Abstract
Many critics have noted the grail quest motif in The Great Gatsby, arguing that Fitzgerald portrays Jay Gatsby as a quester who symbolically seeks the grail in his pursuit of Daisy Buchanan. However, as Fitzgerald’s understanding of the grail quest was likely influenced by Jessie Weston’s From Ritual to Romance, the reading of Gatsby as quester and Daisy as grail is problematic. According to Weston, the grail was not a material object, nor was the quester’s task simply to obtain a tangible reward; instead, she believes that grail legend is a reinvention of ancient fertility cult rituals in which the Fisher King plays the role of the nature god, the quester is the counterpart of the cult initiates who worshipped the god, and the grail symbolizes the ultimate apotheosis of the initiate: gnosis of physical and spiritual life. Using From Ritual to Romance as a basis for analysis, this thesis offers a close reading of The Great Gatsby in which Nick Carraway plays the part of the quester and Gatsby fulfills the role of the Fisher King. This analysis is based on abundant evidence suggesting a close link between Gatsby and Adonis, the god Weston believes to be the archetype of the Fisher King, and between Nick and the nature cult initiates who sought transcendence through the god.