Tender is the Night

Fitzgerald’s fourth novel and his last complete novel was a lengthy and somewhat depressing story of the dark period of his own life. The characters in the novel are all people who have “made it” in life, having riches and fame and living their luxury life as American expats in Europe. The main characters are the affluent couple Dick and Nicole Diver, as well as Rosemary Hoyt, a film starlet who becomes involved with the Divers’ affairs. The story largely centers around the rise and fall of Dick as he becomes crushed by both external, societal pressure brought by Nicole’s wealth, and from his own emotional turmoil brought by his love for Rosemary. Tragic falls are tried and true to Fitzgerald as his characters Jay Gatsby and Anthony Patch have both had their own respective falls in their own novels; yet, in this case the fall really pained me since Dick is so relatable to myself and many of my peers, ambitious young people who, in the future, might have material security or probably luxury and yet they can be struck down just as easily by factors out of their control.

There was a great amount of entropic chaos in the novel: these include random events that happen for seemingly no reason. There are several scenes of violence and murders, such as duels, murders, fist fights, that seem completely out of place with the rest of the novel. Of course, I’m sure these are intentional and they highlight the hand of the unknown and unpredictable; just because these people are filthy rich and retired in their youth doesn’t mean they have any lenience in fate’s hands. Dick starts out as the charming, extroverted person liked by everyone and ends up a dysfunctional alcoholic, whereas Nicole progressively gains more and more freedom from her schizophrenia and ends up much happier. Although the destructive aspect of fate is deeply disturbing to me as a reader, it’s the most important point for a novelist trying to portray his own reality.