The Accuracy of the Portrayal of the 1920s Woman in "The Great Gatsby"

Many American historians have described the 1920s as a "period which crystallized the vast social changes initiated in World War I. It was an era of carefree release" (Jenkins). One of the most significant legacies of this era was the loosening of restrictions on women. By this decade, "Victorianism and the turn of the century Gibson Girl were out, and in her place was a saucy, booze-drinking, cigarette smoking, modern women" (Rayburn). The Great Gatsby accurately depicts, with few exceptions, the women of the 1920s as having a much freer moral and social conduct than their predecessors.
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