As the afternoon unfolds, Jay and Daisy grow more comfortable in each other’s presence. After excusing himself, allowing Daisy and Gatsby the opportunity to be alone together, Nick returns to find Gatsby glowing; “without a word or gesture of exultation a new well-being radiated from him and filled the little room.” Daisy, too, appears equally moved by the meeting and (not surprisingly) her voice, “full of aching, grieving beauty” gives away her happiness at the meeting. When Gatsby nears the peak of his comfort, he suggests the party adjourn to his house.
As the three people make their way up to and through Gatsby’s mansion, Gatsby revels in the impact his belongings have on Daisy. They have, in essence, accomplished that which he intended: They impress her. In fact, Gatsby is able to “[revalue] everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-love eyes.” Keep this image in mind during Chapter 9, when it is inverted as Gatsby’s father revalues his son based on the beauty and number of his material possessions. In another of the book’s memorable images, Gatsby takes out a pile of shirts and throws them in the air. The shirts keep coming, and Gatsby keeps throwing them. Shirts of every color, every style, and every texture become strewn about the room in a glaringly obvious display of his wealth. How can a man who isn’t well off afford to have such an array of shirts? The shirt’s impact is not lost on Daisy, who is always appreciative of a great display of materialism. In fact, the excess and bounty of Gatsby’s shirts causes her to put her face into them and cry, sad because she’s “never seen such — such beautiful shirts before.” Although a seemingly non-sensical statement, it is really a good indication of her true nature. She isn’t weeping for a lost love; rather she is weeping at the overt display of wealth she sees before her.
