Young Writers Society

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s writings were inspired by his problems with his alcoholism, his challenging relationship with his wife, and his many distressing experiences throughout his life; which in the end gave him the inspiration for many of his greatest novels. Fitzgerald was born into a time of great literary advancement allowing him to begin writing at a young age. Despite great earnings and fame, he and his family lived luxuriously and lavishly, but tragically; Fitzgerald was constantly in debt and was forced to write for magazines to support he and his family.

Fitzgerald was accepted into Princeton in 1913 where because of his Literary apprenticeship he “neglected his studies” (source 1), to work “on The Princeton Tiger, a magazine published by the university. He also wrote for Princeton's Triangle Club, which was a distinguished organization that put on musicals” (Source 2). Now “on academic probation and unlikely to graduate” Fitzgerald dropped out of collage to join the army (source1). With this decision he was convinced he would die in war; Fitzgerald frantically wrote his first novel The Romantic Egotist which was later rejected but admired for its originality and was asked to be resubmitted once it had been revised. In June of 1918 “Fitzgerald was assigned to camp Sheridan, near Montgomery, Alabama” where he and Zelda Sayre, the daughter of an Alabama Supreme Court Judge, met at the Montgomery Country Club. By September, Fitzgerald had declared that he was in love with her (Source 1).

Being the daughter of an Alabama Supreme Court judge Zelda was very accustom to the higher lifestyle in which she was raised. Knowing this, once Fitzgerald was discharged from the military, he went to New York to seek a fortune, in advertising, in order to marry Zelda. Zelda lived a luxurious lifestyle, so much to the point that she refused to marry Fitzgerald until he made enough money to support her, going so far as to end their engagement because she was not content with his minuscule earnings. (This led to Fitzgerald’s constant feelings of inequality that he struggled with thought out his life and ultimately led to his depression.) With this Fitzgerald quit his job in 1919 where he returned to his home town of St. Paul, Minnesota, to rewrite and revise his novel that he had written just before war. This new reincarnation of The Romantic Egotist was named This Side of Paradise and was promptly resubmitted to Scribner’s publishing, for the third time; where it was accepted by Editor Maxwell Perkins. With “the publication of This Side of Paradise on March 26, 1920, made the twenty-four-year-old Fitzgerald famous over night, and a week later he married Zelda Sayre in New York” (Source 1). The couple engaged in an extravagant lifestyle of young celebrities’; “Fitzgerald earned over four hundred thousand dollars between 1919 and 1934, but he and Zelda lived so expensively they barely managed to cover their bills” (Source 2).

The couple “decided that it would be financially advantageous for them to return to Europe in 1924.” Fitzgerald and Zelda lived on the French Riviera, during this time Fitzgerald continued work on The Great Gatsby. While Fitzgerald was preoccupied with his novel, “Zelda began a relationship with a young French aviator, Edouard Jozan;" once Fitzgerald found out, he used this rage to inspire several of his works, such as Save Me the Waltz and The Great Gatsby (source 3). Fitzgerald wrote his way out of their debt with his 160 short stories that were published in magazines. Fitzgerald was not one of the highest paid authors of his time. During the 1920’s from all sources he averaged under twenty five thousand dollars; “Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald did spend money faster than he earned it” (source1). This only furthered his feelings of inequality with Zelda and furthered his need to drowned his feelings of depression in alcohol, “He was an alcoholic, but he wrote sober,” (source 1). Zelda and he drank together, but these drinking bouts were usually the cause of their domestic disputes. His reputation as an alcoholic inspired many myths that Fitzgerald was an irresponsible writer. The Fitzgerald “marriage was subject to continued stress from their drinking, his tension about his work, her feelings of neglect, and their constant worry about a sufficient income” (Source3). Though, his financial problems became critical when Tender is the Night failed to gain interest; “Fitzgerald owed forty thousand dollars despite continued earnings from magazine stories” (Source 2).

As time progressed, Zelda's health grew more and more unstable, a direct correlation to her intense ballet workouts. “Zelda had begun ballet training too late to become a first-rate dancer; however, she felt Zelda had the talent to dance important roles with a small company,” a goal Zelda became obsessed with (Source 4). The obsession was described as being an effort to “drive the devils that had driven her…in proving herself she would achieve that peace which she imagined went only in surety of one’s self,” (Source 4). At first, Fitzgerald encouraged Zelda’s hobby, but soon lost patience in her obsession and thought small of his wife’s efforts. The constant striving to do better and pushing herself for the goal tarnished Zelda’s health, driving her closer to the brink of insanity. The obsession also contributed to the couple’s fighting, because the more Zelda pushed herself, the more Fitzgerald turned to alcohol. Zelda’s first breakdown was in April of 1930, “after becoming overwrought that she would be late for a lesson,” (Source 4). She was sent to La Sanitarium de la Malmaison, located outside of Paris, France for psychiatric treatment. Zelda spent the rest of her years in and out of sanitariums, fighting schizophrenia. While Zelda was committed into the sanitariums, Fitzgerald was carrying an affair with gossip columnist Sheilah Graham. After suffering from two heart attacks, Scott Fitzgerald died on December 21, 1940 as a failure at his writing career in his mind. Zelda Fitzgerald died in a fire in 1947.

Although Scott Fitzgerald's writings earned plenty of money, the couple spend more than they had, therefore still putting them in debt. Though they fought often and were not always the most faithful, both Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Fitzgerald remained supportive of one another's decisions, standing by one another's side. They still loved each other, in a bittersweet way. The two will forever be remembered in the writing realm.

F. Scott Fitzgerald might have seen himself as a failure as a writer, he is celebrated today as one of the greatest authors in American literature. His great works, including The Great Gatsby, This Side of Paradise, Save Me the Waltz, and Tender Is the Night, could have only been inspired by his personal experiences with alcoholism, his challenging relationship with his wife, his feelings of inequality, and an overall life worth writing about. He is an inspiration for writers today.