsby, on a journey to fulfil his American Dream. He acquires his wealth, although  struggles to acquire Daisy Buchanan, the woman he fell in love with. Daisy is the object of Jay’s singular obsession, he never truly loved her, he was indeed infatuated with her prosperous wealth, appearance and the fact that men already loved her increased her worth. Daisy represents the paragon of perfection, she has the aura of charm, wealth, sophistication, grace, and aristocracy that he longed.  Every male wants to be with her and every female wants to be her. For a woman of her time, she’s incredibly knowledgeable, the type to mask her intelligence to fool a fool. she hopes her daughter will “be a fool – that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool”. Daisy believes she’s too clever and self-aware for this life as the golden girl. She knows too well the absence of admiration for a woman’s personality but rather to treat her as a possession. Although deceitful she chooses to act naive. Daisy hopes her daughter is not smart enough to understand the true cost of being a pretty woman. Fitzgerald has cleverly illustrated Daisy as a victim of objectification as well as a strong debutante. Day’s powerful role within the text is suggested through her sexuality, she is a character first defined by her voice.  It was the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down as if each speech is an arrangement of notes that will never be played again.” Bright eyes and a passionate mouth-but there was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget: a singing compulsion, a whispered “Listen” a promise that she had done gay, exciting things just a while since and that there were gay, exciting things hovering in the next. “ This quote suggests can be read as dangerous because she possesses the power to enchant and control men, by making them listen. Fitzgerald also demonstrates Daisy as a dangerous woman when she engages in an affair and her malicious ability to kill. Fitzgerald’s inclusion of Daisy’s nature in the gatsby novel shows that women granted the golden girl label have an underlying savage trait disguised by her beauty and riches. 

In the novel, Judy Jones can be represented as the golden girl. She is simply a beautiful girl who holds a dangerous amount of power, driven by her large sum of wealth and physical attraction. Following the storyline, the reader is introduced to Dexter Green, the love interest of Judy. Dexter’s “winter dream” is in fact to achieve his American Dream, improve his social status and wealth much like Gatsby. Judy and Dexter’s relationship is incredibly similar to Daisy and Gatsby. Each male antagonist is determined to accomplish wealth and propensity who desire the female protagonists. These females are able to manipulate their lovers, exerting shrewd and devious influence. For Dexter, Judy represents all that glitters. That is, she is the embodiment of ambition and success, money, and beauty. That’s what Dexter wants, and that’s why he never sees her as she truly is. Judy is just human, but Dexter sees her as perfect, as the key to his happiness. Due to this Judy has an ability to be extremely influential, Fitzgerald’s use of dexter’s fixation of her makes for a character capable of dangerous behaviour. Judy identifies her beauty and family wealth with happiness because of these two aspects of her life she is able to get her own way. “Whatever Judy wanted, she went after with the full pressure of her charm.” There was no divergence of method, no jockeying for position or premeditation of effects,  She simply made men conscious to the highest degree of her physical loveliness” . Fitzgerald has built an interesting distinction between females like Judy and males like Dexter. Dexter has to “jockey” for his positions, he only ever achieves ambitions through self diligence and constant planning. Judy simply relies on her own nature, her “physical loveliness” is how she gets what she yearns for. 

In the short story, Basil and Cleopatra we are introduced to the female protagonist Minnie Bibble. Minnie is a character who shares very common similarities with Daisy Buchanan.  Minnie’s character can be recognized for her powerful role,  using her beauty, elegance and grace to win over basil lee , her love interest. She shares a close resemblance to Judy jones. Minnie is able to  manipulate basil and tends to tamper with his heart. To her, he is an object she will play with until bored or has come across a better offer. Minnie’s beauty is a powerful characteristic of herself, as she  leads basil on but never truly lets him in . “That’s why I didn’t write. But I’ve thought of you so much. You’re the best friend I have, Basil. You always understand.” After Minnie had received countless letters from Basil, she never thought once to write back. The author’s message here is to show Minnie’s heartless behaviour, she is disinterested in the welfare of Basil. She feeds off the validation that he gives to her. In this novel Basil’s  “golden girl” is unobtainable, he can’t have her no matter how bad he wants her.  This can become a dangerous aspect of their relationship because Basil’s strong feelings towards her could be taken to advantage, allowing her to subconsciously influence him.“There were so many men and they wanted her so much.“ The thrust to the stereotype of the so-called golden girl. The author’s use of these quotes evaluates the idea that Minnie is a woman who is indeed desired by those around her.  Minnie Bibbles beauty and poise is beyond stronger than it initially appears. 

Although Fitzgerald patterns a manipulative and unpredictable female personality through his writing, in the adapted film the curious case of Benjamin Button, he has constructed a character who is strong-willed and loving. An impeccable prototype of the golden girl though lacking the precarious behaviours. Known to the reader as Daisy fuller. This piece of work follows the story of Benjamin Button, a man born under unusual circumstances, where he ages opposite to those around him. Daisy begins a deep and kind friendship with the strange Benjamin Button, as she flickers in and out of his life, she ends up falling in love with him Daisy’s similar yet contrasting personality steers away from the common golden girls found in Fitzgerald’s novel because although headstrong, Daisy’s character is not cruel. Unlike Judy Jones, Daisy does in fact love her partner. In Fitzgerald’s work, this is not a common occurrence, as he bases character relationships with his own experiences. “Would you still love me if I were old and saggy?” quotes daisy. “Would you still love me if I were young and had acne? When I’m afraid of what’s under the stairs? Or if I end up wetting the bed?” quotes Benjamin. The author’s intention of his quote is to enhance Daisy’s kindness towards her relationship with benjamin. This is so significant for her character as she truly loves Benjamin and what they have is pure. A strong connection can be made between Daisy and the golden girl is her determination.  Daisy isn’t going to let anyone else determine her life. If she wants something, she’s not afraid to take it. This is a critical asset to her unique traits. “I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.” daisy is incredibly ambitious about her dancing career. Ambition can be a powerful weapon, her beauty and self-driven character has the potential for a  dangerous women. Though she never thought to use her strong traits in such an awful manner. She is the golden girl who lacks the narcissistic characteristics that Fitzgerald’s other females carry. 

Through the authors writing, the golden girl has become a significant principle. from the novels and adapted film, Fitzgerald has fabricated the structure of the golden girl,  She is magnetic and alluring to the men around her he is able to represent that her beauty truly reinforces her status and reputation of wealth. The meaningful message that should be taken away from this novel is to emphasize this underlying power a woman can have over the males in her. Where there is power danger tends to linger. A woman’s beauty is one source of her strength. But everything depends on how you use it. Some of Fitzgerald’s female express it while others don’t, which is fundamentally dependent on her charismatics.