A Brief Life of Fitzgerald

The dominant influences on F. Scott Fitzgerald were aspiration, literature, Princeton, Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, and alcohol. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September !, "#$%, the namesa&e and second cousin three times remo'ed of the author of the (ational )nthem. Fitzgerald*s gi'en names indicate his parents* pride in his father*s ancestry. +is father, ,dward, was from Maryland, with an allegiance to the -ld South and its 'alues. Fitzgerald*s mother, Mary .Mollie/ Mc0uillan, was the daughter of an 1rish immigrant who became wealthy as a wholesale grocer in St. Paul. 2oth were 3atholics. ,dward Fitzgerald failed as a manufacturer of wic&er furniture in St. Paul, and he became a salesman for Procter 4 5amble in upstate (ew 6or&. )fter he was dismissed in "$7#, when his son was twel'e, the family returned to St. Paul and li'ed comfortably on Mollie Fitzgerald*s inheritance. Fitzgerald attended the St. Paul )cademy8 his first writing to appear in print was a detecti'e story in the school newspaper when he was thirteen. 9uring "$"":"$"; he attended the (ewman School, a 3atholic prep school in (ew <ersey, where he met Father Sigourney Fay, who encouraged his ambitions for personal distinction and achie'ement. )s a member of the Princeton 3lass of "$"=, Fitzgerald neglected his studies for his literary apprenticeship. +e wrote the scripts and lyrics for the Princeton Triangle 3lub musicals and was a contributor to the Princeton Tiger humor magazine and the Nassau Literary Magazine. +is college friends included ,dmund >ilson and <ohn Peale 2ishop. -n academic probation and unli&ely to graduate, Fitzgerald ?oined the army in "$"= and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the infantry. 3on'inced that he would die in the war, he rapidly wrote a no'el, @The Aomantic ,gotistB8 the letter of re?ection from 3harles Scribner*s Sons praised the no'el*s originality and as&ed that it be resubmitted when re'ised. 1n <une "$"# Fitzgerald was assigned to 3amp Sheridan, near Montgomery, )labama. There he fell in lo'e with a celebrated belle, eighteen:year:old Zelda Sayre, the youngest daughter of an )labama Supreme 3ourt ?udge. The romance intensified Fitzgerald*s hopes for the success of his no'el, but after re'ision it was re?ected by Scribners for a second time. The war ended ?ust before he was to be sent o'erseas8 after his discharge in "$"$ he went to (ew 6or& 3ity to see& his fortune in order to marry. Cnwilling to wait while Fitzgerald succeeded in the ad'ertisement business and unwilling to li'e on his small salary, Zelda Sayre bro&e their engagement. Fitzgerald Duit his ?ob in <uly "$"$ and returned to St. Paul to rewrite his no'el as This Side of Paradise. 1t was accepted by editor MaEwell Per&ins of Scribners in September. Set mainly at Princeton and described by its author as @a Duest no'el,B This Side of Paradise traces the career aspirations and lo'e disappointments of )mory 2laine. 1n the fall:winter of "$"$ Fitzgerald commenced his career as a writer of stories for the mass: circulation magazines. >or&ing through agent +arold -ber, Fitzgerald interrupted wor& on his no'els to write moneyma&ing popular fiction for the rest of his life. The Saturday Evening Post

became Fitzgerald*s best story mar&et, and he was regarded as a @Post writer.B +is early commercial stories about young lo'e introduced a fresh characterF the independent, determined young )merican woman who appeared in @The -ffshore PirateB and @2ernice 2obs +er +air.B Fitzgerald*s more ambitious stories, such as @May 9ayB and @The 9iamond as 2ig as the Aitz,B were published in The Smart Set, which had a small circulation. The publication of This Side of Paradise on March %, "$ 7, made the twenty:four:year:old Fitzgerald famous almost o'ernight, and a wee& later he married Zelda Sayre in (ew 6or&. They embar&ed on an eEtra'agant life as young celebrities. Fitzgerald endea'ored to earn a solid literary reputation, but his playboy image impeded the proper assessment of his wor&. )fter a riotous summer in >estport, 3onnecticut, the Fitzgeralds too& an apartment in (ew 6or& 3ity8 there he wrote his second no'el, The Beautiful and Damned, a naturalistic chronicle of the dissipation of )nthony and 5loria Patch. >hen Zelda Fitzgerald became pregnant they too& their first trip to ,urope in "$ " and then settled in St. Paul for the birth of their only child, Frances Scott .Scottie/ Fitzgerald, who was born in -ctober "$ ". The Fitzgeralds eEpected to become affluent from his play, The Vegeta le. 1n the fall of "$ they mo'ed to 5reat (ec&, Gong 1sland, in order to be near 2roadway. The political satire : subtitled @From President to PostmanB : failed at its tryout in (o'ember "$ ;, and Fitzgerald wrote his way out of debt with short stories. The distractions of 5reat (ec& and (ew 6or& pre'ented Fitzgerald from ma&ing progress on his third no'el. 9uring this time his drin&ing increased. +e was an alcoholic, but he wrote sober. Zelda Fitzgerald regularly got @tight,B but she was not an alcoholic. There were freDuent domestic rows, usually triggered by drin&ing bouts. Giterary opinion ma&ers were reluctant to accord Fitzgerald full mar&s as a serious craftsman. +is reputation as a drin&er inspired the myth that he was an irresponsible writer8 yet he was a painsta&ing re'iser whose fiction went through layers of drafts. Fitzgerald*s clear, lyrical, colorful, witty style e'o&ed the emotions associated with time and place. >hen critics ob?ected to Fitzgerald*s concern with lo'e and success, his response wasF @2ut, my 5odH it was my material, and it was all 1 had to deal with.B The chief theme of Fitzgerald*s wor& is aspiration : the idealism he regarded as defining )merican character. )nother ma?or theme was mutability or loss. )s a social historian Fitzgerald became identified with the <azz )geF @1t was an age of miracles, it was an age of art, it was an age of eEcess, and it was an age of satire,B he wrote in @Echoes of the !azz "ge.B See&ing tranDuility for his wor& the Fitzgeralds went to France in the spring of "$ ! . +e wrote The #reat #ats y during the summer and fall in Ialescure near St. Aaphael, but the marriage was damaged by Zelda*s in'ol'ement with a French na'al a'iator. The eEtent of the affair : if it was in fact consummated : is not &nown. -n the Ai'iera the Fitzgeralds formed a close friendship with affluent and cultured )merican eEpatriates 5erald and Sara Murphy. The Fitzgeralds spent the winter of "$ !:"$ J in Aome, where he re'ised The #reat #ats y8 they were en route to Paris when the no'el was published in )pril. The #reat #ats y mar&ed a stri&ing ad'ance in Fitzgerald*s techniDue, utilizing a compleE structure and a controlled narrati'e

point of 'iew. Fitzgerald*s achie'ement recei'ed critical praise, but sales of #ats y were disappointing, though the stage and mo'ie rights brought additional income. 1n Paris Fitzgerald met ,rnest +emingway : then un&nown outside the eEpatriate literary circle : with whom he formed a friendship based largely on his admiration for +emingway*s personality and genius. The Fitzgeralds remained in France until the end of "$ %, alternating between Paris and the Ai'iera. Fitzgerald made little progress on his fourth no'el, a study of )merican eEpatriates in France pro'isionally titled @The 2oy >ho Killed +is Mother,B @-ur Type,B and @The >orld*s Fair.B 9uring these years Zelda Fitzgerald*s uncon'entional beha'ior became increasingly eccentric. The Fitzgeralds returned to )merica to escape the distractions of France. )fter a short, unsuccessful stint of screen writing in +ollywood, Fitzgerald rented @,llerslie,B a mansion near >ilmington, 9elaware, in the spring of "$ =. The family remained at @,llerslieB for two years interrupted by a 'isit to Paris in the summer of "$ #, but Fitzgerald was still unable to ma&e significant progress on his no'el. )t this time Zelda Fitzgerald commenced ballet training, intending to become a professional dancer. The Fitzgeralds returned to France in the spring of "$ $, where Zelda*s intense ballet wor& damaged her health and contributed to the couple*s estrangement. 1n )pril "$;7 she suffered her first brea&down. She was treated at Prangins clinic in Switzerland until September "$;", while Fitzgerald li'ed in Swiss hotels. >or& on the no'el was again suspended as he wrote short stories to pay for psychiatric treatment. Fitzgerald*s pea& story fee of K!,777 from The Saturday Evening Post may ha'e had in "$ $ the purchasing power of K!7,777 in present:day dollars. (onetheless, the general 'iew of his affluence is distorted. Fitzgerald was not among the highest:paid writers of his time8 his no'els earned comparati'ely little, and most of his income came from "%7 magazine stories. 9uring the "$ 7s his income from all sources a'eraged under K J,777 a year : good money at a time when a schoolteacher*s a'erage annual salary was K", $$, but not a fortune. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald did spend money faster than he earned it8 the author who wrote so eloDuently about the effects of money on character was unable to manage his own finances. The Fitzgeralds returned to )merica in the fall of "$;" and rented a house in Montgomery. Fitzgerald made a second unsuccessful trip to +ollywood in "$;". Zelda Fitzgerald suffered a relapse in February "$; and entered <ohns +op&ins +ospital in 2altimore. She spent the rest of her life as a resident or outpatient of sanitariums. 1n "$; , while a patient at <ohns +op&ins, Zelda Fitzgerald rapidly wrote Save Me the $altz. +er autobiographical no'el generated considerable bitterness between the Fitzgeralds, for he regarded it as pre:empting the material that he was using in his no'el:in:progress. Fitzgerald rented @Ga PaiE,B a house outside 2altimore, where he completed his fourth no'el, Tender %s the Night. Published in "$;!, his most ambitious no'el was a commercial failure, and its merits were matters of critical dispute. Set in France during the "$ 7s, Tender %s the Night eEamines the deterioration of 9ic& 9i'er, a brilliant )merican psychiatrist, during the course of his marriage to a wealthy mental patient.

The "$;%:"$;= period is &nown as @the crac&:upB from the title of an essay Fitzgerald wrote in "$;%. 1ll, drun&, in debt, and unable to write commercial stories, he li'ed in hotels in the region near )she'ille, (orth 3arolina, where in "$;% Zelda Fitzgerald entered +ighland +ospital. )fter 2altimore Fitzgerald did not maintain a home for Scottie. >hen she was fourteen she went to boarding school, and the -bers became her surrogate family. (onetheless, Fitzgerald functioned as a concerned father by mail, attempting to super'ise Scottie*s education and to shape her social 'alues. Fitzgerald went to +ollywood alone in the summer of "$;= with a siE:month Metro:5oldwyn: Mayer screenwriting contract at K",777 a wee&. +e recei'ed his only screen credit for adapting Three &omrades ."$;#/, and his contract was renewed for a year at K", J7 a wee&. The K$",777 he earned from M5M was a great deal of money during the late 9epression years when a new 3he'rolet coupe cost K%"$8 but although Fitzgerald paid off most of his debts, he was unable to sa'e. +is trips ,ast to 'isit his wife were disastrous. 1n 3alifornia Fitzgerald fell in lo'e with mo'ie columnist Sheilah 5raham. Their relationship endured despite his benders. )fter M5M dropped his option at the end of "$;#, Fitzgerald wor&ed as a freelance script writer and wrote short:short stories for ,sDuire. +e began his +ollywood no'el, The Love of the Last Tycoon, in "$;$ and had written more than half of a wor&ing draft when he died of a heart attac& in 5raham*s apartment on 9ecember ", "$!7. Zelda Fitzgerald perished at a fire in +ighland +ospital in "$!#. F. Scott Fitzgerald died belie'ing himself a failure. The obituaries were condescending, and he seemed destined for literary obscurity. The first phase of the Fitzgerald resurrection @re'i'alB does not properly describe the process occurred between "$!J and "$J7. 2y "$%7 he had achie'ed a secure place among )merica*s enduring writers. The #reat #ats y, a wor& that seriously eEamines the theme of aspiration in an )merican setting, defines the classic )merican no'el.

Matthew <. 2ruccoli*s @) 2rief Gife of FitzgeraldB originally appeared in '. Scott 'itzgerald( " Life in Letters, ed. 2ruccoli with the assistance of <udith S. 2aughman .(ew 6or&F Scribners, "$$!./8 essay reprinted courtesy of Simon 4 Schuster. 3opyright 77;, the 2oard of Trustees of the Cni'ersity of South 3arolina. CAG httpFLLwww.sc.eduLfitzgeraldLbiography.html