Each individual has their own subjective definition of love. Each individual has a different idea of what love is. The intense feelings of love and affection can be incomparable. There is a thin line between obsession and love. This passion can grow to be colossal. It can be harmful to the people involved in a relationship when one creates a false narrative and has unrealistic expectations. The theme of obsessive loves is explored by Lord Byron in She Walks In Beauty and Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby. Both the characters in Lord Byron’s poem She Walks In Beauty and Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby reveal their intense love and devotion to a woman by their disturbing actions and personas.
In both Lord Byron’s poetry and Fitzgerald’s novel, Gatsby, the speaker shows his obsession with a specific woman. In She Walks In Beauty the speaker’s obsession with the woman is evident. He spends so much time with the woman that he is familiar with every facial feature. He describes her appearance in great detail. He says that “all the best from dark and bright/ Meets in her aspect and eyes.” (3-4). The speaker knows the exact light that compliments her eye color. This could be interpreted by some as an obsession since he seems to know every detail of the unnamed lady. Gatsby in The Great Gatsby is also obsessed with Daisy. Gatsby buys a new house to be close to Daisy when he reaches his dream of wealth. Jordan Baker tells Nick “It’s not strange at all ….” [Gatsby] purchased that house to be near Daisy (Fitzgerald, 65). Gatsby is clearly willing to go to great lengths, even to the point of being disturbingly extreme, in order for him and Daisy reunited. He is obsessive about having a perfect love relationship with her. Both Gatsby’s actions and those of the poet reveal the obsessions they have.
Both the poem and novel reveal both characters’ obsession. Lord Byron shows signs of obsession in his poem. He writes “Had halved the nameless Grace / That waves in every raven tree / Or gently lights over her face” (8-10). Illegible, he spends much time watching her. The extent of his infatuation is so obvious that it is almost disturbing. He is a strange man to explain that her dark hair is a sign of the beauty she has when he’s not even close to her. The Great Gatsby continues to show Gatsby’s obsession for Daisy by storing a scrapbook in his home. The scrapbook is filled with all of Daisy’s letters and photos from the times he saw her. He also constantly checked on her when he wasn’t living on West Egg. Baker tells Baker, “When you told Tom that you are a close friend of his, he abandoned the idea.” He doesn’t really know Tom. Yet, he admits to reading a Chicago newspaper every day for the past few years on the off chance that he might catch Daisy’s surname” (Fitzgerald, 66). The quote itself shows how obsessive he can be, constantly researching her and her actions, even when they are not in contact for years. Gatsby stalks Daisy through the newspaper. He knows details about her. Both Gatsby and the speaker display obsessive behavior that borders on creepy.
By their strange actions, both the poet and Gatsby demonstrate a similar obsessional love. She Walks In Beauty is a bizarre poem. He bizarrely describes her walking under stars as beautiful. He states “She walks as if the stars are shining in the sky, and she is beautiful like a night.” (1-2). He is clearly standing at a distance and observing her walk in the evening. It is very disturbing to watch her in secret. He’s so obsessed with her that he watches the unnamed girl from afar in the night. Gatsby does the same thing in Fitzgerald’s Novel. He performs a gesture that reveals his obsession over Daisy. Most nights, he stares at a green light near Daisy’s boat dock. Nick Carraway mentions Daisy’s cousin Nick Carraway’s “stretched arm towards the darkness in an odd way…I could have sworn that he was shaking.” I glanced out to sea and could only see a green light that was far and minute (Fitzgerald 20,). Gatsby looks at the light constantly in hopes of seeing Daisy again. The unmistakable love he has for her is the reason he does all of his mysterious and strange actions. His arms reaching towards the green sign symbolizes Daisy’s desire to be with him even though Tom is there. He is so obsessed that he’ll do anything just to get Daisy to return the love. Both Gatsby, the poet and the individual have extreme feelings about a particular woman.
Both the speaker of She Walks In Beauty, and Gatsby from The Great Gatsby show their obsessional love by their strange and bizarre actions. Gatsby shows his deep love by performing unusual and shocking acts. Their obsession with someone else becomes disturbing and unsettling. The obsessive behavior of both characters is evident and undeniable.