Scott and Zelda

I admit that I did not know much about F. Scott Fitzgerald except what we all know him for, The Great Gatsby. A novel where Gatsby pines for the unattainable Miss Daisy. When reading the information provided for The Beautiful And Damned, it was pointed out that Fitzgerald based the novel on his rather shaky love affair with that of the audacious Zelda Sayre. So why was their relationship so rocky? Who were these two people that own the title for the greatest couple of the 1920's? Well, according to http://www.zeldafitzgerald.com/fitzgeralds/index.asp, they were two different people totally in love with one another. The Beatles may say all we need is love, but apparently for this couple love just wasn't enough. The website describes Zelda as outgoing, beautiful, graceful and always ready for a good time. Listen to this: "She was defiant, fun-loving, and even reckless. When just a child, she once sat behind the wheel of her father's car and calmly drove off for a short and exciting ride. On another occasion, she telephoned the local police to inform them that a child was in danger-on the roof of a building. Then she climbed to the roof of her home and waited in anticipation of their arrival. Her antics made her well-known in Montgomery, and as she grew up, a date with Zelda promised an evening of excitement, hilarity, and even mystery - for it was impossible to anticipate her next escapade." Sound like any leading ladies Fitzgerald has written? Fitzgerald was described as a small, blonde man that desperately wanted to be popular. Almost as if who he was just wasn't good enough. I believe he wasn't comfortable in his own skin. Zelda, on the other hand, was always true to herself. I can understand why her personality would have been deemed shocking in the early 20th century. But we've discussed how the Jazz Era brought about much change, especially for women. Zelda, although in love with Scott, wouldn't marry him. We wasn't wealthy enough, yet. That may make her shallow, be your own judge. Perhaps being bold enough to say no to a proposal when she herself was not wealthy and had little prospects outside of marriage was a risky move on her part. However, Scott didn't give up. No real man would. ;-) When Scott started his road of success, Zelda agreed to marry him. "And thus began their life together - the fabled couple who embodied the fun, the wildness, the brilliance and glamour of the era which Fitzgerald named The Jazz Age. They quickly became the symbol of the era, their exploits - jumping into the Plaza Hotel's fountain fully clothed, riding in an open car through the streets of the city, enjoying drunken revels at parties that seemed never to end - becoming the stuff of legends." Apparently the honeymoon really does have to end at some time. Their life has no semblance of order. The constant interruptions of marriage and Zelda's lifestyle caused the couple to begin quarreling often. The two never seemed to be in sync with the other. They became parents and lied on the French Rivera for a time. Zelda, apparently lonely, began a (perhaps harmless) relationship with another man. Which, understandable, made Scott furious. This affair was poured into The Great Gatsby, not to mention some of Zelda's writings as well. The two never really did get past the pain. Alcohol and more fighting filled their marriage. Zelda jumped down a 200 ft. stairwell (or drop) because Fitzgerald was flirting with a famous dancer. The entire marriage, in my mind, was a shame. Both wanting something that neither one of them recognized. I'm not saying they didn't love one another. I'm sure they did. But they both hurt each other to an almost pathological level. Zelda's family history of psychotic breakdowns and suicides didn't help the relationship, I'm sue. But I think Scott's quest to be popular and Zelda's personality lead to their own unhappiness and perhaps the destruction of their relationship. "They both dived into the Mediterranean from a great height, and drove their car too fast along winding roads. Once, after a fight with Scott, Zelda threw herself under the wheels of their car and dared him to run over her - and he even started to move the car." Zelda was unstable, and Scott wasn't adequate enough to take care of her. He was obsessed, as all writers are, with his work and his popularity as a writer. Zelda was so unstable that she became jealous of an actress Fitzgerald worked with and admired. "Jealous of his attentions to Lois, Zelda collected jewelry from guests at a party and threw them into a pot of boiling water - to make soup. She also threw all of the clothes she had brought with her for the trip into the bathtub and set fire to them. When they left California, she threw a platinum wristwatch that Scott had given her years ago out of the window of the train, so angry was she over his admiration for Lois Moran." If their is such a thing as soul mates, perhaps these two were not meant for one another. I pity their relationship. It definitely had problems. Zelda's first breakdown if Paris was essentially the beginning of the end, I suppose. She spent her time in hospitals, and Scott struggled to financially support his family. From 1934, the couple never lived together again. Zelda checked into a psychiatric hospital for good. The two, however, didn't stop loving one another. Even after all they had been through. They continued to write love letters to one another up until the real end. "Scott and Zelda would meet once more before his death in 1940, and it would prove to be another mutual disaster. In April 1939, he took her out of the sanitarium (she was allowed to spend time with her family in Montgomery on several occasions), and they traveled to Cuba. He began to drink almost immediately, and was badly beaten up when he tried to break up a cock fight. They returned to the United States, and would never see one another again." Fitzgerald died drunk and in bad health in the living room of a woman who took care of him in the end. Zelda died 7 years later in a fire in the hospital. These two people are well known and respected as beloved characters in their own tragic love story. So now you have some background information that inspired The Beautiful And Damned. I sincerely hope that you check out the website I found this information at and I hope it helps you to understand the characters in the novel. For the characters that lived the story continue to leave a legacy that still enthrals and entertains us today.