You ever read The Great Gatsby and hit that weird apartment scene and think — wait, who are these people again? The ones crammed into a New York love nest with Tom Buchanan and a bottle of whiskey? If you're trying to identify Catherine and Mr and Mrs McKee, you're not alone. They show up fast, say strange things, and vanish just as quickly.
The short version is: they're minor characters who say a lot about the world Fitzgerald was painting. But if you're writing a paper, prepping for a quiz, or just genuinely confused, let's pull them apart properly Worth keeping that in mind..
What Is the Role of Catherine and Mr and Mrs McKee
Here's the thing — these three aren't random filler. They're the awkward supporting cast in Chapter 2, the "Valley of Ashes" chapter, and they orbit Myrtle Wilson, Tom's mistress. Catherine is Myrtle's sister. The McKees are the couple who live downstairs in the same apartment building where Tom keeps Myrtle.
It sounds simple, but the gap is usually here.
Catherine
Catherine is young, blonde, and loud about her opinions. Practically speaking, she's the one who insists that Tom and Myrtle are in love and that Daisy "doesn't understand" Tom. She also claims to be "sensitive" while chain-smoking and gossiping about everyone in the room. In practice, she's a mirror for Myrtle's delusions — she validates the affair and makes it sound almost noble Less friction, more output..
Mr McKee
Chester McKee is a photographer. He barely speaks unless he's talking about his art or his apartment. He's pale, feminine-coded in the narration, and weirdly passive. Day to day, nick describes him as "shy" and notes he's always about to show someone his photographs. He's the kind of guy who disappears into the background of his own marriage Nothing fancy..
Mrs McKee
Lucille McKee is more present. She's sharp-tongued, a little bitter, and full of stories about people she knows who've fallen from grace. Now, her dialogue is ugly, and that's the point. She's the one who talks about a woman who "married a little kike" and then got thrown out of a society clique. She's social climbing with no ladder Not complicated — just consistent. Which is the point..
Why It Matters
Why does any of this matter? Because most people skip these characters and miss what Fitzgerald is doing Not complicated — just consistent..
The apartment scene isn't just comic relief. In real terms, tom, Myrtle, Catherine, and the McKees are all performing class. But none of them belong to the old money world of East Egg, and they know it. So they drink, they shout, they lie. On the flip side, it's a pressure cooker. The McKees especially show the desperation of the aspiring middle class — Chester with his photography, Lucille with her gossip.
And Catherine? She's the emotional glue of the affair's fake logic. Without her, Myrtle might wobble. With her, the affair feels justified. That's worth knowing if you're analyzing gender or complicity in the book Easy to understand, harder to ignore..
Real talk — if you can't identify Catherine and Mr and Mrs McKee clearly, you'll miss one of the sharpest class critiques in American literature. It's not about Gatsby's parties. It's about this cramped, smoky apartment where everyone is pretending.
How to Identify Them in the Text
If you're re-reading or scanning for these characters, here's how to spot each one without confusion The details matter here..
Look for the Apartment Setting
The clearest signal is location. The McKees are already there or come up from downstairs. Day to day, catherine arrives with Myrtle. Now, any scene at 158th Street, in the "small, stuffy" apartment Tom rents for Myrtle, is where all three appear. If the paragraph smells like cheap perfume and bad whiskey, you're in the right place The details matter here..
Not the most exciting part, but easily the most useful.
Catherine's Dialogue Tags
Catherine speaks in absolutes. And "I'm sensitive," she says. "I think everything's terrible anyhow." She's the one who tells Nick that Tom would never leave Daisy because Daisy is Catholic (she isn't — Catherine just makes it up). When you see a character backing Myrtle's story with zero evidence, that's Catherine Still holds up..
And yeah — that's actually more nuanced than it sounds.
Mr McKee's Photographer Markers
Chester McKee is identified by his profession and his weird energy. That's why he mentions his "dark-room" and his portraits. In real terms, he's the man who gets dragged off to the bathroom by Tom at the end of the chapter — a moment critics still argue about. If a character is described as having a "womanish" name or being carried out limp, that's McKee.
Mrs McKee's Bitter Asides
Lucille is the one with the stories. Plus, she talks about the "well-reviewed" woman who married badly. Practically speaking, she's practical in a cold way — offering to get Myrtle a dog, commenting on the apartment. If the speech sounds like a gossip column written by someone who's angry they weren't invited, that's Mrs McKee.
Cross-Check with Nick's Judgment
Nick Carraway narrates all of this. Because of that, if you're unsure who's who, trace the sentence back to Nick's description. He calls Catherine "slender" and notes her "pale, pretty" face. He finds the McKees tacky. He's not subtle about his dislike And that's really what it comes down to. And it works..
Common Mistakes People Make
Honestly, this is the part most guides get wrong. They lump all four apartment people together and call it a day.
One mistake: assuming the McKees are friends with Tom. Even so, they're not. Now, they're neighbors of Myrtle's building, and Tom barely tolerates them. He mocks Chester by lifting him up like luggage.
Another: thinking Catherine is Myrtle's friend. On the flip side, she's her sister. That relationship matters — it shows the affair has family permission, which makes Myrtle's position more tragic.
And people often miss that Mr McKee is a professional. He's not just a drunk neighbor. Consider this: he's an artist manqué, which fits Fitzgerald's pattern of men who could've been somebody. Skipping that detail weakens any essay about failure in the book.
I know it sounds simple — but it's easy to miss that Mrs McKee barely interacts with Tom directly. She talks at the room, not to him. That distance is intentional Easy to understand, harder to ignore..
Practical Tips for Students and Readers
If you need to write about these characters or just keep them straight, here's what actually works.
- Make a tiny cast card. One line each: Catherine = Myrtle's sister, loud, fake-sensitive. Chester = photographer, passive. Lucille = gossip, bitter. You'll never confuse them again.
- Quote the weird bits. Catherine's Catholic lie is gold for essays. McKee's bathroom exit is a debate starter. Use the strange moments — they're where meaning lives.
- Connect them to theme, not plot. They don't move the story. They reveal the setting's soul. Say that plainly and your analysis gets stronger.
- Don't overstate their importance. They're minor. But minor doesn't mean meaningless. Be precise: they show the fringe of Tom's world, not its center.
- Re-read Chapter 2 slowly. It's short. The whole apartment scene is maybe ten pages. You'll catch details — like Lucille's dog offer — that explain a lot.
Turns out, the people at the edges of Gatsby are often the most honest about its cruelty. They just say it while drunk And that's really what it comes down to..
FAQ
Who is Catherine in The Great Gatsby? Catherine is Myrtle Wilson's younger sister. She appears in Chapter 2 at Tom and Myrtle's apartment and supports the affair by spreading false claims, like saying Daisy is Catholic and won't divorce Tom.
What do Mr and Mrs McKee do for a living? Mr McKee (Chester) is a photographer. Mrs McKee (Lucille) isn't given a job in the text — she's portrayed as a society-gossip type who lives off her husband's income and her own connections Easy to understand, harder to ignore..
Are the McKees rich? No. They're middle-class aspiring types. They live in the same modest apartment building as Myrtle's love nest and clearly envy the wealth Tom represents without having any of it.
Why does Tom carry Mr McKee out of the bathroom? It's left ambiguous. In the text, Tom picks up the limp, drunk McKee and carries him into the bathroom to "clean him up." Many readers see it as mockery of McK
ee's helplessness, a small performance of dominance that mirrors the larger power imbalances in the novel. Others read it as a bizarre, almost tender interruption of the chaos — but either way, it underscores how casually Tom treats people as objects to be moved rather than subjects to be respected.
Is Lucille's offer of the dog important? Yes, though it's easy to laugh off. When Lucille casually mentions she could get Myrtle a dog "for ten dollars," it reveals how transactional even affection has become in this circle. A living creature is just another accessory, swapped as easily as a complaint about the heat. It's a tiny moment that echoes the book's broader indictment of a culture where everything — love, loyalty, pets — can be bought and forgotten.
In the end, the McKees, Catherine, and Lucille are not accidents of padding in Fitzgerald's slim novel. Now, they are the wallpaper of the Valley of Ashes' imaginary opposite: a rented, booze-soaked Manhattan where everyone is performing class they don't have and intimacy they don't feel. Reading them closely doesn't just clarify a confusing chapter — it hands you the key to the book's quietest argument, that the American Dream's waiting room is full of people smiling through their own erasure.
