The relationship between Tom Buchanan and Daisy in The Great Gatsby is one of toxic reliance characterized by privilege, infidelity, and detachment from genuine emotional connection. At the start, their marriage is tense, but they stay together because they share each other’s wealth and social standing. Tom, flagrantly arrogant and possessive, shows evident disrespect for Daisy’s feelings. This is shown through his affairs with his mistresses, especially Myrtle Wilson. However, he still exercises control over his wife. Daisy, on the other hand, is passive and disillusioned, resorting to the materialism and economic security she has instead of genuine affection or love.
Their relationship is founded on convenience instead of real emotional closeness. Tom’s domineering and dominant personality is contrasted with Daisy’s shallow beauty and love of luxury. Although she is unfaithful to Tom with Gatsby, Daisy is still not willing to completely leave Tom behind even when Gatsby presents her with an opportunity for a new life. Her decision to stay with Tom at the end of the novel is a reflection of her dependence on the safety and security that their status affords her, though at the cost of personal happiness.
Tom and Daisy, in a way, are a symbol of the morals and typical relationships of the upper class during the Jazz Age. Their failure to take responsibility, their carelessness toward others, and their egocentrism are all symbols of the emptiness behind the extravagance and glory of the world Fitzgerald depicts in The Great Gatsby.
