Fitzgerald with daughter Scottie in 1924 (Google Images)_______________________________________________________________
As mentioned in class, Babylon Revisited is largely an exploration of the valuable life aspects one gives up in pursuit of life in the “fast lane.” As Charlie revisits his old haunts of Paris and reconnects with Loraine and Duncan from his past, he concludes that the old haunts have changed in that they no longer have the appeal they once used to. This is important as we are able to recognize a distinct contrast between Charlie’s disgust over the frivolousness of his past life versus his new desire for a more stable and traditional life with his daughter. Fitzgerald focuses on Charlie’s evolving character and uses contrasting imagery to illustrate the vastly opposing lifestyles (e.g., the Ritz vs. the Peter’s home; inebriated friends vs. the laughing children; and the dark, isolated streets of Paris vs. the warm and intimate family fire).
The class was split on determining motivation for Marion’s antagonistic relationship with Charlie and her desire to prevent Charlie from regaining custody of Honoria. Some deemed Marion the "Wicked Witch of the Left Bank," listing jealously and a spiteful vindictiveness as her motive. Others responded with sympathy for Marion’s possible loss of Honoria as her only remaining connection to her sister, Helen.
In agreement were the following: that Honoria symbolizes redemption for Charlie and may be seen as the key to his continued abstinence from a life of depravity; Charlie maintains a strong resolution to remain “clean” in hope of later regaining custody of his daughter; and lastly, Charlie’s character is highly relatable as we can each identify with life’s struggles and in the celebration of victory when defeating them.
I dislike open ended stories. I much prefer knowing what’s just around the bend; if the guy gets the girl; and “whodunit” in the end. So I apologize in advance, Mr. Fitzgerald, for below is my re-write of your ending:
Although it sounds as if the class is somewhat divided as to whether F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Babylon Revisited is a good read or not, I feel everyone contributed great insight to today’s discussion. I think a few of us found this story refreshingly inspirational due to Charlie’s ability to overcome his past demons of alcoholism and partying in order to reclaim a better future life with his daughter. Others vehemently despised this tale because it was “boring and I just don’t get it!” (to paraphrase Kelly’s ending comment...lol).
As mentioned in class, Babylon Revisited is largely an exploration of the valuable life aspects one gives up in pursuit of life in the “fast lane.” As Charlie revisits his old haunts of Paris and reconnects with Loraine and Duncan from his past, he concludes that the old haunts have changed in that they no longer have the appeal they once used to. This is important as we are able to recognize a distinct contrast between Charlie’s disgust over the frivolousness of his past life versus his new desire for a more stable and traditional life with his daughter. Fitzgerald focuses on Charlie’s evolving character and uses contrasting imagery to illustrate the vastly opposing lifestyles (e.g., the Ritz vs. the Peter’s home; inebriated friends vs. the laughing children; and the dark, isolated streets of Paris vs. the warm and intimate family fire).
The class was split on determining motivation for Marion’s antagonistic relationship with Charlie and her desire to prevent Charlie from regaining custody of Honoria. Some deemed Marion the "Wicked Witch of the Left Bank," listing jealously and a spiteful vindictiveness as her motive. Others responded with sympathy for Marion’s possible loss of Honoria as her only remaining connection to her sister, Helen.
In agreement were the following: that Honoria symbolizes redemption for Charlie and may be seen as the key to his continued abstinence from a life of depravity; Charlie maintains a strong resolution to remain “clean” in hope of later regaining custody of his daughter; and lastly, Charlie’s character is highly relatable as we can each identify with life’s struggles and in the celebration of victory when defeating them.
I dislike open ended stories. I much prefer knowing what’s just around the bend; if the guy gets the girl; and “whodunit” in the end. So I apologize in advance, Mr. Fitzgerald, for below is my re-write of your ending:
“He was absolutely sure Helen wouldn’t have wanted him to be so alone” (page 1511), and he was correct. Charlie turns away from the recesses of the dark bar toward the sudden rush of light entering through the front door of the Ritz. The light was so bright that he couldn’t yet make out who was standing in the doorway. As he watches the small shadowy figure step forward tentatively, framed by the golden rays, he is met with a shrieking “Oh, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, dads, dads, dads!” and his heart skips a beat. Clutching her doll tightly, Honoria takes another step forward, meeting her father’s gleaming smile with that of her own.
The End.
Oh, no, Nan--I wasn't that harsh, was I? I think it's a beautiful little story, I just didn't have much to say about it! Thanks for leading a great discussion and writing up a thorough summary. I love all the pictures you've found.
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ReplyDeleteNan,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the discussion today and had what would be another post, but I'll defer and just post a comment. Spoiler - it is a bit long.
Fitzgerald introduced his main characters lifestyle with a metaphor for his own: "But it was nice while it lasted," Charlie said. "We were a sort of royalty, almost infallible, with a sort of magic around us." In reality, Fitzgerald and Zelda were viewed as embodiments of the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties: young, seemingly wealthy, beautiful, and energetic. Zelda was an icon of the 1920s—dubbed by her husband "the first American Flapper" while he socialized with famous expatriates of the Lost Generation in Paris. King and Queen: Charlie and Helen in Paris, and Fitzgerald and Zelda starting in New York but eventually moving to Paris among other places.
Charlie's wife Helen, who was deceased, has a sister named Marion (who thought that Charlie was unfit or perhaps unable to raise Honoria) and her husband Lincoln Peters. They essentially "adopted" Honoria by being her guardians.
Fitzgerald had a daughter, Scottie, that had been adopted by Fitzgerald's wife Zelda's sister Rosalind (who thought that Fitzgerald was unfit to raise Scottie) and her husband Newman Smith when Zelda was in a psychiatric facility. Charlie and Helen equals F. Scott and Zelda, Marion and Lincoln Peters equals Rosalind and Newman Smith and Honoria equals Scottie. I wonder if F. Scott had such a relationship with Scottie, or wished it was like Charlie and Honoria.
Charlie had locked Helen out during a snowstorm and was as angry at himself, as he was with Helen's conduct and Marion's memory of it. Fitzgerald wrote of Charlie's painful memory, "The image of Helen haunted him. Helen whom he had loved so until they had senselessly begun to abuse each other's love, tear it into shreds. On that terrible February night that Marion remembered so vividly, a slow quarrel had gone on for hours. There was a scene at the Florida, and then he attempted to take her home, and then she kissed young Webb at a table; after that there was what she had hysterically said. When he arrived home alone he turned the key in the lock in wild anger. How could he know she would arrive an hour later alone, that there would be a snowstorm in which she wandered about in slippers, too confused to find a taxi? Then the aftermath, her escaping pneumonia by a miracle, and all the attendant horror. They were "reconciled," but that was the beginning of the end, and Marion, who had seen with her own eyes and who imagined it to be one of many scenes from her sister's martyrdom, never forgot."
That visual demon was played out between Zelda and Fitzgerald, when she started to go out dancing and to the casinos in Paris. She became involved with a young French pilot for six weeks, Edouard Jozan. Like Helen, there was no indication of marital infidelity but Fitzgerald had to deal with Zelda's demand for a divorce. Fitzgerald dealt with it by locking her in their house, until she abandoned her request for the divorce. Helen was locked out, Zelda was locked in - but as remorseful as Charlie was, F. Scott apparently was not, but perhaps in his memory he is.
Was Charlie Wales a tragic hero in the story like F. Scott Fitzgerald was in reality? Where Charlie was desperately trying to get his house in Prague back in order to include Honoria in his life, Fitzgerald tried to continue writing by moving to Hollywood. Charlie essentially stops drinking, while F. Scott finally does quit. But does Charlie get caught up in the events of World War Two in 1939, or does he escape it and reclaim his daughter while F. Scott dies of a heart attack in 1940? I would think Charlie, representing the tragic hero, does win in the end as a hero should.
Michael