WebQuest
The Not So Roaring Twenties
Process
F. Scott Fitzgerald Profile (Hulton Archive)
The Author
Remember discussing how powerful Americans felt coming out of the ruins of World War I? F. Scott Fitzgerald was certainly no exception to that generalization. Although the 1920s ushered in a culture where “the distance between haves and have-nots [was] quite noticeable” it also brought a “world in which…rewards were quick and success came early” (Hoffman 310). Fitzgerald happened to be on the winning side of the token that “was very good for some talents, bad for others” (Stevenson 123). Indeed, if anyone had told a young boy growing up in the early 1900s in Minnesota that he would one day be credited with defining not only one of the icons of the 1920s – the flapper – but the entire era itself, he might have scoffed (Boardman 61, 77; Stevenson 122, 141). Yet, in 1924 he wrote a friend saying that, “I have enormous power in me now” (qtd. in Stevenson 122).
And he did, for a while at least. Charles Scribner III, former president of the major publishing company Charles Scribner’s Sons, notes that “F. Scott Fitzgerald remains one of the most enduring American novelists of this century.” He continues to describe one of Fitzgerald’s most well known novels, The Great Gatsby, as being written “with almost miraculous economy and flawless craftsmanship” (ix). Fitzgerald’s magical description of the Roaring Twenties captured reader’s hearts and satiated their appetite to live a life free of inhibitions, a life which Fitzgerald lived himself.
F. Scott Fitzgerald divided his time between dwelling in France and residing in America. This was not an unusual habit for the time period for three main reasons. First, Europe was abuzz “in images and ideas to dazzle, puzzle, alarm, and enchant” after World War I (Stevenson 78), which naturally attracted artistic minds. Second, the cost of living was far cheaper in France than in the United States, which was very appealing to “starving artists” and struggling authors. Finally, expatriating was simply trendy; many Americans chose to leave because of the prohibition laws at the time (Boardman 76), and others chose to leave “as a grand gesture of renunciation, [because] the act of leaving the United States for Paris had its dramatic values…” (Hoffman 314).
Whatever Fitzgerald’s reasons were, he enjoyed life with his wife Zelda, and his writing clearly mirrors the indulgences in which he partook (Scribner ix). A critical insight into Fitzgerald's life reveals that Fitzgerald "became an overnight sensation" (Dickstein 289) after he published This Side of Paradise (1920), which is based on his own experiences. He and Zelda "embarked on a decade-long odyssey as the shining young couple whose beauty, charm, and sense of fun embodied the devil-may-care spirit of the new postwar generation" (Dickstein 290). Yet Fitzgerald never tried to deceive himself or his readers; such a high level of superfluity was not self-sustaining. As the Roaring Twenties neared an end, the extravagance of the decade began to decline. The layers of glitter that sheathed the dirty exterior of life – those layers that covered the scars of World War I – started to wear off of everything, including the lives of Fitzgerald’s characters. F. Scott Fitzgerald himself did not even escape unscathed. The Great Depression did not discriminate, and Fitzgerald "would become an emblem of failure, a back number" (Dickstein 291).
Matthew Bruccoli, the “lead authority on F. Scott Fitzgerald,” describes the progress of Tender Is the Night in his reader’s companion to the novel. Fitzgerald took seven years to complete the novel, but the novel he began was not ultimately the novel he finished. What started out as a work of pure fiction, though set in the French Riviera where Fitzgerald resided, turned into a bittersweet reflection of his life. As Fitzgerald toiled through his writing, his wife Zelda had a mental breakdown. Bruccoli recounts that Zelda was hospitalized in April 1930 and again when she relapsed just two years later (2-3). Thus came the inspiration for the character of Nicole, who spent her own fair share of time in mental hospitals through the course of the novel.
Nevertheless, Bruccoli assures readers that “Tender [Is the Night] is not about psychiatry.” Instead, he explains, “the dominant theme [is] the deterioration of a personality under the distractions and dissipations of expatriate life in its most attractive form” (4). And yet, though Fitzgerald did not intentionally develop the theme of mental illness within the novel itself, the theme lingers in the background. The novel may culminate in Dr. Diver’s quiet failure, but Nicole’s illness may have actually instigated the downfall.
Briefly review the novel’s summary and key characters if necessary; as you review, think about how the history of the decade, coupled with Fitzgerald’s personal experiences, influenced Tender Is the Night. Then Dive In deeper and see for yourself how much you believe Nicole’s illness impacted the events of the novel.
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A Summary
Description: Characters
Dick Diver
Dick is an American psychiatrist who lives in France as an expatriate. He is married to Nicole Diver, and together they have two children, Lanier and Topsy. They own a small resort in the French Riviera that mainly attracts Americans (Fitzgerald 17-18). In the beginning of the novel Dick is a well-respected man, both professionally and personally (Fitzgerald 1-22). His work was interrupted by an order to serve in the Army at the tail end of WWI (Fitzgerald 117), yet he was able to establish himself professionally after the war and publish his first book (Fitzgerald 118). Against the advice of two co-workers, and indeed his own conscience, Dick married a former patient (Fitzgerald 141). Thus began his downward spiral as he struggled to maintain a life as both a doctor and husband (Fitzgerald 168, 170). Dick’s specific whereabouts were unknown at the close of the novel, and the reader is left wondering what exactly has become of him (Fitzgerald 315).
Nicole Diver
Nicole Diver (née Warren) is the daughter of a wealthy American (Fitzgerald 53, 125, 137). When she was about 16 years old she had a mental breakdown; it is revealed that she was molested by her father just months before her breakdown. Her father sends her to Europe to recover in a mental hospital (Fitzgerald 126-130). During her stay she meets Dick and falls in love (Fitzgerald 154-155). After she is declared “cured” they marry, despite some hesitation on Dick’s part (Fitzgerald 141). She has several more breakdowns during the course of their marriage (Fitzgerald 161). By the end of the novel, Nicole marries a minor character, Tommy Barban, leaving Dick essentially ruined (Fitzgerald 314).
Key Events
Although these events do not necessarily directly correlate with the theme of mental illness (and they are not all inclusive), they may give you a better insight into how the history and novel relate.
References to World War I:
Dick and friends visit the Beaumont Hamel (Fitzgerald 56-59). Bruccoli explains that this location was the “site of a battle during the first day of the Somme offensive…where the Newfoundlanders suffered more than 90 percent casualties in half an hour” (78).
Dick claimed his involvement in WWI was limited. He was a Captain in the Army, and saw no actual fighting (Fitzgerald 119). However, Fitzgerald makes two allusions to the idea that Dick may have been more affected than he initially believed (116, 119).
Dick dreams about war. Upon waking he makes a note of his dreams and jots down “Non-combatant’s shell-shock” (Fitzgerald 180).
References to American nationalism and pride
Rosemary’s travel on a European train does not match that of an American experience, in which trains are “absorbed in an intense destiny of their own, and scornful of people on another world less swift and breathless” (Fitzgerald 14).
Nicole makes a statement regarding an American couple that she finds distasteful yet, she says, “still, they’re preferable to those British last summer who kept shouting about: ‘Isn’t the sea blue […]’” (Fitzgerald 20).
In a train station the group of “well-to-do” Americans stand out “with frank new faces, intelligent, considerate, thoughtless, thought-for… When there were enough Americans on the platform the first impression of their immaculacy and their money began to fade into a vague racial dusk that hindered and blinded both them and their observers” (Fitzgerald 83).
After Dick’s quarrel with a cab driver he lands in an Italian jail where he laments “Are there any English? Are there any Americans? Are there any English? Are there any – oh, my God! You dirty Wops!” (Fitzgerald 228).
After his own incident, Dick assists two Americans who are in a French jail. Dick informs the police that “the French government wants to encourage American touring – so much so that in Paris this summer there’s an order that Americans can’t be arrested except for the most serious offenses” (Fitzgerald 305).
References to the “roar” of Twenties America
Dick and Nicole’s friends express great interest in Rosemary Hoyt, the actress famous for her breakthrough role as “Daddy’s Girl” (Fitzgerald 7).
Rosemary arrives in France with her mother and is “overwhelmed by the sudden flatness that comes over American travellers in quiet foreign places” (Fitzgerald 13).
Dick’s time in France is spent extravagantly as he continues to receive military pay. He comments “How’s that for a government on the grand scale that knows its future great men?” (Fitzgerald 132). Fitzgerald points out that “the post-war months in France, and the lavish liquidations taking place under the aegis of American splendor, had affected Dick’s outlook” (133).
Nicole demonstrates a love for American records and music, even though she lives in France. She has her sister send her phonograph records and is able to recite many song titles from memory (Fitzgerald 135).
References to psychology/psychologists
Fitzgerald makes at least four separate references to schizophrenia and the prognosis of the illness; Nicole is diagnosed as a schizophrenic (128), her chances of recovery are practically non-existent (130), and after she has a breakdown Dick acknowledges that “Nicole was alternately a person to whom nothing need to be explained and one to whom nothing could be explained” – the true definition of a schizophrenic (191). However, in one particular exchange, Dick tries to justify Nicole’s erratic behavior by explaining that “she’s a schizoid – a permanent eccentric. You can’t change that… nothing is going to be crazy – Nicole is all fresh and happy, you needn’t be afraid” (151).
Nicole simultaneously claims that she is cured and acknowledges her continued illness (Fitzgerald 121-124, 154, 161, 187, 301).
References to Freud occur on the following pages: 115, 131, 169, 176, and 194.
References to Jung occur on the following pages: 117, 176, and 194.
One reference to Adler occurs on the following page: 176.
Description: Characters
Dick Diver
Dick is an American psychiatrist who lives in France as an expatriate. He is married to Nicole Diver, and together they have two children, Lanier and Topsy. They own a small resort in the French Riviera that mainly attracts Americans (Fitzgerald 17-18). In the beginning of the novel Dick is a well-respected man, both professionally and personally (Fitzgerald 1-22). His work was interrupted by an order to serve in the Army at the tail end of WWI (Fitzgerald 117), yet he was able to establish himself professionally after the war and publish his first book (Fitzgerald 118). Against the advice of two co-workers, and indeed his own conscience, Dick married a former patient (Fitzgerald 141). Thus began his downward spiral as he struggled to maintain a life as both a doctor and husband (Fitzgerald 168, 170). Dick’s specific whereabouts were unknown at the close of the novel, and the reader is left wondering what exactly has become of him (Fitzgerald 315).
Nicole Diver
Nicole Diver (née Warren) is the daughter of a wealthy American (Fitzgerald 53, 125, 137). When she was about 16 years old she had a mental breakdown; it is revealed that she was molested by her father just months before her breakdown. Her father sends her to Europe to recover in a mental hospital (Fitzgerald 126-130). During her stay she meets Dick and falls in love (Fitzgerald 154-155). After she is declared “cured” they marry, despite some hesitation on Dick’s part (Fitzgerald 141). She has several more breakdowns during the course of their marriage (Fitzgerald 161). By the end of the novel, Nicole marries a minor character, Tommy Barban, leaving Dick essentially ruined (Fitzgerald 314).
Key Events
Although these events do not necessarily directly correlate with the theme of mental illness (and they are not all inclusive), they may give you a better insight into how the history and novel relate.
References to World War I:
Dick and friends visit the Beaumont Hamel (Fitzgerald 56-59). Bruccoli explains that this location was the “site of a battle during the first day of the Somme offensive…where the Newfoundlanders suffered more than 90 percent casualties in half an hour” (78).
Dick claimed his involvement in WWI was limited. He was a Captain in the Army, and saw no actual fighting (Fitzgerald 119). However, Fitzgerald makes two allusions to the idea that Dick may have been more affected than he initially believed (116, 119).
Dick dreams about war. Upon waking he makes a note of his dreams and jots down “Non-combatant’s shell-shock” (Fitzgerald 180).
References to American nationalism and pride
Rosemary’s travel on a European train does not match that of an American experience, in which trains are “absorbed in an intense destiny of their own, and scornful of people on another world less swift and breathless” (Fitzgerald 14).
Nicole makes a statement regarding an American couple that she finds distasteful yet, she says, “still, they’re preferable to those British last summer who kept shouting about: ‘Isn’t the sea blue […]’” (Fitzgerald 20).
In a train station the group of “well-to-do” Americans stand out “with frank new faces, intelligent, considerate, thoughtless, thought-for… When there were enough Americans on the platform the first impression of their immaculacy and their money began to fade into a vague racial dusk that hindered and blinded both them and their observers” (Fitzgerald 83).
After Dick’s quarrel with a cab driver he lands in an Italian jail where he laments “Are there any English? Are there any Americans? Are there any English? Are there any – oh, my God! You dirty Wops!” (Fitzgerald 228).
After his own incident, Dick assists two Americans who are in a French jail. Dick informs the police that “the French government wants to encourage American touring – so much so that in Paris this summer there’s an order that Americans can’t be arrested except for the most serious offenses” (Fitzgerald 305).
References to the “roar” of Twenties America
Dick and Nicole’s friends express great interest in Rosemary Hoyt, the actress famous for her breakthrough role as “Daddy’s Girl” (Fitzgerald 7).
Rosemary arrives in France with her mother and is “overwhelmed by the sudden flatness that comes over American travellers in quiet foreign places” (Fitzgerald 13).
Dick’s time in France is spent extravagantly as he continues to receive military pay. He comments “How’s that for a government on the grand scale that knows its future great men?” (Fitzgerald 132). Fitzgerald points out that “the post-war months in France, and the lavish liquidations taking place under the aegis of American splendor, had affected Dick’s outlook” (133).
Nicole demonstrates a love for American records and music, even though she lives in France. She has her sister send her phonograph records and is able to recite many song titles from memory (Fitzgerald 135).
References to psychology/psychologists
Fitzgerald makes at least four separate references to schizophrenia and the prognosis of the illness; Nicole is diagnosed as a schizophrenic (128), her chances of recovery are practically non-existent (130), and after she has a breakdown Dick acknowledges that “Nicole was alternately a person to whom nothing need to be explained and one to whom nothing could be explained” – the true definition of a schizophrenic (191). However, in one particular exchange, Dick tries to justify Nicole’s erratic behavior by explaining that “she’s a schizoid – a permanent eccentric. You can’t change that… nothing is going to be crazy – Nicole is all fresh and happy, you needn’t be afraid” (151).
Nicole simultaneously claims that she is cured and acknowledges her continued illness (Fitzgerald 121-124, 154, 161, 187, 301).
References to Freud occur on the following pages: 115, 131, 169, 176, and 194.
References to Jung occur on the following pages: 117, 176, and 194.
One reference to Adler occurs on the following page: 176.
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