Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

B

This was a hard book for me to summarize and review as there are so many dimensions and so much symbolism - some of which I am sure I would have to read a couple of times to pick up on - after all it is Fitzgerald!

General Summary:
Rosemary, a young actress, in her prime spends time traveling in French Riviera in the 1920s with her mother. She comes to friends with a much older group of wealthy Americans who spend their time mostly traveling and spending money on fancy outings and high class gatherings. Two of the predominate people in this group are Dick and Nicole Diver. They have grand parties and seem to be the life of the group at any event they attend. We learn threw a series of mysterious events that Nicole has a psych history - after a childhood of abuse from her father. Dick Diver - who was a poor man before he met Nicole - was/is a psychiatrist. Threw some shady deals and money exchanges, Dick marries Nicole to become her life long doctor and keep her sane or make her appear to be sane. Rosemary, much younger then Dick, falls in love with Dick. They sneak around and begin mutual a love affair. When Nicoles sister - the source of Dicks money - catches on she warns Dick that he needs to stay true to his work and take care of Nicole for the rest of his life. As the story progresses, the death of Nicoles father brings her peace and she begins to be able to control her emotions and not rely on Dick as a doctor. Nicole and Dick end their marriage as she is now healthy and falls in love with a man for love rather then protection. Though this is years later, Dick attempts to win back Rosemary, but she has moved on and tragically Dick ends up alone.

In my Opinion:
This was a hard book for me to read. Most of the time, I felt like I was missing something. There are many side stories and foreshadowing that added detail and dimension to each character and situation and, as I wrote earlier, I am sure if I were to read it again I would pick up on alot more. The marriage between Dick and Nicole was so interesting to me. As it seems like it was one of conveniences, which it partly was; but every once in a while I felt as if they truly loved each other. They seemed to be a good team, as they knew each others weaknesses and allowed each other to be imperfect. Nicole seems to know Dick is running around with Rosemary - and almost allows it as a outlet for him. Letting him have some piece of a normal relationship in his life. Dick helps Nicole cover up a murder and sees it as his fault that he let it happen. When Rosemary is realizes/is forced to be part of the cover up - I think that is the turning point of the story.
When Rosemary falls for Dick she is very impressionable. I think she gets swept up in the superficial lifestyle Dick and Nicole lead. When she really beings to see the life they TRULY lead, with all its darkness, she turns away from Dick and really seems to move on with her life. At this point I began to think that that is the connection I felt between Dick and Nicole. They both accepted the imperfections of their love and, in turn, loved each other because of it - and Fitzgerald lead the reader to believe that for a while. Maybe they had a tragic love - but maybe it really was love? A contrast to what I originally perceived as a codependent-marrige. Then the story changed again when Nicoles father -the source of her tragic childhood - dies. It seems she is able to overcome her past and not need Dick for mental guidance. When Nicole and Dick divorce, Nicole seems healthy. Dick runs to find Rosemary - almost as if he is looking to find someone else who needs him. By the end, I saw Dick as a very weak person - a persona he seemed to be trying so hard to cover up his whole life. He fed off of Nicoles dependence, Rosemary's teenage love, and all his friends attention and when he did not have all that he fell apart. At the end of the book Dick is really not in contact with anyone and no one really knows where he is. He has vanished as a person without all his unhealthy/co dependent relationships. It was interesting to me that throughout that book Dick really makes no effort to form any relationship with his children. They are mentioned very little and when they are - they are almost a nuisance to him it seems. Even in the end Nicole cares for them and Dick has very little contact. It seems to be that the last part of the book is Dicks downfall. Maybe his worst nightmare come true. He spends so much time making things appear a certain way, that maybe he missed what truly matters in his life - true relationships.