The Romantic Relationships of Gatsby and Fitzgerald

Romantic Relationships

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald’s romantic life is inherently reflected within Gatsby’s character.  Both Gatsby and Fitzgerald loved and lost. Gatsby with Daisy Buchannan and Fitzgerald with the love of his life, Zelda Sayre. 

“In his “romantic readiness”.... Gatsby reflects his creator.” - (Baughman)

Fitzgerald, in a very similar fashion to Gatsby, first met Zelda while assigned to a Camp during the war. More specifically Camp Sheridan, located just outside of Montgomery, Alabama.  In Fitzgerald’s own words Zelda was the “golden girl” of the Montgomery youth. This is particularly interesting as Fitzgerald’s description of Zelda is evocative of wealth and money. Gatsby as well describes Daisy quite similarly as she possessed a voice “full of money” (Pg. 115). Gatsby and Fitzgerald's love is representative of  an endemic desire for wealth. Both Daisy and Zelda are truly meant to be trophy wives that can be used to show the nobility and status both Gatsby and Fitzgerald have achieved.

"Her voice is full of money" - (Fitzgerald 115) 

Zelda Sayre and Daisy

Zelda Sayre

It is also important to note how similar Daisy and Zelda are in order to truly understand just how much of an influence Fitzgerald’s love possessed over Gatsby’s relationship with Daisy. Both woman were born within nobility and aristocracy, and had a common desire for money. Zelda, though initially agreeing to Fitzgerald’s proposal, called off the wedding as she felt that Fitzgerald would be unable to support her. Only after Fitzgerald became a critically acclaimed novelist through his first book “This Side of Paradise” did she finally accept. When attempting to publish the book  Fitzgerald told his publisher "I have so many things dependent on its success—including of course a girl." This shows, similar to Gatsby’s situation, that without money and status neither man would get the girl.

Another very very interesting similarity between Daisy’s and Zelda’s character was a famous line said by both females. Upon giving birth to Fitzgerald’s own daughter, Zelda, delirious through her medication began to truly speak her mind. “I hope it's beautiful and a fool—a beautiful little fool" a line also famously said by Daisy Bucchanan herself.

"I hope she'll be a fool - thats the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool" - (Fitzgerald 22)

Within this world, thoughtless pleasure and fun are far more important values in comparison to intelligence. For this reason wealth and money are of utmost importance which can be clearly seen within the actions of both Zelda and Daisy. 

Elements of Modern Tragedy

The fading of the Green Light is reflective of the loss of Gatsby's dream and his fall.

Fitzgerald truly brings forth elements of modern tragedy within Gatsby’s character. As Gatsby is a man of self made wealth rather than nobility, he unknowingly achieves true sorrow through his love with Daisy. While still believing in Daisy’s love Gatsby dies by the hand Wilson, who only kills Gatsby through Daisy’s actions. Analogously, within Fitzgerald’s life, a self made man through his novels, though he attained a relationship he always desired, he eventually lost it all. As the couple soon gained notoriety riding through the success of Fitzgerald’s literary works, emotions ran high. New relationships, affairs, and jealousy all led the relationship down a crumbling path of hatred and separation. Excessive alcoholism began to consume Fitzgerald’s life and he soon lost his wife to mental instability and bipolar disorder. Both Gatsby and Fitzgerald put forth tremendous effort to achieve their goals, but inevitably lost everything through love. Both lives were incredibly tragic and possess common elements that define a modern tragedy. As stated by Milton Stern within his essay on Romantic Excess, “Both Fitzgerald and Gatsby were broken by the extravagance of their emotional expenditure.”    

“Both Fitzgerald and Gatsby were broken by the extravagance of their emotional expenditure.”  - (Milton)