Literature Study: F. Scott FItzgerald

As we turn to the fall season I still hang on to remnants of various phases from the summer. It was a summer of Latin Culture, music appreciation, Ernest Hemingway, visual art, Spanish culture, and of course French culture. I've especially been intrigued once again to the 1920s Jazz age, and the group of writers known as the Lost Generation. This fascination probably all started from one of my all time favorite films, Midnight in Paris. I made a thorough study on this topic back in 2014 with various posts including, Paris in the 1920s. It was during that film that I learned of this close circle of artists that lived in Paris, which included Ernest Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald. 

I recently finished Hemingway's memoir of his time in Paris known as A Moveable Feast. This was such a great book to be inside the author's mind as he recounted his day-to-day experiences Paris. This included his relation with his wife Hadley, and his association with other artists of the time such as Gertrude Stein, Sylvia Beach (book publisher and owner of Shakespeare and Company Bookstore), James Joyce, Ford Madox Ford, Ezra Pound, and the Fitzgeralds. I especially found the few chapters about the Fitzgeralds to be very fascinating. While it seems the depiction is always that Zelda was the crazy eccentric, Hemingway makes quite clear that Scott was also overly dramatic. His account of their trip to Lyon demonstrates Fitzgerald's brilliance but also his recklessness and alcoholic tendencies. His devotion to Zelda however was unquestionable. I especially came to further understand this in the television series, Z: The Beginning of Everything. 

The name Scott Fitzgerald has been well known to me since I can remember, long before I was ever familiar with the name Ernest Hemingway. I'm pretty sure in school we discussed his masterpiece novel, The Great Gatsby, frequently in literature classes. I was familiar with the story and had even seen the 1974 adaptation of the film starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow, but it was the 2013 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio that made me a true fan of the novel. DiCaprio is such a great historical actor, and he really brought the obsessive lead character of Jay Gatsby to life in the backdrop of New York City 1920s. While this was Fitzgerald's magum opus, he wrote other great works set during the Jazz Age such as The Beautiful and Damned (1922), Tales of the Jazz Age (1922) and Tender is the Night (1934). I soon intend to read Tender is the Night, but first I want to better understand the life of this iconic American author. 

Early Life and Ginevra King

Francis Scott Fitzgerald was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1896 to a middle class Catholic family. He was named after Francis Scott Key who had written the Star Spangled Banner. From Minnesota his father moved the family to Buffalo, New York where Scott spent most of his childhood years. As a young boy Scott displayed great intelligence and affection for books. In high school he wrote for the school newspaper and quickly gained recognition for his talent. In 1913 he enrolled in Princeton University eager to become a great writer, he joined literary circles and wrote for various school publications. 

While in college he met his first love Ginevra King, a wealth
y aristocrat from Chicago. Much to the dismay of her father, they dated for several years and she became the inspiration to much of his writings. This included the character of Isabelle Borgne from This Side of Paradise and Daisy Buchanan from the Great Gatsby. Ginevra was mad in love with Scott, however her family disapproved of his lower class and what they considered his dead-end profession in writing and the relationship came to an end. In response to this the heartbroken Scott decided to enlist in the army at the onset of WWI, with intents to die in battle.          

Meeting Zelda Sayre

In June of 1918 while stationed at a military fort outside Montgomery, Alabama Scott met the southern belle Zelda Sayre at a country club. Although he still had strong affections towards Ginevra, after she married, Scott decided to fully dedicate himself to Zelda. Luckily the war ended before Scott was sent to the battlefronts in Europe, and he began to spend more time with Zelda in Alabama. In 1919 Scott moved to New York City eager to find work as a writer, while he continued to write to Zelda. He was however unable to convince her of his financial stability and so their relationship fizzled. 

Scott eventually found some work for an advertising agency but he still lived mostly in poverty that first year in New York. He often struggled with depression during this time, having lost two romances in Ginevra and now Zelda and nearly committed suicide several times. Scott later moved back into his parent's home in Saint Paul, feeling utterly defeated. It was here that he put forth all his effort and personal experiences into the book This Side of Paradise. The book was a fictional account of his years in Princeton and his romances with Ginevra and Zelda. By the winter of 1920 the book was published and quickly became a bestseller. Scott was overjoyed to have finally achieved his lifelong dream to be a famous writer. Shortly after he had achieved fame he re-united with Zelda with a newly acquired wealth status. They married in the spring of 1920 (however Scott still preferred Ginevra over Zelda).  

Jazz Age in New York City

The Fitzgerald couple were instantly celebrities where they lived a happy and lavish life in New York City. They were renown for their carefree childish behavior and frequent public displays of affection. It was during this great period of happiness in the early 1920s that Scott coined the term the Jazz Age. Giving homage to the newly emerging musical style, Scott saw this era as a cultural renaissance of social liberation. He and Zelda became frequent party-goers and also heavy drinkers during this time. In the winter of 1921 they had their only child named Francis Scott. Upon the birth of her daughter, Zelda uttered that she hoped she would be beautiful little fool. A famous line that Scott would later use in his novel The Great Gatsby.

In 1922 the Fitzgeralds moved to Long Island, where Scott finished and published his second novel The Beautiful and Damned. This was once again a personalized fiction of his life, pertaining to an artist that goes bankrupt and then falls out of grace with his wife (based off of Zelda). He wrote many short stories including the famous Curious Case of Benjamin Button. He later published many of these short stories that year in a book titled Tales of the Jazz Age. By 1923 Scott had begun to grow bored of his upper class lifestyle in Long Island. It was here however that he met his mysterious wealthy neighbor, Max Gerlach who would become the inspiration for the character of Jay Gatsby. Max was a WWI vet, millionaire bootlegger, who threw massive parties and frequently used the term, "Old Sport".    

France and The Great Gatsby

In 1924 seeking a new inspirational environment the Fitzgeralds moved to France, where Scott began writing his 3rd novel, The Great Gatsby. The book was once again a personalized experience of his upper class life in New York, and his romance with Ginevra. Scott could relate to this self-made man of Jay Gatsby, who became a millionaire but still was never good enough for the true aristocrat Daisey (a reference to his failed relationship with Ginevra due to class difference). His work on this book however was often interrupted due to quarrels with his wife Zelda. She had become jealous of his success, preferred to party, and even begun having an affair with a French pilot. 

After this affair came to an end, the Fitzgeralds moved to Rome in 1925 where Scott finally finished his novel. The book was released in April of 1925 and quickly received critical acclaim however did not sell as well as his previous works. The book was not considered a masterpiece classic until after his death, and was especially celebrated for it's artistic cover known as the Celestial Eyes. To this day it has been considered a staple of classic American literature. However in his lifetime Scott never truly felt the proper success that this book would later receive.  

In 1926 the Fitzgeralds traveled back and forth from the French Rivera to Paris. It was during this time that Scott became associated with other fellow writers such as Ernest Hemingway in what would become known as the Lost Generation. Hemingway and Scott became close friends, however Zelda was never fond of Hemingway's crude style. The relationship between Scott and Zelda continued to grow more toxic while in Europe much ado to their party lifestyle. Each of them would partake in extramarital relationships for the sole purpose of making the other jealous. By the end of 1926 they decided it would be best if they left Europe and returned to America. 

Hollywood and Delaware

The Fitzgerald's continued their lavish party lifestyle in Hollywood, where Scott pursue new interests in film screenwriting. However once again their relationship was strained due to a new affair Scott had with actress Lois Moran. This resentment caused the couple to leave Hollywood and relocate to Delaware in 1927. It was during this time Scott completed his fourth and final novel Tender is the Night. It was yet another personal experience for Scott who saw himself this time as a psychiatrist dealing with his looney wife (based off of Zelda). In the story the Dr. also has an affair with an affluential young actress (based off of Moran).    

It was during this time that Scott's wife Zelda had begun to show serious signs of mental illness (which he used as material in the book). She attempted several times to commit suicide and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Zelda however still managed to complete her own artwork and finished a novel during this time in 1932, Save me the Waltz (the book however did not garner much success). Scott published his book two years later in 1934 and also it initially received poor criticism. Similar to the Great Gatsby however the book great in legacy over time.  

Final Years in Hollywood

By the mid-1930s amidst the Great Depression the Fitzgerald's fame and fortune began to decline. Between their lavish lifestyle and the costs of Zelda's medical expenses the couple soon found themselves in serious financial struggles. Scott's alcoholism had reached new levels at this point in which he was hardly ever sober. This would soon cause to various health issues such as tuberculosis. The couple became infamous tabloid stories due to Zelda's frequent visits to insane asylums and Scott's frequent visits to the hospital. In 1937 Scott found brief work as a screenwriter for MGM once again in Hollywood. 

By this point Scott and Zelda began to drift apart. In 1938 Scott met again with his 1st love Ginevra but the meeting was a disaster due to his inebriated state. He then dated a British journalist, Sheilah Graham, for the last few remaining years of his life. However Scott could never get over the guilt of Zelda's insanity as well as his declining fame. He was unable to achieve film success in Hollywood which only increased his depression, alcoholism, and deteriorating health. Despite a brief lapse of sobriety he suffered suddenly from a heart attack and died in December 1940, at the age of 44. Zelda was devastated by the loss and continued to struggle with bouts of mental illness. She was tragically killed in a fire at a mental institution in 1948.     

  Famous Scott Fiztgerald Writings

• This Side of Paradise (1920)
• 
  The Ice Palace (1920)
• Bernice Bobs her Hair (1920)
  
• May Day (1920)
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (1922)
• The Beautiful and the Damned (1922)
• The Diamond as Big as the Ritz (1922)
• Winter Dreams (1922)
• Absolution (1924)
• The Great Gatsby (1925)
• The Rich Boy (1926)
• Babylon Revisited (1931)
• Tender is the Night (1934)