1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in history class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, Welcome to the podcast. I'm 3 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:19,000 Speaker 1: Sarah Dowdy and welcome Holly. Thanks. So a few of 4 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:23,520 Speaker 1: you probably remember Holly from her most recent visit to 5 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:27,080 Speaker 1: the podcast where we talked about underwear that was super fun, 6 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:33,639 Speaker 1: all sorts of things, Queen Victoria, your favorite course, it's um. 7 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:36,400 Speaker 1: But Holly also hosts Pop Stuff, so a lot of 8 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 1: y'all probably know her from there already, and she's going 9 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:44,560 Speaker 1: to be stepping up to fill Doblina's spot as podcast 10 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:48,680 Speaker 1: co host. Yes, indeed, so that's very exciting. Um. Also, 11 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:50,280 Speaker 1: I feel like I should get it out of the way, 12 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:53,800 Speaker 1: so I'm not stringing you guys along for a few episodes, 13 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:56,880 Speaker 1: but I'm going to be leading the podcast too in 14 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:02,640 Speaker 1: a few more episodes Sadness and Art, and Holly is 15 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:06,560 Speaker 1: going to be joined by our manager, the site director 16 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:09,600 Speaker 1: of How Stuff Works, and her Pop Stuff co host, 17 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 1: Tracy Wilson. Yes, so that's lots of transitions, big excitement, 18 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:17,759 Speaker 1: but you guys can get ready for it. And Holly 19 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:20,200 Speaker 1: and I are going to have some fun and I'm 20 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:24,240 Speaker 1: excited I get time with Sarah before she vanishes, vanished, 21 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 1: vanishes into the editing world of stuff work. So today's topic, 22 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:34,040 Speaker 1: I wanted to pick something that was fun, something that's 23 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,399 Speaker 1: been requested by listeners a lot, but also something that 24 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 1: people have been talking about in the entertainment world a 25 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 1: lot lately thanks to a new movie coming out. Yes, 26 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: bos Lurman's Gatsby is going to be out in May 27 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:52,400 Speaker 1: of this year, so just a few months out, and 28 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 1: it will, as many of his movies are, probably be 29 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:58,440 Speaker 1: a little controversial because he takes a very unique approach 30 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: to telling historical story. But it looks beautiful. It does 31 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 1: look beautiful. I saw the preview for it. It starts 32 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: with a group of people riding in an open car. 33 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:13,120 Speaker 1: It looks all very roaring twenties, very exciting, gorgeous. It 34 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:15,080 Speaker 1: looks super gorgeous. I'm really excited because I am a 35 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:17,240 Speaker 1: big Boss Lerman fan. And there are lots of people 36 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:19,160 Speaker 1: in the cast that I really like, Like I really 37 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:22,320 Speaker 1: like Joel Edgerton cast as Tom Um, and I think 38 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 1: Carrie Mulligan is going to be a really interesting Daisy Um. 39 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:30,160 Speaker 1: We have Leo, Yeah, who I've told you very recently. 40 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:32,400 Speaker 1: I feel bad he's been much maligned as an actor 41 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:34,680 Speaker 1: through the years. I think because Titanic kind of he 42 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:38,760 Speaker 1: got a syrup, a kind of coated in some glory syrup. 43 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:42,280 Speaker 1: People don't always love that, and it caused negative connotation. 44 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 1: But I really think he is quite a good actor 45 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 1: and I'm I'm interested to see where his career goes 46 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:49,160 Speaker 1: in the next I think this might be a good 47 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:52,040 Speaker 1: role for him too. But this movie has been in 48 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 1: the works for so long now at James because it 49 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,079 Speaker 1: was originally supposed to come out Holiday and I got 50 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:01,120 Speaker 1: bumped in speculation for Ages, I mean a long time 51 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:03,799 Speaker 1: back who would be cast in it? So I think 52 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:06,080 Speaker 1: partly because of that and partly just because of a 53 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 1: general fascination with the FitzGeralds. Like I mentioned, listeners have 54 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:15,800 Speaker 1: been requesting f Scott his wife Zelda for Ages now 55 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 1: because they have really fascinating, really troubling lives in addition 56 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:25,400 Speaker 1: to uh impressive bio work. Yeah, and the twenties are 57 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:27,000 Speaker 1: just they're kind of in the spotlight right now. I 58 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:29,639 Speaker 1: think the artists helped do that. And then leading into 59 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:33,239 Speaker 1: gats Be, Zelda n f Scott are on everybody's mind 60 00:03:33,639 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 1: and there's such a stylish, romantic but kind of, you know, 61 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: tragic story, we kind of can't help but get attached 62 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 1: to it. We're going to get into some of the 63 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:47,120 Speaker 1: tragic aspects of this, but we're gonna start at the 64 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 1: beginning like normal. F Scott Fitzgerald was born September in St. Paul, Minnesota, 65 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:58,520 Speaker 1: and his father was apparently a failed Wicker furniture salesman, 66 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 1: which I think is a least strange way to define somebody. 67 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:05,960 Speaker 1: That's about the only definition I saw of him too. Yeah, 68 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 1: there's not a lot of And then he went on 69 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:09,920 Speaker 1: to that's pretty much what he got saddled with as 70 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 1: a yeah, and and of course to f Scott Fitzgerald 71 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 1: was named for his distant relative, Francis Scott Key, who 72 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:22,600 Speaker 1: we've done. I think Katie and I did a podcast 73 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:26,120 Speaker 1: on Francis Scott Key years and years ago. He grew 74 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:29,480 Speaker 1: up comfortable. He grew up in a middle class Catholic family, 75 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:32,000 Speaker 1: although he did point out later I think because his 76 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:34,839 Speaker 1: parents pursued such a good education for him, he always 77 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:38,200 Speaker 1: felt like he was the least well off in a 78 00:04:38,279 --> 00:04:42,039 Speaker 1: group of rich kids, and I think that plays out 79 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:47,360 Speaker 1: in his work. It does. She's always extremely class conscious. 80 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: He had two older sisters who died before he was born. 81 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:55,040 Speaker 1: One little sister, Annabelle, who also didn't see a whole 82 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:58,479 Speaker 1: lot on except for these terrible letters he wrote to 83 00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:02,640 Speaker 1: her when she was a teenage girl, offering good brotherly advice, 84 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:05,120 Speaker 1: except they were just like the last things you would 85 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:07,280 Speaker 1: want to hear, probably if you were a teenage girl, Like, 86 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:09,320 Speaker 1: you know, you have a little hair on your face 87 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:12,040 Speaker 1: problem and maybe you should see a doctor about that, 88 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:16,000 Speaker 1: or you know, you should be more socially outgoing. And 89 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:19,120 Speaker 1: a really good opening line is to compliment someone on, oh, 90 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:22,599 Speaker 1: your eyelashes are so incredibly long. So these were the 91 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:25,880 Speaker 1: sorts of things he was writing to little Annabelle. Um. 92 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,000 Speaker 1: So we know what she was when she was getting 93 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:33,080 Speaker 1: fourteen or so. So again just the worst age possible. 94 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:36,640 Speaker 1: Um something though, that I think makes her worth mentioning 95 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:41,160 Speaker 1: in our story. So he ended up Um attending New 96 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:45,000 Speaker 1: Jersey's Newman School, and he wrote detective stories there and 97 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:47,360 Speaker 1: then even though he wasn't the greatest student, he got 98 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: into Princeton he did. He charmed his way in, and 99 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 1: UM was obviously not going there for Uh to pursue 100 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:57,920 Speaker 1: a great academic career, since that was not his interest. 101 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:00,720 Speaker 1: He wanted to play football, but he did not have 102 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:04,120 Speaker 1: the build for that, and so he decided he would 103 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:07,880 Speaker 1: keep writing. In this case, right musical comedies, right operettas 104 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: not the most natural transition. I should all didn't work out, 105 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:13,880 Speaker 1: I'm going to go into a life of theater in 106 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:17,480 Speaker 1: Just a year later, his sophomore year, he played a 107 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:20,360 Speaker 1: chorus girl in one of his own plays. And I 108 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:23,119 Speaker 1: knew I didn't even have to send this picture to you, Holly, 109 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:26,120 Speaker 1: because you would have seen it already. It's pretty well 110 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:31,520 Speaker 1: known Scott Fitzgerald in costume as lady. It's quite pretty. 111 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:35,840 Speaker 1: He is quite pretty, at least at that time. I mean, 112 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:37,640 Speaker 1: if you didn't know it was a man in drag, 113 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 1: and you just saw it as a historical photograph, I 114 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:41,960 Speaker 1: think you'd be like, well, that's a handsome woman. Yeah, 115 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 1: like you maybe wouldn't even question whether it was a 116 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:47,080 Speaker 1: man or a woman in the outfit. I certainly wouldn't 117 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:50,440 Speaker 1: recognize it as him either, unless I saw a direct 118 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:55,280 Speaker 1: side to side comparison. Um. But you know, dressing up 119 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:58,599 Speaker 1: as a chorus girl writing his own plays didn't stop 120 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:02,160 Speaker 1: him from being a really popular student too. He joined 121 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:05,200 Speaker 1: an eating club he took up with an Illinois debutante 122 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:08,920 Speaker 1: who may have been the inspiration at least in part 123 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:16,000 Speaker 1: for Daisy Great Gatsby. And unfortunately he started drinking in college. Yeah, 124 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: but who's became a little bit of a problem, a 125 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:23,320 Speaker 1: lifetime problem, and uh certainly didn't help with his grades 126 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:27,680 Speaker 1: at Princeton either. Not really the fast track for achievement 127 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:32,120 Speaker 1: to develop a drinking problem in college now, But I 128 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:36,400 Speaker 1: guess fortunately for of Scott, he had kind of lost 129 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:38,840 Speaker 1: interest in college. By that point, he had gotten to 130 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: the age where he could join the army. Of course, 131 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:45,680 Speaker 1: world War One was on, so he signed up, hoping 132 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:49,520 Speaker 1: to see action, hoping to be deployed to Europe for 133 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:52,680 Speaker 1: World War One. But the war ended before he could 134 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:57,040 Speaker 1: be deployed, and so uh, instead he ended up spending 135 00:07:57,080 --> 00:07:59,640 Speaker 1: a lot of his free time sitting around and writing. 136 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:03,480 Speaker 1: There is a certain comedy the fact that his fallback saying, 137 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 1: which is like, well, that's not going to work out. 138 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:06,920 Speaker 1: I'll just write that's not working out either, I'm going 139 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 1: to write. And that's really what he's lauded for historically. Yeah, 140 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:13,560 Speaker 1: and and retrospectively, you know, with these detective stories and 141 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:18,800 Speaker 1: at his at his high school and the comedies in college. 142 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:20,960 Speaker 1: It seems like he was working on that all along, 143 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:23,680 Speaker 1: but um, I guess he wasn't really aware of that 144 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 1: trajectory first. So he put together his first novel, which 145 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 1: he called The Romantic Egotist, in only three months. And 146 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:35,040 Speaker 1: he wrote that just on the weekend too, So consecutive 147 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:38,480 Speaker 1: weekends for three months wrote a novel. We're going to 148 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 1: come back to schedule. It is intense, But he was 149 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:47,440 Speaker 1: not so focused on the book as it may seem, 150 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:51,559 Speaker 1: because he was spending a lot of his free time courting. 151 00:08:51,679 --> 00:08:56,400 Speaker 1: He met a Montgomery, Alabama debutante while he was serving 152 00:08:56,400 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 1: in the army, which is probably the most memorable aspect 153 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:03,440 Speaker 1: of his service, right is it. While at Camp Sheridan, 154 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:08,240 Speaker 1: I met a young lady named Zelda. Zelda indeed, she 155 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:12,679 Speaker 1: was kind of miss thing. I mean, as far as 156 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:16,720 Speaker 1: I can tell, she seemed like an it girl before 157 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:22,120 Speaker 1: they were really girls. Just about every southern college boy 158 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 1: seemed to be in love with her. Every army man 159 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:28,240 Speaker 1: stationed in the area seemed to be in love with her. 160 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:31,199 Speaker 1: And she, you know, she fit the profile. She was 161 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 1: very pretty, she was well off, she was a judge's daughter, 162 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:38,840 Speaker 1: but she was fun too. She was flirty, she would drink. 163 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:41,560 Speaker 1: She was not a prim and proper goal no, not 164 00:09:41,679 --> 00:09:43,720 Speaker 1: at all. So she kind of had that zest for 165 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:46,600 Speaker 1: life that is often very magnetic, which is probably why 166 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:48,520 Speaker 1: every man that came in contact with her was like, 167 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:51,600 Speaker 1: I really like Zelda. And she would just do these 168 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:54,520 Speaker 1: crazy things too. I mean, the one of my favorite 169 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:58,560 Speaker 1: examples I found came from biography and article by Dorothy Rompolsk. 170 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 1: She apparently once called the fire department to report a 171 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:07,640 Speaker 1: poor child stuck on the roof. When the fireman arrived, 172 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:10,200 Speaker 1: it was Zelda up on the roof. She had climbed 173 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:13,760 Speaker 1: the roof of her own family's home and had this 174 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:18,000 Speaker 1: dramatic rescue, probably playing out in front of admirers. So 175 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:20,400 Speaker 1: she just did sort of off the wall things which 176 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 1: must have really stood out in that time in that place. Yeah, 177 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:29,160 Speaker 1: it does sort of um smack a little bit of 178 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:32,160 Speaker 1: the privileged kid that doesn't know what to do with 179 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:37,160 Speaker 1: their spare time, stirruple trouble and drama for fun. You guys, 180 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:41,520 Speaker 1: this will be a lark, exactly, it does. And and 181 00:10:41,559 --> 00:10:45,640 Speaker 1: I mean you'd think that maybe that might be off putting, 182 00:10:45,679 --> 00:10:49,680 Speaker 1: but she certainly managed to keep it on the charming side, 183 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:53,520 Speaker 1: so much so that a group of Auburn men were 184 00:10:53,559 --> 00:10:56,800 Speaker 1: so devoted to her they started a secret society to 185 00:10:57,160 --> 00:11:03,280 Speaker 1: worship her, called it Zeta Sigma. That's a little freaky deeky, right, yeah, 186 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 1: I think a little like if you found out there 187 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:08,720 Speaker 1: was like this secret meetings going on to talk about Sarah, 188 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:11,720 Speaker 1: wouldn't you be a little weird? I gonna hear about 189 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:14,760 Speaker 1: any of that. But it's beyond flattery. And then you're like, 190 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:18,880 Speaker 1: I think Zelda. Zelda would expect it, though I think 191 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:22,520 Speaker 1: it it seems just trying to guess her personality. It 192 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:26,640 Speaker 1: seems like something that she would have encouraged. But when 193 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:29,840 Speaker 1: Fitzgerald popped up on the scene, they took to each 194 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:35,000 Speaker 1: other immediately, and um, he started courting her. And then 195 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:38,040 Speaker 1: after the war ended, he moved to New York City 196 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:43,600 Speaker 1: and they started this passionate correspondence. But it's not You 197 00:11:43,640 --> 00:11:45,160 Speaker 1: can find a lot of their a lot of their 198 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:48,800 Speaker 1: letters have been published now. Um, but it's not all 199 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:51,640 Speaker 1: lovey dervy. I mean, you wouldn't expect them to know. 200 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:55,360 Speaker 1: It's not all like the gushy mooney stuff that we 201 00:11:55,440 --> 00:12:00,760 Speaker 1: often equate with, Like early twentieth century love letters. It's 202 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:03,760 Speaker 1: there's a sass pants vibe to it, she calls him out. 203 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:07,600 Speaker 1: Sometimes do you want to read the one singer? She 204 00:12:07,679 --> 00:12:13,040 Speaker 1: throws out to Um, she gets tired of him comparing 205 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:15,040 Speaker 1: her to a princess in a tower, apparently, and so 206 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:17,240 Speaker 1: at one point she says, Scott, You've been so sweet 207 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:19,800 Speaker 1: about writing, but I'm so damn tired of being told 208 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:22,760 Speaker 1: that you used to wonder why they kept princesses and towers. 209 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:26,720 Speaker 1: You've written that verbatim in your last six letters, so basically, like, 210 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:29,280 Speaker 1: step it up, be a more original writer. It was 211 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:33,040 Speaker 1: a new words champ, and this is like the most 212 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:38,400 Speaker 1: ridiculous detail in their correspondence. Though he proposes, he sends 213 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:41,800 Speaker 1: her an engagement ring. She accepts, and in a letter 214 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:45,320 Speaker 1: she thanks him for sending along the engagement ring and 215 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:49,640 Speaker 1: then informs him that sixty Auburn r OTC cadets just 216 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:53,439 Speaker 1: came to town, so have fun and this iss of 217 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:55,200 Speaker 1: I love my ring. I can't wait to her to 218 00:12:55,280 --> 00:13:00,959 Speaker 1: this party with sixty boys exactly. Um and and f 219 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:04,400 Speaker 1: Scott Fitzgerald had a good reason to be a little 220 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:08,960 Speaker 1: concerned about the state of their relationship because Ultimately, Zelda 221 00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:12,679 Speaker 1: did break off their engagement, and she refused to marry 222 00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:16,200 Speaker 1: him until he was earning enough to be able to 223 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:19,880 Speaker 1: support her in style, although you'll see different accounts of 224 00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:22,440 Speaker 1: the reasons behind that, ones that don't make it seem 225 00:13:22,559 --> 00:13:26,880 Speaker 1: quite as money focused. Um more fitz Gerald being a 226 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:30,719 Speaker 1: little too obsessive and and telling her that, So I 227 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:33,280 Speaker 1: don't buy that one. By the way, this you know, 228 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:35,840 Speaker 1: from a girl who has a secret club that's about 229 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:38,600 Speaker 1: devoting their devotion to her. You think I don't buy 230 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:40,800 Speaker 1: that she would be put off by someone being too 231 00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 1: into her. I mean, apparently he told her he couldn't 232 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:47,080 Speaker 1: succeed if he didn't have her by by his side, 233 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:49,480 Speaker 1: and she insisted, okay, now you got to figure out 234 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:54,040 Speaker 1: your own deal before I'm going to marry you. Either way, though, um, 235 00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:57,640 Speaker 1: Zelda set off on this busy schedule after they broke 236 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:01,000 Speaker 1: off the engagement, busy schedule of attend in college football 237 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:04,120 Speaker 1: games all over the South. Um actually complaining that it 238 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:07,600 Speaker 1: was kind of exhausting to do that. Does this do 239 00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:09,880 Speaker 1: you when you research? Just because I definitely, in reading 240 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:13,880 Speaker 1: about them, had that moment where I don't think about 241 00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:16,840 Speaker 1: so much of that period of their lives. They're associated 242 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:19,480 Speaker 1: so much with what came later that it's like when 243 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:21,560 Speaker 1: you think of them as you know her as a 244 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:24,280 Speaker 1: college girl, it's just very busy with her college and 245 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:28,080 Speaker 1: social activities. It's like, wait, wait, did I turn the 246 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:31,040 Speaker 1: wrong page in mind? And am I onto somebody else's biography? 247 00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:35,080 Speaker 1: I know, it does make you think about also the 248 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:38,240 Speaker 1: different lives they could have potentially come down. And I mean, 249 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:41,040 Speaker 1: I think it's clear she saw him as as a 250 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:44,600 Speaker 1: ticket out of that world, but it is strange to 251 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:47,040 Speaker 1: see her in a time when she so clearly relish 252 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:51,160 Speaker 1: as being in it too. Um. But Fitzgerald, meanwhile, he's 253 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:53,560 Speaker 1: up in New York. He knows he's got to win 254 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:55,960 Speaker 1: this lady quickly because she's not going to be on 255 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:59,400 Speaker 1: the market for very long. And so he decides that 256 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:02,760 Speaker 1: he is going to get into advertising. And he does 257 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:06,880 Speaker 1: that because he gets rejected for writing for seven New 258 00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:11,720 Speaker 1: York City newspapers, um, and thinks that advertising is going 259 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:14,480 Speaker 1: to be a faster way to make money than writing 260 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:20,120 Speaker 1: a novel. But that doesn't work out for him. Yeah, 261 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:22,560 Speaker 1: the advertising game has never been known for its ease. 262 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:26,080 Speaker 1: I don't think so. Bless your heart of Scott, you 263 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:30,640 Speaker 1: meant well, uh yeah. And then he after he had 264 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:32,880 Speaker 1: been in New York for a while and he nothing 265 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:35,720 Speaker 1: was working out, he decided that he would move back 266 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:38,880 Speaker 1: to St. Paul, to his parents house, and he started 267 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:43,200 Speaker 1: rewriting his novel, The Romantic Elitist, which he had subsequently 268 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:48,120 Speaker 1: retitled This Side of paradise Um. And then he delivered 269 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:53,320 Speaker 1: that manuscript to Scribner. It got rejected again. However, there 270 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:56,400 Speaker 1: was a ray of light Maxwell Perkins. Yeah, there was 271 00:15:56,440 --> 00:15:59,600 Speaker 1: an editor that read the manuscript and he had already 272 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:03,040 Speaker 1: incurred dged Scott Fitzgerald when he saw the original draft, 273 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:06,360 Speaker 1: and he threatened to resign if the firm didn't reconsider 274 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:10,160 Speaker 1: taking on that writer. And that worked and the manuscript 275 00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:15,520 Speaker 1: was accepted just days before at Scott Fitzgerald turned twenty four. 276 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:19,200 Speaker 1: He apparently, and this is just a charming moment before 277 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:22,520 Speaker 1: things get really good and then really bad. He has 278 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:25,480 Speaker 1: his acceptance letter, he runs out of his parents house 279 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:28,800 Speaker 1: into the street waving it around. It's just like a 280 00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:32,360 Speaker 1: nice little prefame moment for him. Yeah, it's like you 281 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:35,600 Speaker 1: can picture it in any like rags to Richest story 282 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:37,920 Speaker 1: in a film. Yeah, like this is the magic moment 283 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:40,680 Speaker 1: where the music swells and it's like it's gonna be okay, 284 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:46,240 Speaker 1: but there's him. It all looks rosy at that point. 285 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:49,680 Speaker 1: This Side of Paradise incinantally is one of my favorite 286 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:53,440 Speaker 1: Fitzgerald books. Um, I feel like it kind of it 287 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:56,920 Speaker 1: starts off perfectly, and I wonder now knowing how many 288 00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:59,520 Speaker 1: times he rewrote it and how many times he reworked 289 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:04,040 Speaker 1: the story, Like the first two thirds of the book 290 00:17:04,119 --> 00:17:07,000 Speaker 1: are just almost perfect, and then I almost feel like 291 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:09,480 Speaker 1: he loses the story a little bit. So I'm going 292 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:12,359 Speaker 1: to have to do somewhere reading on the different drafts 293 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:15,520 Speaker 1: of that now. But it's an interesting story and it 294 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:18,800 Speaker 1: really did kick off his career too. It's sold out 295 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:24,440 Speaker 1: within days of publication in nineteen twenty, and it defined 296 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:29,440 Speaker 1: the jazz age. It defined the type of man who 297 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:34,000 Speaker 1: had lived through the war and who was ready to 298 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:36,399 Speaker 1: embrace the nineteen twenties. Yeah, I mean, I think a 299 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:41,399 Speaker 1: lot of historians will actually cite that publication and it's immediate, 300 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:46,320 Speaker 1: really unusual level of success as this is the start 301 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:48,840 Speaker 1: of the jazz age, Like that's kind of the book 302 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:51,719 Speaker 1: end that starts it out. Yeah, new people, new generation. 303 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:55,840 Speaker 1: And it also really conveniently for biographers, marks the start 304 00:17:56,040 --> 00:18:00,760 Speaker 1: of f Scott and Zelda because Zelda a greased to marry, 305 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:05,720 Speaker 1: tied right up to that publication. Eight days after a publication, 306 00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:09,200 Speaker 1: they get married and they kick off this whirlwind honeymoon 307 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:13,159 Speaker 1: phase in New York City which is also really memorable 308 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:15,639 Speaker 1: to to anybody who saw it at the time, party 309 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:20,880 Speaker 1: and drinking, playing in fountains. Uh. Dorothy Parker witnessed them 310 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:23,400 Speaker 1: riding down Fifth Avenue on the top of a cab 311 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:26,840 Speaker 1: and wrote, quote, they did both look as though they 312 00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:29,840 Speaker 1: had just stepped out of the sun, their youth with striking. 313 00:18:30,359 --> 00:18:34,720 Speaker 1: Everyone wanted to meet them. So just pure bliss at 314 00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:38,480 Speaker 1: this point, although not a whole lot of money initially 315 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:40,520 Speaker 1: that was a bit of a surprise to learn about. 316 00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:43,320 Speaker 1: It took a while for the money to start rolling in. 317 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:47,360 Speaker 1: They started spending it right away. They were excited. They 318 00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:49,760 Speaker 1: just knew there was more coming and they knew they 319 00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:53,280 Speaker 1: knew they had arrived, and they started a family quickly 320 00:18:53,359 --> 00:18:57,560 Speaker 1: to their first and only child, Francis Scott or Scottie. 321 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:04,359 Speaker 1: A daughter was born in nine and quickly enough it 322 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:06,760 Speaker 1: was apparent that Fitzgerald was going to have to keep 323 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:10,360 Speaker 1: on writing and writing and writing and not stop in 324 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:14,400 Speaker 1: order to maintain this lifestyle that they had set up 325 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:18,280 Speaker 1: and the celebrity they had built for themselves. Yeah. Now 326 00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:22,600 Speaker 1: I mean wife and daughter to support and a family too. Yeah, 327 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:26,040 Speaker 1: in grand style. I can't imagine the pressure that must 328 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:28,960 Speaker 1: have been the moment he realized, like, my career is 329 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:31,760 Speaker 1: not really my own anymore. I just have to keep going. 330 00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:36,000 Speaker 1: And especially since he had spent several years on his 331 00:19:36,119 --> 00:19:40,480 Speaker 1: first book, honing it and and perfecting it. Um. It 332 00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:42,400 Speaker 1: worked for a while, though. He was able to turn 333 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:47,160 Speaker 1: things out pretty quickly. Um. He wrote too, short story collections, 334 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:49,639 Speaker 1: he wrote a satirical play, and he wrote the novel 335 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:53,280 Speaker 1: The Beautiful and the Damned in the three years after 336 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:56,439 Speaker 1: the Side of Paradise published. That's a lot to turn study, 337 00:19:57,480 --> 00:19:59,960 Speaker 1: that's a whole lot. It's really study. And the short 338 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:04,240 Speaker 1: story collections. Um. He was apparently really good at just 339 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:08,200 Speaker 1: whipping out short stories, and since he had that fame 340 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:10,600 Speaker 1: from the Side of Paradise, he could command a pretty 341 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:15,600 Speaker 1: high fee for their publication. Zelda did her part to 342 00:20:15,119 --> 00:20:19,840 Speaker 1: to stir up fitzgerald enthusiasm, even if she was kind 343 00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:26,240 Speaker 1: of um. She materialist. Her review of the book the 344 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:31,720 Speaker 1: Beautiful um. She wrote, quote, everyone must buy this book 345 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:35,200 Speaker 1: for the following aesthetic reasons. First because I know where 346 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:37,960 Speaker 1: there is the cutest cloth of gold dress for only 347 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:41,959 Speaker 1: three dollars in a store on street. And also, if 348 00:20:42,119 --> 00:20:44,439 Speaker 1: enough people buy it, I know where there is a 349 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:48,200 Speaker 1: platinum ring with a complete circlet. And also if loads 350 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:51,200 Speaker 1: of people buy it, my husband needs a new winter overcoat, 351 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:54,040 Speaker 1: although the one he has has done well enough for 352 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:57,240 Speaker 1: the last three years, so we need the money. Folks 353 00:20:57,280 --> 00:21:02,359 Speaker 1: go by the book. I need pretty stuff exactly. It's 354 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:06,679 Speaker 1: so forward and it just it cracks me up. The 355 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:09,320 Speaker 1: rest of the reviews pretty saffy to again going back 356 00:21:09,359 --> 00:21:14,919 Speaker 1: to Zelda's sass but um So. That went on for 357 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:21,119 Speaker 1: three but by nineteen twenty four things started to go 358 00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:26,080 Speaker 1: a little bit sour. Fitzgerald's drinking habit had gotten to 359 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:31,840 Speaker 1: be able, and Zelda was starting to exhibit signs of 360 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:36,399 Speaker 1: mental illness. We're gonna talk about that more later. But 361 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:40,440 Speaker 1: things were not going that well between them, so they 362 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:43,440 Speaker 1: took off to Europe too, because Fitzgerald was thinking, Okay, 363 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:45,399 Speaker 1: enough with all these short stories, I want to focus 364 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:50,200 Speaker 1: on another novel, and the result of leaving for Europe 365 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:52,760 Speaker 1: which was also cheaper. By the way, was The Great 366 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:58,600 Speaker 1: Gas Fee, which drew on Fitzgerald's experience earlier living on 367 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:01,840 Speaker 1: Long Island and and some of the things he witnessed there. 368 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:06,240 Speaker 1: It's actually the least autobiographical of his books, though, if 369 00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:10,080 Speaker 1: you if you think about it, Um, even though he's 370 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:15,880 Speaker 1: often considered to be Gatsby, almost I could see him 371 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:19,320 Speaker 1: in either of the two main roles. And I think, 372 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:22,600 Speaker 1: you know, if you know anything about their biography, it's 373 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:25,640 Speaker 1: very easy to see a bit of Zelda and Daisy. 374 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:29,800 Speaker 1: Although I think I've talked about you with this before, 375 00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:32,600 Speaker 1: particularly in film adaptations, that sometimes Daisy comes off as 376 00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:35,160 Speaker 1: a little bit dippy to me, um, and I think 377 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:37,679 Speaker 1: probably Zelda was not like that at all. She may 378 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:44,200 Speaker 1: have been loopy, but as a little bit like, almost childlike. 379 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:46,640 Speaker 1: She doesn't really have command of the way the world works, 380 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:51,040 Speaker 1: which I don't think was necessarily the case with Zelda. Um. 381 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:53,720 Speaker 1: But yeah, I think you see shades of impressions of 382 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:56,680 Speaker 1: people and things in his life without it being autobiographical. 383 00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:03,800 Speaker 1: So Gatsby, that's a pretty impressive product of this Abroad. 384 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:10,119 Speaker 1: But they also fell in with the famous rivera expat scene, Yeah, 385 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:14,600 Speaker 1: which is just I mean, historically, I can't imagine they 386 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:17,440 Speaker 1: really realized what they were. No, it's one of those 387 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:21,000 Speaker 1: things we're looking back on. It. You it's a central 388 00:23:21,040 --> 00:23:25,480 Speaker 1: part of your twenty century American novel class. But but 389 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:29,680 Speaker 1: I can't imagine they realize, Yeah, they probably weren't sitting 390 00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:32,000 Speaker 1: around and going like, you know, in another forty years, 391 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:34,480 Speaker 1: everybody's going to be talking about this party and these 392 00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:36,679 Speaker 1: people in this room. With this crowd though, I mean 393 00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:40,439 Speaker 1: we're talking of course Hemingway, cosso Dorothy Parker, Cole Porter. 394 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:43,760 Speaker 1: You would have to realize you were among an immensely 395 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:49,439 Speaker 1: talented group of people, and they all gravitated around this couple, 396 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:54,040 Speaker 1: Gerald and Sarah Murphy, who were wealthy, artistic Americans, and 397 00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:56,680 Speaker 1: they were the ones who sort of brought these people 398 00:23:56,800 --> 00:23:59,080 Speaker 1: kind of proasted the whole scene. So they must have 399 00:23:59,119 --> 00:24:04,840 Speaker 1: seen what was what was happening, even if they Hemingway didn't. Uh. 400 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:08,000 Speaker 1: And and incidentally too, they are partly the basis for 401 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:11,840 Speaker 1: Dick Nicole, Diver and Tender as the Night Um. But 402 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:17,800 Speaker 1: Europe was not kind to the Fitzgerald marriage. It began 403 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:21,960 Speaker 1: about further collapse. Selda had a fling with a French aviator. 404 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:25,640 Speaker 1: While Fitzgerald was very absorbed in writing The Great Gatsby, 405 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:30,680 Speaker 1: Fitzgerald had drunken rages. According to a PBS article by 406 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:34,160 Speaker 1: Ben Felon, at least one of those may have resulted 407 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:38,800 Speaker 1: in physical abuse too, when Fitzgerald struck Zelda after she 408 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:43,000 Speaker 1: criticized him for smashing a vase. So things were not 409 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:46,520 Speaker 1: things were getting really bad between them and she her 410 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:49,960 Speaker 1: behavior was getting pretty erratic as well. Yeah, it's kind 411 00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:51,960 Speaker 1: of funny because they went to Europe kind of to 412 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:53,959 Speaker 1: get away from things. But when you look at it, 413 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:57,040 Speaker 1: perhaps through our modern lens, it's ago. The marriage is 414 00:24:57,080 --> 00:24:59,960 Speaker 1: in some trouble. You have some drinking problems. I might 415 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:01,720 Speaker 1: to be going, you know what, let's pack up and 416 00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:04,760 Speaker 1: make a really stressful move across the ocean, and then 417 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:07,320 Speaker 1: moved to a country where we don't speak the language. 418 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:09,920 Speaker 1: It's kind of like the perfect storm of bad ideas 419 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:13,320 Speaker 1: and bad stimulus for a marriage at that point. It 420 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:17,520 Speaker 1: seems that way, I mean, and and some of Zelda's 421 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:23,119 Speaker 1: behavior really got scary to Um. She was clearly Um 422 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:29,240 Speaker 1: experiencing some pretty serious emotions. She tried to throw herself 423 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:31,919 Speaker 1: or if she did throw herself over the edge of 424 00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:37,240 Speaker 1: a hillside restaurants patio in after she thought Fitzgerald had 425 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:42,000 Speaker 1: been flirting with Isadora Duncan. Uh Fortunately she landed on 426 00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:47,240 Speaker 1: a lower terrace. Another time, he was driving in a 427 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:51,440 Speaker 1: cliff filled area and she grabbed the wheel and tried 428 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:56,160 Speaker 1: to drive them off the cliff. So yeah, bad, bad stuff. 429 00:25:56,240 --> 00:26:00,640 Speaker 1: And and Zelda was really maybe five years out at 430 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:04,760 Speaker 1: this point from having married him, having left Alabama, and 431 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:08,199 Speaker 1: having been like a celebrated debutante, and just being the 432 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:11,399 Speaker 1: shining star of everyone's world, trying to figure out what 433 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:13,840 Speaker 1: she was going to do. And she knew that she 434 00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:18,119 Speaker 1: wasn't going to be a flapper a girl anymore. She 435 00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:23,320 Speaker 1: wrote in n uh quote the flapper, she's getting old. 436 00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:26,399 Speaker 1: She's come to none of the predicted bad ends, but 437 00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:29,920 Speaker 1: has gone at last where all good flappers go into 438 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:33,560 Speaker 1: the young marrieds that into boredom and gathering conventions and 439 00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:37,080 Speaker 1: the pleasure of having children, having lent a while a 440 00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:40,760 Speaker 1: splendor and courageousness and brightness to life as all good 441 00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:46,520 Speaker 1: flappers should. Uh so were almost obituary to her five 442 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:49,960 Speaker 1: years in the limelight and then wondering what she was 443 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:54,120 Speaker 1: going to do. And she really was struggling to define 444 00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:59,000 Speaker 1: her own creative or express her own creative impulses. Um 445 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:04,520 Speaker 1: and unfortunately, the two hobbies she's settled on were ones 446 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:08,680 Speaker 1: that I don't want to make too many assumptions about them, 447 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:12,520 Speaker 1: but the freest and breeziest of paths. Yeah, we're talking 448 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:16,639 Speaker 1: writing and ballet. The ballet one freaks me out because 449 00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:19,359 Speaker 1: you're a dancer. Well I'm not really now, but I 450 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:21,280 Speaker 1: did study dance growing up, and there was a time 451 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:22,960 Speaker 1: in my life where I thought I wanted to pursue 452 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:25,440 Speaker 1: dance as a career. And it's grueling and it's kind 453 00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:27,480 Speaker 1: of like that thing where you don't go. I decided 454 00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:31,680 Speaker 1: I'm gonna be a dancer, like at you train when 455 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:33,679 Speaker 1: you're a youth, in the hopes that you get to 456 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:36,960 Speaker 1: be But it's kind of it's kind of both charming 457 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:39,280 Speaker 1: and sad that she just decided she was a dancer 458 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:44,359 Speaker 1: and decided not that it would be a form for 459 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:47,640 Speaker 1: her to express herself, something fun to occupy her time with, 460 00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:50,480 Speaker 1: but she was going to be a professional dancer. We're 461 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:53,240 Speaker 1: not talking. Oh yeah. She started taking adult dance lessons, 462 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:57,200 Speaker 1: which sounds fantastic. To stay fit and not at all 463 00:27:57,240 --> 00:28:00,719 Speaker 1: like that. She was in her late twenties decide I did. 464 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:03,439 Speaker 1: She wanted to be a professional ballet dancer, and so 465 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:08,240 Speaker 1: started taking really serious ballet lessons in Paris and Philadelphia, 466 00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:14,560 Speaker 1: constant all day, every day training, which just exhausted her, 467 00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:19,200 Speaker 1: ruined her health, even though she did become talented. Um, 468 00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:21,679 Speaker 1: it's just sad because yeah, clearly at that point she 469 00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:25,760 Speaker 1: was not going to be able to attain that. She's 470 00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:29,760 Speaker 1: not going to become a prima ballerina. No at thirty. Um. 471 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:33,199 Speaker 1: She also, as a mentioned, started writing too, and again 472 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:38,880 Speaker 1: just sort of a difficult career to pursue while you 473 00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:42,880 Speaker 1: are married to one of the most famous writers of 474 00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:45,200 Speaker 1: the day. And in in part that's because of fitz 475 00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:49,440 Speaker 1: year Old's own roadblocks he threw up. Um. She did 476 00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:52,920 Speaker 1: publish some stories, she published some essays. Sometimes they were 477 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:56,280 Speaker 1: published under a shared byline. But there's a lot of 478 00:28:56,360 --> 00:29:01,000 Speaker 1: debate over who wrote what in this family. And and 479 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:05,720 Speaker 1: Fitzgerald certainly uh gave her credit as a great letter 480 00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:11,360 Speaker 1: writer and certainly just drew directly quoted her letters for 481 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:14,760 Speaker 1: some of his work. Um, because she she did turn 482 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:18,320 Speaker 1: quite a phrase in her letters, but was fairly dismissive 483 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:22,160 Speaker 1: of her as a professional writer and claimed, you know, 484 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:27,000 Speaker 1: because he was trying to earn the money, he didn't 485 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:30,360 Speaker 1: want her sort of interfering with his career. But that's 486 00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:33,360 Speaker 1: not going to stress your already fragile marriage either. Lots 487 00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:36,880 Speaker 1: of lots of debate over those two and how exactly 488 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:40,760 Speaker 1: we didn't one and how their writings played out, um, 489 00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:46,360 Speaker 1: but all the same trouble for Zelda Well, and I 490 00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:49,040 Speaker 1: think it was a troubled time to to think about. That's, 491 00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:52,800 Speaker 1: you know, when the stock market crash is happening and 492 00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:55,520 Speaker 1: all of that sort of effervescent joy that we often 493 00:29:55,560 --> 00:30:00,239 Speaker 1: associate with pre crash twenties, everybody was kind to at 494 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:02,920 Speaker 1: a point where they were feeling lost and scared, and 495 00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:05,680 Speaker 1: I think the people that had had their moorings in 496 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:09,800 Speaker 1: like this wealthy, opulent lifestyle. In addition to whatever mental 497 00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:12,320 Speaker 1: issues she already had going on, it was like and 498 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:15,440 Speaker 1: the sea was just moving under her. She couldn't get footing. Yeah, 499 00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:20,400 Speaker 1: So in nineteen thirty she had her first major mental 500 00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:24,440 Speaker 1: health breakdown. It was called nervous exhaustion at the time, 501 00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:30,240 Speaker 1: and she was diagnosed with schizophrenia, probably incorrectly, was a 502 00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:33,880 Speaker 1: term thrown around a lot at the time and underwent 503 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:37,280 Speaker 1: some treatment and seemed to be better after a few months, 504 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:41,800 Speaker 1: enough so to return to her day to day life. 505 00:30:43,120 --> 00:30:46,480 Speaker 1: She and f Scott Fitzgerald came back to the States 506 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:50,920 Speaker 1: for good in September nineteen thirty one, first Alabama, then 507 00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:54,800 Speaker 1: to Hollywood. He was trying to dabble in screenwriting, something 508 00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:57,320 Speaker 1: that as many writers of the day, we're doing that 509 00:30:57,440 --> 00:31:01,000 Speaker 1: was really popular in the Hollywood visit. They would kind 510 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:03,640 Speaker 1: of plumb pick established writers, be like, do you want 511 00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:06,480 Speaker 1: to work on a screenplay? And it didn't always translate. 512 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:09,640 Speaker 1: It was really stressful for most of them. Uh, and 513 00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:13,280 Speaker 1: Zelda's stresses seemed to continue to especially when she was 514 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:18,720 Speaker 1: back living with Scott. Her second breakdown came in nineteen 515 00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:23,000 Speaker 1: thirty two, and that point really marks the beginning of 516 00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:26,600 Speaker 1: a life in and out of asylums, in and out 517 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:32,720 Speaker 1: of hospitals. Um and what a terrible time to be 518 00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:37,840 Speaker 1: in that system too. She underwent electric shock treatment, insulin 519 00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:43,000 Speaker 1: shock treatment, which apparently is an insulin mega dose that 520 00:31:43,080 --> 00:31:49,360 Speaker 1: forces you into a coma. She received tranquilizers. So it's 521 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:55,000 Speaker 1: so heartbreaking, upsetting treatment and um uh, there's a lot 522 00:31:55,040 --> 00:32:00,000 Speaker 1: of debate consequently too, over what exactly was Zelda experiencing, 523 00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:03,840 Speaker 1: you know, did she have a mental illness um? Or 524 00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:07,600 Speaker 1: was something you know, was it just brought about from 525 00:32:07,600 --> 00:32:12,680 Speaker 1: her life with Fitzgerald. Uh. The common consensus today seems 526 00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:15,640 Speaker 1: to be that she did have some sort of mental 527 00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:20,120 Speaker 1: She may have had bipolar disorder, and I would even 528 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:26,080 Speaker 1: say was aggravated by living with this controlling, alcoholic husband. Yeah. 529 00:32:26,200 --> 00:32:28,360 Speaker 1: I mean, I would even say, looking back now with 530 00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:33,080 Speaker 1: the knowledge of modern psychology at hand, if you even 531 00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:35,400 Speaker 1: look at kind of her antics as a youth, they're 532 00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:39,520 Speaker 1: very charming and fun, but they suggest some extreme personality behavior, 533 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:43,240 Speaker 1: and so it's easy to see how that very quickly 534 00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:46,400 Speaker 1: went down a very negative path with all of the 535 00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:49,040 Speaker 1: stressors we've been talking when things stopped being fun, when 536 00:32:49,040 --> 00:32:53,360 Speaker 1: things stopping charming, and cross the cross a point to 537 00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:59,000 Speaker 1: just being disturbing. Um. But she did keep up treatment, 538 00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:02,000 Speaker 1: as we mentioned, through until the end of her life, 539 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:06,560 Speaker 1: and she kept on writing too. She wrote her first novel, 540 00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:09,560 Speaker 1: called Save Me the Waltz, while she was at Johns 541 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:13,520 Speaker 1: Hopkins Hospital in eighteen thirty two, and that was a 542 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:17,960 Speaker 1: sore point between the couple too. Fitzgerald really did not 543 00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:22,800 Speaker 1: want the book to be published and had it majorly edited, 544 00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:27,240 Speaker 1: and there's again some debate over whether that was just 545 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:33,440 Speaker 1: kind of ironically being concerned about his own privacy, you know, 546 00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:36,280 Speaker 1: you don't write about our lives, or whether it was 547 00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:39,120 Speaker 1: I want to use some of these incidents in my 548 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:41,560 Speaker 1: next book. Well, we also don't know how much of 549 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:44,800 Speaker 1: that psychology of like, no, this is my thing, you know, 550 00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:50,640 Speaker 1: like his territory was being tread upon. So the book 551 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:53,720 Speaker 1: came out in nineteen thirty two, and it also had 552 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:59,840 Speaker 1: a very strange royalties arrangement with the publisher, um A 553 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:04,200 Speaker 1: Scott Fisherald was in debt to his publisher by this point, 554 00:34:04,720 --> 00:34:09,080 Speaker 1: and the deal was half of the royalties for her 555 00:34:09,160 --> 00:34:12,759 Speaker 1: book would go towards paying down his debt, which is 556 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:16,960 Speaker 1: pretty unfair. Um. I mean maybe the couple could have 557 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:21,280 Speaker 1: worked that out on themselves. Um it didn't really matter. 558 00:34:21,440 --> 00:34:24,840 Speaker 1: The book didn't make money, so it was a non issue, 559 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:30,560 Speaker 1: but still a strange side note there. Zelda's other big 560 00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:34,080 Speaker 1: hobby at this point was painting, and she has a 561 00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:38,680 Speaker 1: lot of her paintings are still visible today. She's inspired 562 00:34:38,760 --> 00:34:42,640 Speaker 1: by Picasso and to lose Litruck and Georgia O'Keefe. They're 563 00:34:42,719 --> 00:34:47,760 Speaker 1: very colorful, very modern looking. Um, that seems like maybe 564 00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:50,080 Speaker 1: I've ever seen any and I don't want to run 565 00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:53,120 Speaker 1: out kill image a few of them. I don't know. 566 00:34:53,200 --> 00:34:57,320 Speaker 1: I can't judge what somebody should have pursued, which career 567 00:34:57,320 --> 00:34:59,239 Speaker 1: they should have pursued in life, but it seems like 568 00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:03,160 Speaker 1: maybe something that brought her more happiness. Well, she clearly 569 00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:09,160 Speaker 1: had artistic and I mean she went through one creative 570 00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:12,440 Speaker 1: endeavor after another, even if none of them really stuck. 571 00:35:13,480 --> 00:35:16,879 Speaker 1: I mean, you know, she was a pretty accomplished answer 572 00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:18,319 Speaker 1: even though it was kind of too late in life 573 00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:20,920 Speaker 1: to do that. She clearly did some okay writing. And 574 00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:23,319 Speaker 1: I haven't seen her paintings, but they sound really interesting there. 575 00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:27,520 Speaker 1: And she clearly has this expressive nature. She just never 576 00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:31,680 Speaker 1: kind of stuck with one thing. Maybe that's the problem there. 577 00:35:31,760 --> 00:35:36,440 Speaker 1: But Fitzgerald, I mean, he certainly was focused on one thing, 578 00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:39,880 Speaker 1: but unfortunately he couldn't do it anymore. He felt like 579 00:35:39,920 --> 00:35:44,040 Speaker 1: he couldn't write. He had a serious case of writer's block. 580 00:35:44,239 --> 00:35:47,080 Speaker 1: And that was bad because he was deeply in debt, 581 00:35:47,120 --> 00:35:51,200 Speaker 1: as we just said, um, because of his own lavish lifestyle, 582 00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:55,279 Speaker 1: because of Zelda's medical bills, and because of their daughter's 583 00:35:55,280 --> 00:36:00,239 Speaker 1: expensive schooling. So he spent this period trying to right. 584 00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:04,480 Speaker 1: Finally he came out with his next novel, Tender As 585 00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:07,400 Speaker 1: the Night, which was published in nineteen thirty four. And 586 00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:12,240 Speaker 1: that's the book I remember my professor in college, really, 587 00:36:12,680 --> 00:36:15,800 Speaker 1: I clearly remember his description of that book coming out 588 00:36:15,880 --> 00:36:19,720 Speaker 1: just the worst time possible for it, because it's still 589 00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:24,160 Speaker 1: this Fitzgerald world, even though it's it's sad the couple, 590 00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:27,479 Speaker 1: and it is sad things are deteriorating, but they live 591 00:36:27,640 --> 00:36:30,800 Speaker 1: this life of glamour and excess still, and this is 592 00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:33,320 Speaker 1: in the middle of the Great Depression. No one could 593 00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:39,239 Speaker 1: identify with those people, know, it seemed maybe kind of 594 00:36:39,239 --> 00:36:43,000 Speaker 1: repulsive almost to some people. He followed that by another 595 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:47,400 Speaker 1: novel in nineteen thirty five, and at that point he 596 00:36:47,560 --> 00:36:50,960 Speaker 1: really considered himself a failure as a writer, somebody who 597 00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:53,840 Speaker 1: had not lived up to the promise of his youth, 598 00:36:54,719 --> 00:36:57,320 Speaker 1: which is shot. I mean, tenders the Night is a 599 00:36:57,400 --> 00:37:01,560 Speaker 1: fantastic book. It's strange that he would have evaluated himself 600 00:37:01,560 --> 00:37:03,640 Speaker 1: in that way, but at this point things just seemed 601 00:37:04,320 --> 00:37:07,360 Speaker 1: so so bad, and so he wrote this series of 602 00:37:07,520 --> 00:37:10,680 Speaker 1: three essays which are called the Crack Up Essays for 603 00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:15,919 Speaker 1: Esquire in nineteen thirty six and elaborated on that, elaborated 604 00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:21,879 Speaker 1: on feeling like an artistic failure, Um, somebody who just 605 00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:25,480 Speaker 1: was nobody at this point, which is so I mean again, 606 00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:27,680 Speaker 1: it's so funny because we see it through the lens 607 00:37:27,680 --> 00:37:31,200 Speaker 1: of history, but you can imagine being in it, being 608 00:37:31,280 --> 00:37:34,160 Speaker 1: someone who is very devoted to and involved in your 609 00:37:34,160 --> 00:37:35,920 Speaker 1: writing at that point with the wife that's got a 610 00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:38,360 Speaker 1: ton of problems. You kind of can't keep the sobriety 611 00:37:38,360 --> 00:37:41,399 Speaker 1: angle together. And who had the success that he did 612 00:37:41,480 --> 00:37:45,520 Speaker 1: when he did so. The crack of essays take their 613 00:37:45,640 --> 00:37:50,920 Speaker 1: name from this extended passage where he compares himself to 614 00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:54,480 Speaker 1: a cracked plate. It's a little melodramatic. Do you want 615 00:37:54,480 --> 00:38:00,520 Speaker 1: to read the crash? It's so sad. Sometimes, though, the 616 00:38:00,560 --> 00:38:03,319 Speaker 1: cracked plate has to be retained in the pantry, has 617 00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:06,160 Speaker 1: to be kept in service as a household necessity. It 618 00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:08,440 Speaker 1: can never be warmed on the stove or shuffled with 619 00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:10,880 Speaker 1: the other plates in the dishpan. It will not be 620 00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:12,960 Speaker 1: brought out for company, but it will do to hold 621 00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:15,120 Speaker 1: crackers late at night, or to go into the ice 622 00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:19,399 Speaker 1: box with the leftovers. That is the saddest. It is bad, 623 00:38:19,480 --> 00:38:21,880 Speaker 1: and I just think to himself as the thing that 624 00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:24,200 Speaker 1: should be thrown away, but you can't because you still 625 00:38:24,239 --> 00:38:26,600 Speaker 1: need to use it. I looked at I looked at 626 00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:29,520 Speaker 1: a crack plate, cracked plate that I keep around, and 627 00:38:29,560 --> 00:38:35,040 Speaker 1: I thought, Oh, it's general, it's you. Uh. The publication 628 00:38:35,120 --> 00:38:39,480 Speaker 1: of these essays that just created this gossip storm. People 629 00:38:39,560 --> 00:38:45,759 Speaker 1: were so fascinated by their confessional nature. Critics did not 630 00:38:45,920 --> 00:38:50,719 Speaker 1: like them. Friends were angry about him writing so candidly 631 00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:55,640 Speaker 1: about himself. Um, and a lot of the issues people 632 00:38:55,880 --> 00:38:58,040 Speaker 1: had with it, or critics and friends was that it 633 00:38:58,120 --> 00:39:00,360 Speaker 1: was again kind of like Tender as the Night, just 634 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:03,800 Speaker 1: published in the wrong time. Don't be so obsessed with yourself. 635 00:39:03,880 --> 00:39:07,759 Speaker 1: If things in the world are are so scary, when 636 00:39:07,760 --> 00:39:10,080 Speaker 1: everyone else is suffering, we kind of don't have time 637 00:39:10,080 --> 00:39:13,799 Speaker 1: for your depression cracked play analogy exactly. One of his 638 00:39:13,840 --> 00:39:17,440 Speaker 1: friends and critics, John just Passos, wrote quote, We're living 639 00:39:17,480 --> 00:39:20,440 Speaker 1: in one of the damnedest tragic moments in history. If 640 00:39:20,440 --> 00:39:24,000 Speaker 1: you want to go to pieces, I think it's absolutely okay. 641 00:39:24,040 --> 00:39:25,640 Speaker 1: But I think you ought to write a first rate 642 00:39:25,719 --> 00:39:29,160 Speaker 1: novel about it, and you probably will instead of spilling 643 00:39:29,160 --> 00:39:32,600 Speaker 1: it in little pieces. For Arnold Gingrich, who is the 644 00:39:32,840 --> 00:39:39,680 Speaker 1: editor of Esquire Hemingway, who always has a singer like 645 00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:46,400 Speaker 1: the He shared an editor with Fitzgerald and wrote to 646 00:39:46,440 --> 00:39:51,560 Speaker 1: the editor complaining about Fitzgerald whining in public. So people 647 00:39:51,600 --> 00:39:56,680 Speaker 1: were turned off by this confessional style. But according to 648 00:39:56,800 --> 00:40:01,640 Speaker 1: Patricia Hampel and American scholar, the essays kind of marked 649 00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:04,560 Speaker 1: the start of two important things, and one was personal. 650 00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:08,759 Speaker 1: One was for Fitzgerald's career. It sort of signaled the 651 00:40:08,760 --> 00:40:14,240 Speaker 1: beginning of him at least becoming a respected great American author. 652 00:40:14,280 --> 00:40:16,400 Speaker 1: It's like he had done the whole cycle of like 653 00:40:16,640 --> 00:40:19,799 Speaker 1: great fame as a youth, and then kind he had 654 00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:22,400 Speaker 1: the stalling off and coming back up to a certain 655 00:40:22,400 --> 00:40:25,120 Speaker 1: plateau level and then just kind of being a miss Yeah, 656 00:40:25,320 --> 00:40:29,840 Speaker 1: and you know, the classic story, really classic American writer's story. 657 00:40:30,960 --> 00:40:33,080 Speaker 1: Part of this comes after the fact, though, I mean, 658 00:40:33,080 --> 00:40:36,240 Speaker 1: the essays were pretty popular, even though critics weren't fans. 659 00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:38,960 Speaker 1: The essays were popular with the public because he was 660 00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:43,080 Speaker 1: so candid in them. But after his death they were 661 00:40:43,120 --> 00:40:46,520 Speaker 1: collected into a book and they just created a stir. 662 00:40:46,800 --> 00:40:52,280 Speaker 1: People were obsessed with with the crack up essays, and 663 00:40:52,440 --> 00:40:56,080 Speaker 1: it did sort of help shift Fitzgerald's reputation, even though 664 00:40:56,080 --> 00:40:59,839 Speaker 1: he was immensely successful during his lifetime, he kind of 665 00:41:00,040 --> 00:41:02,080 Speaker 1: a reputation of somebody who was just writing what he 666 00:41:02,160 --> 00:41:06,319 Speaker 1: saw a voice of his of his generation, like a 667 00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:13,160 Speaker 1: chronicler um, instead of becoming a serious author. And they 668 00:41:13,200 --> 00:41:15,920 Speaker 1: also sort of helped shift the perception of him as 669 00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:19,759 Speaker 1: somebody who was self absorbed into somebody who was just 670 00:41:19,800 --> 00:41:23,040 Speaker 1: self aware. He could he could reflect on all that 671 00:41:23,080 --> 00:41:25,880 Speaker 1: he saw around him, he could engage in it, but 672 00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:30,600 Speaker 1: he could observe it from afar too. They started that 673 00:41:30,640 --> 00:41:34,640 Speaker 1: shift in his reputation. The other thing that apparently these 674 00:41:34,680 --> 00:41:40,720 Speaker 1: these essays helped start was the great age of autobiographical writing. 675 00:41:41,800 --> 00:41:44,799 Speaker 1: These essays don't seem strange today, no, not at all. 676 00:41:44,920 --> 00:41:47,880 Speaker 1: Kind of tame actually, I mean, he doesn't go into 677 00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:53,640 Speaker 1: all of he doesn't talk about his marriage, drinking money, 678 00:41:54,560 --> 00:41:57,440 Speaker 1: none of this kind of his feelings in this sensation 679 00:41:57,480 --> 00:42:02,920 Speaker 1: of emptiness that he was experiencing this before that, or 680 00:42:02,960 --> 00:42:05,520 Speaker 1: if they did, it was not you know, widely publicized 681 00:42:05,560 --> 00:42:09,400 Speaker 1: and widely read, and certainly did not create like big 682 00:42:10,239 --> 00:42:14,759 Speaker 1: waves of excitement and discussion amongst readers and critics. So 683 00:42:14,840 --> 00:42:17,120 Speaker 1: it's it really is interesting that he ushered in this 684 00:42:17,200 --> 00:42:23,600 Speaker 1: whole new sort of genre of writing, confessional writing, autobiographical essays. Um. 685 00:42:23,640 --> 00:42:26,120 Speaker 1: I mean some of the stuff that makes up the 686 00:42:26,239 --> 00:42:32,640 Speaker 1: great literary magazines of today still. Um. So that's sort 687 00:42:32,680 --> 00:42:36,879 Speaker 1: of a sad last few years for Fitzgerald. But the 688 00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:41,000 Speaker 1: very last few years didn't seem like things were maybe 689 00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:43,880 Speaker 1: looking up a little bit. Um. He went back to 690 00:42:43,920 --> 00:42:50,239 Speaker 1: Hollywood and had another go at screenwriting, and he got 691 00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:53,760 Speaker 1: over that writer's block. He started churning out short stories again. 692 00:42:54,320 --> 00:42:57,800 Speaker 1: He had the first draft of a novel, The Last Tycoon, 693 00:42:57,880 --> 00:43:00,560 Speaker 1: which I love. I have not read the Last Take. 694 00:43:00,760 --> 00:43:02,720 Speaker 1: I love that book and he talks a lot about 695 00:43:02,719 --> 00:43:05,680 Speaker 1: Hollywood in it, and there are some moments of imagery 696 00:43:05,680 --> 00:43:07,799 Speaker 1: where he kind of draws back the curtain from the 697 00:43:07,840 --> 00:43:10,520 Speaker 1: perfection that we see in film and what's really going 698 00:43:10,520 --> 00:43:12,839 Speaker 1: on behind the scenes. And there's one thing where he's 699 00:43:12,880 --> 00:43:16,479 Speaker 1: talking about the makeup artist covering the actress's eggs. Amon. 700 00:43:17,040 --> 00:43:19,040 Speaker 1: It just stuck with me because the imagery of it 701 00:43:19,120 --> 00:43:22,719 Speaker 1: is so strong and so striking. I really want a 702 00:43:22,760 --> 00:43:25,080 Speaker 1: really good film adaptation of it at some point. Well, 703 00:43:25,080 --> 00:43:27,560 Speaker 1: and I know it is considered I mean most people 704 00:43:27,600 --> 00:43:30,959 Speaker 1: think had he lived to see it published, it would 705 00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:34,800 Speaker 1: have revitalized his career in a huge way and certainly 706 00:43:34,840 --> 00:43:37,680 Speaker 1: would have placed him as a modern man again, not 707 00:43:37,880 --> 00:43:41,400 Speaker 1: a sort of relic of the twenties. Um. But he 708 00:43:41,400 --> 00:43:44,480 Speaker 1: also started a new romance too, with a gossip columnist, 709 00:43:44,680 --> 00:43:49,319 Speaker 1: Sheila Graham. He had gotten his drinking together for long 710 00:43:49,440 --> 00:43:53,440 Speaker 1: enough to to charm her. They kept the romance secret 711 00:43:53,560 --> 00:43:57,760 Speaker 1: from Valda, who was still in hospitals at this point. 712 00:43:58,320 --> 00:44:03,560 Speaker 1: Um and lived together, but in November of nineteen forty 713 00:44:03,840 --> 00:44:07,200 Speaker 1: he had a heart attack. In three weeks after that, 714 00:44:07,239 --> 00:44:10,560 Speaker 1: he had a second fatal heart attack, dying at only 715 00:44:10,600 --> 00:44:13,879 Speaker 1: age forty four. Can you imagine what else we would 716 00:44:13,880 --> 00:44:15,640 Speaker 1: have had if he had lived another twenty I mean, 717 00:44:15,680 --> 00:44:18,399 Speaker 1: I think that we have Keats at twenty five, all 718 00:44:18,400 --> 00:44:22,040 Speaker 1: sorts of writers like that. But yeah, I mean, especially 719 00:44:22,440 --> 00:44:27,400 Speaker 1: with such a new, such a different work on the 720 00:44:27,440 --> 00:44:33,360 Speaker 1: horizon for him, and what um renewed respect and interest 721 00:44:33,440 --> 00:44:37,239 Speaker 1: in his writing would have wrought in his life. Yeah, 722 00:44:37,239 --> 00:44:42,480 Speaker 1: it's certainly interesting to think about. UM. Zelda lived on 723 00:44:42,680 --> 00:44:47,839 Speaker 1: for a few more years, and apparently it was pretty quiet, yeah, 724 00:44:47,960 --> 00:44:51,759 Speaker 1: considering considering the rest of her life, I mean, interspersed 725 00:44:51,760 --> 00:44:57,200 Speaker 1: with relapses, but she kept up her her artistic pursuits too. 726 00:44:57,280 --> 00:45:03,600 Speaker 1: She wrote an incomplete second novel, choreographed ballets, she kept painting, 727 00:45:04,040 --> 00:45:09,239 Speaker 1: and she became devoutly religious too. Um and claimed that 728 00:45:09,280 --> 00:45:13,440 Speaker 1: she could not remember most of the twenties thanks to 729 00:45:13,560 --> 00:45:18,040 Speaker 1: her electric shock therapy. Um, which may be a blessing 730 00:45:18,120 --> 00:45:21,719 Speaker 1: or occurred. I don't know. I guess at least she 731 00:45:21,719 --> 00:45:26,880 Speaker 1: would have known her life ends truly tragically though. In 732 00:45:27,440 --> 00:45:31,960 Speaker 1: late nineteen she returned to Highland Hospital, which is in Asheville, 733 00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:36,239 Speaker 1: North Carolina. And uh, just a few months after that, 734 00:45:36,520 --> 00:45:41,080 Speaker 1: a kitchen fire tour through the building. Nine women had 735 00:45:41,120 --> 00:45:45,760 Speaker 1: been locked inside and died, including Zelda. She was identified 736 00:45:45,960 --> 00:45:51,040 Speaker 1: by a slipper that was under her body. Um. I've 737 00:45:51,040 --> 00:45:57,479 Speaker 1: actually seen the historic marker for this hospital in Asheville. Yeah, 738 00:45:57,520 --> 00:46:00,719 Speaker 1: it's just driving along the road and then there's the 739 00:46:00,800 --> 00:46:08,160 Speaker 1: Highland Hospital marker. Um, so does the marker mentioned Zelda. Yes, yeah, 740 00:46:08,200 --> 00:46:13,320 Speaker 1: she's She's the the reason for the marker. But again 741 00:46:13,400 --> 00:46:18,440 Speaker 1: a sad, sad end for both members of this relationship. 742 00:46:19,160 --> 00:46:23,880 Speaker 1: They were buried together, as it seems fitting St. Patrick's 743 00:46:23,920 --> 00:46:28,880 Speaker 1: Day nineteen Zelda was buried next to Scott in Maryland, 744 00:46:29,560 --> 00:46:32,160 Speaker 1: and I got a good way to sort of wrap 745 00:46:32,239 --> 00:46:35,600 Speaker 1: things up, since that is going on the sad train. 746 00:46:35,719 --> 00:46:38,520 Speaker 1: Here at the end um is a quote from their 747 00:46:38,560 --> 00:46:44,640 Speaker 1: granddaughter Eleanor Lanahan, and she wrote, quote, they symbolize zestful youth, 748 00:46:44,920 --> 00:46:48,399 Speaker 1: and the country has daified youth ever since. And they 749 00:46:48,480 --> 00:46:54,120 Speaker 1: made celebrity in our fascination with it stylish. So it's 750 00:46:54,160 --> 00:46:58,080 Speaker 1: not a happy, happy quote or something. But I think 751 00:46:58,120 --> 00:47:01,759 Speaker 1: it is so true and that is what people take 752 00:47:01,760 --> 00:47:03,560 Speaker 1: away from their lives. And I think why so many 753 00:47:03,640 --> 00:47:08,200 Speaker 1: listeners have requested them and um, that's that's the lens 754 00:47:08,239 --> 00:47:10,719 Speaker 1: through which we remember them. Yeah, I mean, I think 755 00:47:10,760 --> 00:47:14,560 Speaker 1: they represent an iconic and important shift in public consciousness 756 00:47:14,560 --> 00:47:18,799 Speaker 1: and how we consume the arts. Uh you know, I 757 00:47:18,800 --> 00:47:21,600 Speaker 1: mean on the negative angle of that, you could say 758 00:47:21,640 --> 00:47:23,520 Speaker 1: without them, we might not be where we're at with 759 00:47:23,600 --> 00:47:28,319 Speaker 1: reality TV. Um, But you know, it was one of 760 00:47:28,320 --> 00:47:30,960 Speaker 1: the first times where the creators were just as important 761 00:47:31,000 --> 00:47:33,160 Speaker 1: as the stories they were telling, because their life stories 762 00:47:33,160 --> 00:47:37,520 Speaker 1: seem just as exciting and the stories reflected their lives 763 00:47:37,560 --> 00:47:45,200 Speaker 1: so clearly. So, Oh, I've gotten Zelda Zelda interesting to 764 00:47:45,280 --> 00:47:49,800 Speaker 1: read about, interesting, so fascinating pictures of them too, And 765 00:47:49,800 --> 00:47:53,799 Speaker 1: and since we don't do too many twentieth century topics, 766 00:47:53,880 --> 00:47:56,600 Speaker 1: or at least haven't in the past, don't usually have 767 00:47:56,640 --> 00:47:59,760 Speaker 1: that opportunity. But there's so many pictures of them and uh, 768 00:48:00,040 --> 00:48:05,000 Speaker 1: everything from the f Scott in drag Priston. But I 769 00:48:05,560 --> 00:48:09,719 Speaker 1: find of Zelda pictures really interesting, going from these little 770 00:48:09,920 --> 00:48:14,560 Speaker 1: like that Ms Zelda say or the sponsor of the 771 00:48:14,920 --> 00:48:20,520 Speaker 1: rotc at Auburn or something of nice little oval shaped 772 00:48:20,560 --> 00:48:24,120 Speaker 1: portrait with her bob to the later pictures where she's 773 00:48:24,160 --> 00:48:28,920 Speaker 1: in her ballet flipping yeah, ready to go. Very it 774 00:48:29,080 --> 00:48:31,680 Speaker 1: is a very strange. It tells a very strange story, 775 00:48:31,760 --> 00:48:34,080 Speaker 1: and it it feels almost like someone that's in a 776 00:48:34,160 --> 00:48:38,040 Speaker 1: costume all the time. Um. And I think it's interesting 777 00:48:38,080 --> 00:48:40,840 Speaker 1: because I in the public consciousness, we do think of 778 00:48:40,880 --> 00:48:44,200 Speaker 1: them in terms of the Roaring twenties, and you know, 779 00:48:44,280 --> 00:48:46,880 Speaker 1: that sort of magical golden time of their lives where 780 00:48:47,000 --> 00:48:50,319 Speaker 1: it was parties, parties, parties and fabulousness. We don't really 781 00:48:50,360 --> 00:48:52,600 Speaker 1: hear so much about like her start as a Southern 782 00:48:52,600 --> 00:48:56,000 Speaker 1: belle debutante and their unfortunate ends. We kind of just 783 00:48:56,200 --> 00:49:00,319 Speaker 1: cut out that decade where the success was happening. Really 784 00:49:00,360 --> 00:49:05,160 Speaker 1: not even though it's like yeah, and it's it's kind 785 00:49:05,160 --> 00:49:07,520 Speaker 1: of fascinating. So I think it's it really sort of 786 00:49:07,520 --> 00:49:09,680 Speaker 1: does them as service to give them a fuller picture, 787 00:49:10,239 --> 00:49:14,200 Speaker 1: even if it's not all exactly sunshine and rainbows. Hey, Sarah, 788 00:49:14,239 --> 00:49:15,479 Speaker 1: do you want to take a moment to talk about 789 00:49:15,480 --> 00:49:20,080 Speaker 1: our sponsor? Okay? So Jack Reads has really quickly become 790 00:49:20,760 --> 00:49:24,319 Speaker 1: the premier online shopping destination for guy's And here's why 791 00:49:24,440 --> 00:49:26,399 Speaker 1: everything on the site is up to eighty percent off 792 00:49:26,440 --> 00:49:29,359 Speaker 1: because little price is ridiculous. Don't do it? Uh. They 793 00:49:29,400 --> 00:49:33,160 Speaker 1: serve up really awesome contemporary and street apparel, accessories and gadgets. 794 00:49:33,239 --> 00:49:36,680 Speaker 1: You can get stuff like Converse vans, which frankly, I've 795 00:49:36,680 --> 00:49:38,280 Speaker 1: been wearing for so long it could be a history 796 00:49:38,280 --> 00:49:40,960 Speaker 1: podcast on its own. You brought the Converse too. I 797 00:49:41,040 --> 00:49:44,279 Speaker 1: do wear a lot of Converse, Penguin and Busted teas. 798 00:49:44,280 --> 00:49:47,160 Speaker 1: And shopping is ridiculously simple. All of the styles are 799 00:49:47,160 --> 00:49:50,480 Speaker 1: already curated by a buyer that has style knowledge, so 800 00:49:50,560 --> 00:49:53,440 Speaker 1: buyer's remorse is not a concern for you. Uh. And 801 00:49:53,480 --> 00:49:56,800 Speaker 1: what's more is, because you are a listener to our podcast, 802 00:49:56,840 --> 00:49:58,719 Speaker 1: you can skip the membership waitlist. You don't have to 803 00:49:58,719 --> 00:50:01,400 Speaker 1: be invited by a member, You just get instant access 804 00:50:01,480 --> 00:50:04,040 Speaker 1: at Jack threads dot com. So to get that special deal, 805 00:50:04,200 --> 00:50:08,799 Speaker 1: go to www dot jack threads dot com slash history 806 00:50:08,840 --> 00:50:12,400 Speaker 1: and you'll get that whole waiting list and be ushered 807 00:50:12,480 --> 00:50:15,839 Speaker 1: right into the club. All right, what do we have 808 00:50:15,960 --> 00:50:22,799 Speaker 1: on the plate for listener meal today? So first of all, 809 00:50:22,800 --> 00:50:25,920 Speaker 1: we have a beautiful drawing. It's done by listener Gracie. 810 00:50:26,080 --> 00:50:30,400 Speaker 1: She's age nine and her dad John send us the 811 00:50:30,440 --> 00:50:35,400 Speaker 1: picture from Victoria, Canada. And it's a picture of Amelia Earhart. 812 00:50:35,520 --> 00:50:40,359 Speaker 1: It's awesome. It's awesome. Holly is duly impressed. Uh. There 813 00:50:40,440 --> 00:50:44,160 Speaker 1: is Amelia Earhart, there's her plane, there's some flowers and 814 00:50:44,280 --> 00:50:48,960 Speaker 1: airport sign, the sun and Fred Noonan who is holding 815 00:50:48,960 --> 00:50:52,920 Speaker 1: a model of alcohol, the good one. It's quite charming. 816 00:50:53,360 --> 00:50:56,840 Speaker 1: Thank you Gracie. It's a lovely portrait. I'll have to 817 00:50:56,880 --> 00:50:58,720 Speaker 1: take a picture of it to put on our social 818 00:50:58,719 --> 00:51:02,799 Speaker 1: media and thank John for sending it along to um. 819 00:51:02,840 --> 00:51:06,680 Speaker 1: We also got a cool picture of Impress Cecy. I 820 00:51:06,719 --> 00:51:11,040 Speaker 1: think you love her, don't you, Hollie Holly. As you 821 00:51:11,040 --> 00:51:15,480 Speaker 1: guys who listened to the the Underwear episode, people just 822 00:51:15,520 --> 00:51:19,080 Speaker 1: think of the underwear lady. You know that she's she's 823 00:51:19,280 --> 00:51:24,120 Speaker 1: very interested in historic costume and um costume design and 824 00:51:24,360 --> 00:51:27,080 Speaker 1: Empress CC does have a lovely gown. This postcard is 825 00:51:27,120 --> 00:51:31,960 Speaker 1: from listener Natalie and Honolulu. She had gone on vacation 826 00:51:32,480 --> 00:51:37,759 Speaker 1: with her husband and stopped by the Empress CC museum. 827 00:51:38,000 --> 00:51:40,800 Speaker 1: And that's always really cool when we hear from listeners 828 00:51:40,800 --> 00:51:44,319 Speaker 1: who have been inspired to go to a museum, check 829 00:51:44,360 --> 00:51:47,920 Speaker 1: out a historic site for themselves. Dress is pretty. And 830 00:51:47,920 --> 00:51:52,000 Speaker 1: then finally, I wanted to inaugurate Holly and this listener meal, 831 00:51:52,160 --> 00:51:56,239 Speaker 1: so listen. While Devilina and I haven't done it for 832 00:51:56,280 --> 00:51:59,040 Speaker 1: a really long time, I'm gonna have one to get 833 00:51:59,080 --> 00:52:01,040 Speaker 1: you ready. And then how a big list that I've 834 00:52:01,080 --> 00:52:03,319 Speaker 1: been storing up so we can do that. We can 835 00:52:03,360 --> 00:52:07,040 Speaker 1: do that maybe next week. UM. One of the coolest 836 00:52:07,120 --> 00:52:11,040 Speaker 1: listener mail segments is when listeners tell us what they're 837 00:52:11,040 --> 00:52:14,239 Speaker 1: doing while they're listening to the podcast, and people have 838 00:52:14,360 --> 00:52:18,200 Speaker 1: all sorts of amazing jobs, or they are traveling in 839 00:52:18,239 --> 00:52:24,000 Speaker 1: cool places. Listener Amanda wrote in to say that while 840 00:52:24,080 --> 00:52:28,640 Speaker 1: she's listening, she's analyzing surface fronts and pressure every three 841 00:52:28,680 --> 00:52:32,760 Speaker 1: hours for all of North America because she's a meteorologist. 842 00:52:33,040 --> 00:52:37,240 Speaker 1: That's super cool, really cool, so thank you. She especially 843 00:52:37,360 --> 00:52:43,040 Speaker 1: liked the five Historical Storms episode Core obvious reasons. Um, 844 00:52:43,280 --> 00:52:45,960 Speaker 1: that will be a fun segment to kick off again. 845 00:52:46,000 --> 00:52:48,880 Speaker 1: And whenever we do one, people start writing in with 846 00:52:49,000 --> 00:52:55,160 Speaker 1: new interesting examples. So thank you everybody for sending mail. 847 00:52:56,200 --> 00:52:58,319 Speaker 1: If you want to check us out on Twitter, we're 848 00:52:58,320 --> 00:53:02,000 Speaker 1: still at Missed in History. Were also on Facebook and 849 00:53:02,120 --> 00:53:05,560 Speaker 1: I guess Polly will be joining me there, yes, indeed 850 00:53:05,680 --> 00:53:09,560 Speaker 1: soon and then uh Tracy'll be taken over with posts 851 00:53:09,560 --> 00:53:12,719 Speaker 1: in a few more weeks for me, but it will 852 00:53:12,760 --> 00:53:15,280 Speaker 1: be fine. I've not wanted to post on the rerun 853 00:53:15,400 --> 00:53:19,520 Speaker 1: episodes of things have been a little little quiet quiet 854 00:53:19,520 --> 00:53:22,480 Speaker 1: on social medialy, get back up and be sociable. We'll 855 00:53:22,520 --> 00:53:24,920 Speaker 1: be back. And if you want to learn more about 856 00:53:24,960 --> 00:53:28,520 Speaker 1: one of these famous x fats from the nineteen twenties, 857 00:53:28,560 --> 00:53:33,480 Speaker 1: we do have an article on Pablo Cosso fantastic, so 858 00:53:33,719 --> 00:53:37,120 Speaker 1: you can check that out reading about Pablo, who, as 859 00:53:37,280 --> 00:53:40,839 Speaker 1: you guys know by now, is my seat mate here 860 00:53:40,880 --> 00:53:43,960 Speaker 1: in the studio heard from a lot of folks saying, 861 00:53:44,400 --> 00:53:47,960 Speaker 1: I guess science podcast listeners who said that Julie had 862 00:53:48,040 --> 00:53:52,840 Speaker 1: sometimes mentioned Picasso and I have Tesla. You have Tesla, 863 00:53:53,480 --> 00:53:55,439 Speaker 1: so if you want to learn about that or anything else, 864 00:53:55,600 --> 00:53:57,279 Speaker 1: You can come and visit our website and type in 865 00:53:57,280 --> 00:54:00,200 Speaker 1: almost anything you're braking conjuring you will turn up all 866 00:54:00,320 --> 00:54:03,279 Speaker 1: manner of information. And that website is how stuff Works 867 00:54:03,280 --> 00:54:09,360 Speaker 1: dot com m. For more on this and thousands of 868 00:54:09,400 --> 00:54:24,040 Speaker 1: other topics. Is it how stuff Works dot com m