Fitzgerald \Fitzgerald\,
F. Scott, American Novelist (1896-1940). F. Scott Fitzgerald
was born September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota to Molly
McQuillan and Edward Fitzgerald. He was a second cousin,
twice removed of Francis Scott Key, the writer of the "Star
Spangled Banner", a fact of which he was very proud and for
whom he was named.
His father was a failed businessman and his mother was the
doting, smothering kind. He had one younger sister. He was
extremely ashamed of his mother for her lack of beauty and
emasculating of his father. Both parents were thrilled with
Scott because he was handsome, popular and later, a famous
writer. The family lived off the income of the mother who was
the daughter of a wealthy merchant. All of his life Scott
aspired to be one of the rich people he socialized with in
St. Paul and later at Princeton University, where he was more
successful as a participant in performing and writing musical
productions in the Triangle Club than as an academic.
In 1917 Scott enlisted in the Army when it was apparent that
his Junior year at Princeton might be his last, owing to poor
grades. He hoped to make a name for himself in World War I
doing something brave and heroic. His head was always full of
notions of becoming famous, popular and sought-after in high
social circles, and the darling of the "top girl" among the
elite. Unfortunately for Scott, the war ended before he had a
chance to prove his bravery. It was a pivotal point in his
life and work, however, as it was while he was in the Army
that he met Zelda Sayre.
Zelda Sayre was the belle of Montgomery, Alabama, not yet
eighteen and already famous in town for her bucking of
authority, drinking, dancing all night and beauty. Scott had
met his match. He was stationed in Montgomery when he met her
at a dance. They had a rocky courtship that continued until
Scott mustered out of the Army and got a job in advertising
in New York City. He hated the job and when Zelda broke off
their engagement citing his dim future in business, he was
desolate. He quit his job and went back home to St. Paul
where he stayed with his parents and rewrote a novel about
his college days that had earlier been rejected.
The novel, This Side of Paradise, became THE biggest novel of
1920. Fitzgerald was an instant success known all around the
nation and celebrated as the Voice of His Generation. He
married Zelda one week after its publication. They then
embarked a life of drinking, wild nights, hobnobbing with the
rich and famous and becoming the life of every party. This
continued on for a few years both in the United States and
Paris where they sought refuge from their excesses, but only
created more. In Paris, Fitzgerald wrote what was to become
his finest work and because of which his place in literary
history is secured. The Great Gatsby was like all of
Fitzgerald's work, based on his own life. Like the title
character, Jay Gatsby, Fitzgerald wanted to reinvent himself
and become the person he always wanted to be in his
imagination; rich, brave, successful in life and as important
in his mind if not more, to have the girl of his dreams by
his side, appreciating him.
Fitzgerald was always sure of one thing -- his own talent. He
had been a writer since he was a child and always received
special attention for it. Writing was something he could do
that none of his classmates could. He reveled in his
notoriety and even when his pain of alcoholism and
disappointments in life became almost unbearable his talent
and belief in it never faltered.
Zelda and Scott had one daughter, Frances Scott Fitzgerald,
"Scottie." Their marriage became a hell for both of them as
they descended into alcoholism and Zelda's mental illness,
which surfaced when she was in her late twenties. Through all
of the travails, Scott stayed a dedicated writer, mostly
turning out short stories for the Saturday Evening Post and
Esquire which paid him top dollar. It was through these
stories that Fitzgerald was able to support himself, and pay
for Zelda's extended periods in mental hospitals. He also
sent Scottie to private schools. His alcoholism frequently
caused his own need for drying-out cures in sanitariums,
also.
F. Scott Fitzgerald died of a heart attack on December 21,
1940 in Hollywood in the company of his mistress, gossip
columnist Sheilah Graham. He had finally become sober for one
year, but it was too late. He had ruined his health. When he
died his five novels had been out of print for years and he
was considered a relic of the Twenties "Jazz Age", a term he
had coined. He had been in Hollywood the last few years of
his life trying to be a movie writer for hire in order to
continue to support himself, Zelda, who was permanently in a
mental hospital, and his daughter, who was in college. It was
not until the Fifties that Fitzgerald's literary legacy
finally was appreciated. He is now considered to be one of
the greatest writers of the Twentieth Century.
Sources:
Fool for Love: F. Scott Fitzgerald, A biographical portrait
by Scott Donaldson, Congdon & Weed, New York, NY, 1983.
F. Scott Fitgerald in Minnesota: His Homes and Haunts by John
J. Koblas, Minnesota Historical Society Press, St. Paul, MN,
1978.
[Gail Glaser]
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