A Review of Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Jul 31, 2011
Melissa Howard

F. Scott Fitzgerald and Wife Zelda - Fair Use

Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald is not, perhaps, one of his most famous books but it is certainly among his most compelling.

Tender is the Night is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s last completed novel. Fitzgerald fictionalizes many events of his own life in the novel including, his wife Zelda’s mental illness, his affair with a young actress, and the death of his father. It is a compelling look at mental illness and the role of a husband in the life of a sick woman. It is beautifully written and surprising in its plot and perceptions.

Perceptively Written

Throughout the book, the reader is surprised by how present the story seems. While it was written in the thirties and represents life as it was then, many of the insights into the society and the culture of the day still ring true in today’s climate, which makes it easy to forget that one is reading a period piece. The timeliness of the book proves that Fitzgerald deserves his place among the greats of American literature.

Surprising Plot

The novel is written in three books. The languid first section leads the reader to believe that the characters live a certain kind of life and while Fitzgerald leaves hints about the truth, it is so easy for the reader to buy into the lie that the big revelation in the second book feels like a kick in the stomach. In the second book, the history of the characters is shared revealing a great deal about their motivations and creating the dramatic tension in the novel.

In the third book, the reader finds decline of the protagonist, Dick Divers, unsurprising but surprisingly poignant just the same.

Compassion Towards Mental Illness

Because of his own experiences with his wife Zelda’s mental illness, Fitzgerald was able to write insightfully and compassionately about the role that mental illness plays in the lives of a family. He provides insight not only to the effect it has on the children and spouse of the patient but also into how it effects the patient herself. Mental illness is a difficult topic to write effectively about and Fitzgerald’s writing in Tender in the Night is among the most compelling fictional accounts of mental illness in literature. .

Research into the lives of Fitzgerald and his wife as well as the parallels between their lives and the book reveal that Tender is the Night was extremely auto-biographical. In Dick Divers, the reader can intuit Fitzgerald’s own disappointment in his self-perceived failure as a writer, his struggles in his marriage to the mentally incapacitated Zelda, and his struggles with alcoholism.

Tender is the Night is a must read for any student of great American fiction.