The Great American novel- themes then and now?

I have chosen to focus on how the themes in the novel The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald such as adultery and divorce may at the time be seen as a more serious offence than in today's society.It is arguable that in today's society these themes in the novel are perhaps seen as tame compared to some of the books on the bestsellers list today such as Fifty Shades of Grey.It is possible that the themes in the Great Gatsby that are meant to carry the 'shock factor' do not have the same impact on a 21st century audience.

 In the novel It appears quite obvious that Daisy wants to be with Gatsby and Tom wants to be with Myrtle, and yet there does not appear to be mentioned the idea of divorce. There are several reasons for this, the first being the impact it would have on the characters status in society, in the 1920's divorce was still seen as a rather negative shameful thing, Daisy and Tom had wealth and status within society and it appears they may not have considered a divorce for those reasons. In the case of Toms character he would never marry Myrtle as he would be marrying down in society which again would be the subject of gossip. It is possible also that for Daisy she may have stayed with Tom because she feared losing her child.In today's society divorce is arguably no longer a totally negative thing. This can be seen in the new phenomenon of a divorce party; a party to celebrate the end of a marriage.

In today's society if adultery is discovered its a serious issue however unlike in the novel it could be resolved with divorce which as previously mentioned was not an option for the characters. In my opinion the fact that in the novel many people know about Tom and Myrtles affair and yet say nothing perhaps reflect the idea that's is a very taboo subject that people don't speak off. However this could also be seen as reflection of how adultery is accepted at the time;no one appears to say otherwise.