Trapped in the desolate Valley of Ashes, Myrtle Wilson embodies raw vitality straining against the confines of class and circumstance in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.
As George Wilson’s discontented wife and Tom Buchanan’s ill-fated mistress, Myrtle desperately seeks escape through materialism and a dangerous affair.
Her fierce yearning for a more glamorous life fuels her choices but leads to a violent end, making her a poignant symbol of the era’s destructive illusions.
These 11 tragic Myrtle Wilson quotes with page numbers (Scribner 2020 ed.) capture her fierce energy, social aspirations, and devastating end.
Trapped Vitality: Myrtle in the Valley of Ashes
Fitzgerald immediately presents Myrtle as an intense life force, like a vibrant flower growing in cement, amidst the industrial decay surrounding her garage home.
“Then I heard footsteps on the stairs and in a moment the thickish figure of a woman blocked out the light from the office door. She (Myrtle) was in the middle thirties, and faintly stout, but she carried her surplus flesh sensuously as some women can… there was an immediately perceptible vitality about her as if the nerves of her body were continually smouldering.”
(Speaker: Nick Carraway as narrator describing Myrtle Wilson, Chapter 2, Page 25)
Nick’s first description highlights Myrtle’s assertive physical presence and simmering energy (“perceptible vitality… continually smouldering”). This contrasts with the lifeless valley, depicting her as a potent force yearning for expression beyond her dreary confines.
“Then the valley of ashes opened out on both sides of us, and I had a glimpse of Mrs. Wilson straining at the garage pump with panting vitality as we went by.”
(Speaker: Nick Carraway as narrator about Myrtle Wilson, Chapter 4, Page 68)
Even engaged in the mundane work of the garage, Myrtle radiates “panting vitality.” This brief glimpse reinforces her inherent energy, a life force visibly chafing against the oppressive environment of the Valley of Ashes. See how this bleak setting shapes its inhabitants.
“…mingling immediately with the cement color of the walls. A white ashen dust veiled his dark suit and his pale hair as it veiled everything in the vicinity – except his wife, who moved close to Tom.”
(Speaker: Nick Carraway describing George Wilson in contrast to Myrtle Wilson, Chapter 2, Page 26)
Myrtle’s vibrancy is thrown into sharper relief against her husband, George, who seems to dissolve into the ashen background. While dust obscures him, Myrtle makes a decisive move toward Tom, channeling her vitality toward the escape he represents.
Myrtle’s powerful energy fuels her desire to escape her social class, leading her to adopt the mannerisms and express the resentments she associates with a higher station.
Performing Class: Aspiration and Resentment
Driven by dissatisfaction with her marriage and desperate for a life of luxury, Myrtle attempts to perform wealth and status, mimicking upper-class attitudes while revealing her deep-seated insecurities.
“Mrs. Wilson had changed her costume some time before and was now attired in an elaborate afternoon dress of cream colored chiffon… With the influence of the dress her personality had also undergone a change. The intense vitality that had been so remarkable in the garage was converted into impressive hauteur.”
(Speaker: Nick Carraway as narrator about Myrtle Wilson, Chapter 2, Page 30)
Myrtle transforms herself with clothes bought with Tom’s money. Nick observes the “elaborate” dress altering her personality, converting her raw energy into a performance of “impressive hauteur”—an attempt to embody the upper-class identity she craves.
“I told that boy about the ice.” Myrtle raised her eyebrows in despair at the shiftlessness of the lower orders. “These people! You have to keep after them all the time.”
(Speaker: Myrtle Wilson), Chapter 2, Page 32)
Myrtle uses a condescending tone toward the apartment building’s staff (“lower orders”), mimicking the elitism she observes in Tom. This performance of disdain reveals her desperate need to assert social superiority, despite her own background.
“I married [George] because I thought he was a gentleman,” she said finally. “I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe.”
(Speaker: Myrtle Wilson), Chapter 2, Page 34)
Myrtle explicitly links her marital disappointment to George’s perceived lack of class (“gentleman,” “breeding”). Her crude dismissal reveals that social status and financial standing were central to her assessment of a husband’s worth. Discover George Wilson’s quiet desperation through his own words.
“I knew right away I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in, and never told me about it, and the man came after it one day when he was out…I gave it to him and then I lay down and cried…all afternoon.”
(Speaker: Myrtle Wilson about George Wilson, Chapter 2, Page 35)
The incident with the borrowed suit confirms Myrtle’s view of her marriage as a “mistake.” Discovering George’s poverty, not just his lack of refinement, solidified her resentment at being trapped in circumstances far below her aspirations.
Myrtle’s pursuit of escape through her affair with Tom provides only a temporary illusion, ultimately leading to violence, disillusionment, and a horrifying end.
The Dangerous Affair: Illusion, Violence, and Tragic End
Seeking refuge from the Valley of Ashes in Tom Buchanan’s wealthy world, Myrtle grasps at an illusion of belonging. However, the affair is marked by Tom’s underlying brutality and Myrtle’s fatal inability to understand the harsh realities of the world she desires to enter.
“It was on the two little seats facing each other that are always the last ones left on the train… All I kept thinking about, over and over, was ‘You can’t live forever; you can’t live forever.’”
(Speaker: Myrtle Wilson describing meeting Tom, Chapter 2, Page 36)
Myrtle justifies her impulsive decision to begin the affair with Tom by invoking a sense of carpe diem. The awareness of mortality (“You can’t live forever”) fuels her desire to seize the excitement and material comfort Tom represents, regardless of consequence.
“Some time toward midnight Tom Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson stood face to face discussing, in impassioned voices, whether Mrs. Wilson had any right to mention Daisy’s name. ‘Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!’ shouted Mrs. Wilson. ‘I’ll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai – ‘ Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand.”
(Dialogue/Narration: Myrtle Wilson and Tom Buchanan, Nick narrating, Chapter 2, Page 37)
Myrtle’s defiant chanting of Daisy’s name transgresses the unspoken rules of the affair and Tom’s sense of social propriety. Tom’s swift, brutal violence exposes the relationship’s true imbalance and the harsh consequences of challenging his authority. Learn more about Tom Buchanan’s possessiveness and capacity for violence.
“Michaelis and this man reached her first, but when they had torn open her shirtwaist, still damp with perspiration, they saw that her left breast was swinging loose like a flap, and there was no need to listen for the heart beneath. The mouth was wide open and ripped at the corners, as though she had choked a little in giving up the tremendous vitality she had stored for so long.”
(Speaker: Nick Carraway as narrator describing Myrtle Wilson‘s death, Chapter 7, Page 137)
Fitzgerald details Myrtle’s death with shocking physicality. The violent destruction of her body extinguishes the “tremendous vitality” that defined her, providing a gruesome end to her pursuit of a life beyond the ashes and underscoring the fatal danger posed by the careless rich.
“He ran over Myrtle like you’d run over a dog and never even stopped his car.’ There was nothing I could say, except the one unutterable fact that it wasn’t true.”
(Speaker: Tom Buchanan about Myrtle Wilson‘s death (falsely blaming Gatsby), Chapter 9, Page 178)
Tom’s crude description of Myrtle’s death reveals his callous indifference and deep-seated class prejudice. Comparing her to a “dog” strips her of humanity, highlighting his willingness to lie and dehumanize others to protect his standing.
Conclusion: A Life Extinguished
Myrtle Wilson embodies the fierce, tragic yearning for escape in The Great Gatsby. Her vibrant energy sets her apart from the desolate Valley of Ashes, yet this same vitality fuels her doomed affair with Tom Buchanan.
Myrtle’s story is a devastating commentary on the illusion of social mobility and the destructive power of careless wealth. These defining quotes capture her desperate aspirations, brief performance of belonging, and brutal end—a life violently extinguished by the very world she sought to join.
Witness the full scope of Fitzgerald’s tragedy: explore our complete collection of 79 hopeful and tragic quotes from The Great Gatsby.
A Note on Page Numbers & Edition:
Like Myrtle desperately seeking escape from the Valley of Ashes, page numbers for The Great Gatsby can differ across editions! We referenced these page numbers from the authoritative The Great Gatsby: The Only Authorized Edition (Scribner, November 17, 2020), ISBN-13: 978-1982149482. Always consult your specific copy to ensure accuracy.
Jeremy Mortis, founder of Ageless Investing, applies a rigorous analytical approach (the AAM framework) to distill timeless wisdom and contextualized quotes from classic literature, saving you time while deepening understanding. Learn more about Jeremy’s unique background and methodology on his author bio page.