okay i just finished reading the secret history and while i’m new to all the different theories and discussions i want to get something off my chest that i haven’t seen a lot of people talking about: the parallels to the great gatsby.
obviously tartt is a fan and references it in the book but like:
-unreliable narrator who is gay and that is a reason why we shouldn’t trust him (not like that). i think the are they gay? video on great gatsby is where i heard it but f scott fitzgerald said that gay people are like morally wavering and therefore are easy to sway and bad. so when nick has his little tryst with mr. mckee its like look at him he’s morally gray blah blah. richard’s queerness doesn’t make him automatically bad or untrustworthy, but his unwillingness to admit it shows that he doesn’t have a clear understanding of himself or his desires. i love her spin on that.
-richard and nick both being liars but nick doesn’t admit to it and richard thinks he’s good at it. go off king.
-“old man” vs “old sport” even though richard thinks he’s gatsby, bunny is gatsby and richard clearly more nick. bunny’s family’s wealth is newer, he’s obsessed with the idea of a woman he should have, and he literally calls richard “old boy.” bunny is also popular and ultimately gets left behind by the evil characters he’s surrounded by. richard also sees this when he gets shot, but the twist is WHY didnt you see that coming??? you already had time to learn your lesson. henry is also gatsby in a way, as richard idolizes him and does all his errands, but i think that points more to richard/nick similarities than henry and gatsby. richard and nick both survive the events but are left cold.
-francis and jordan. rich socialites born in the world they don’t really want to escape, but are also kind of a middle ground. papenathy rise up.
-daisy and camilla. both of them are smarter than they let on, but choose to appear coy and innocent. deceptive in an unassuming manner, letting people’s assumptions or expectations of them allow them to keep their actions unexamined. both are equally victimized and villainized by the narrative.
-tgg unfortunately does not have a character as cool as judy poovey. jordan parallels are there but not in my heart.
finally, the secret history is an incredibly unique and inspired book and i would never say she like ripped of tgg or even modeled the story off it. i also have several problems with tgg, it’s not one of my favorite books but it’s still thought provoking.
i actually think tsh takes a lot of my problems with tgg and creates a more interesting conversation around them. i think she read it and was like i can make this idea 10x better and DID. and that’s why i think the parallels are so cool.
