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Fitzgerald and Cather: The Great GatsbyAuthor(s): Tom QuirkSource: American Literature, Vol. 54, No. 4 (Dec., 1982), pp. 576-591Published by: Duke University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2926007

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FitzgeraldndCather:The GreatGatsbyTOM QUIRK

University fMissouri-Columbia

ISHORTLY after he GreatGatsby as publishedn 1925, F. ScottFitzgeraldeceived letter romWillaCatheromplimentinghim on his achievement.'itzgerald as understandablyxcitedabout he etter,omuch o that ewokeup Christianausse ndhiswife tone 'clockn themorningo elebrate.2isbehavior asextravagant,orGaussewas a Dean at Princetonnd muchFitz-gerald's enior, ut extravagantehaviorwas not unusualforFitzgerald. evertheless,heres reason osupposehat he xcite-ment ather'setter eneratedn theyounguthorwasauthenticandthattsomehowerifiedisownambitionsorhisnewnovel.Forhehad onsciouslytriveno mulateather'siteraryechnique;but,moremportantly,hehadexertedgreaternfluenceponhimthan ven e seemsohave ealized,n mattersf ncidentnd storyaswell s stylend echnique.Maxwell eismar,nhisbookTheLastof he rovincials,asthefirsto suggesthenfluencefCather ponTheGreatGatsby. eperceivedsimilarityftheme nd tone nthe oncludingassages

1 This letter s in "Scrapbook V (The GreatGatsby)," . 2I, in the Firestone ibrary,Princeton niversity,nd is dated 28 April 925. Cather's etterwas actuallywritten nresponse o a letter rom itzgerald n which he confessedo writing passage n Gatsbythathe thought eminiscentf a passage fromA Lost Lady. Fitzgerald's etter s reprintedin MatthewBruccoli's 'An Instance f Apparent lagiarism':F. Scott Fitzgerald,WillaCather, nd the FirstGatsbyManuscript,"rinceton niversityibrary hronicle9 (1978),I7I-78; stipulationsnCather'swill prohibituotationrom er etter.

2 Reported n ArthurMizener'sThe Far Side of Paradise:A Biography f F. ScottFitzgeraldBoston:HoughtonMifflino., i965), p. 202.American Literature,Volume54, Number4, December982. Copyright I982 by DukeUniversityress.


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The GreatGatsby 577of My Antonia nd Gatsby. he novelsbeara special imilarityswell,heargued,n their irsterson arrators,imBurden ndNickCarraway, othof whompossess rememberedssociationwithsomeoneunique and unexampledyetwho embodiedsomethingprecious,f ost, likethefoundersf the arly aces," s Catherhadphrasedt.3James . Milleraugmented nd fortifiedheCather/Fitzgeraldconnectiononsiderablyn his The FictionalTechniqueofF. ScottFitzgerald.He suggestedhepossibilityhatFitzgeraldmighthavebeen acquaintedwithCather'sessay"The Novel Demeuble," nwhichCather rgednovelistso throw ll of thefurnitureffictionoutthewindow;and, n contrastoGeismar,Miller peculatedhatFitzgeraldmighthave learnedmore bout iteraryorm rom ead-ing A Lost Lady (anotherfirst ersonnarrative) han fromMyAntoniabecause he firsts more ompact,ess"furnished." t anyrate, Miller is surelycorrect n arguingthat GatsbyrepresentsFitzgerald'smovementway from he heavily urnished ovel of"saturation,"hich warmswithdetail,ndtoward heunfurnished,refined ovelof "selection." nd A Lost Lady doesdisplaygreaterartisticestrainthanMy Antonia.Millerfurtherdentifiedhe na-tureofCather's nfluence n Fitzgerald s essentiallyne of tech-nique,and especiallyhatFitzgeraldearnedfromhera greatdealabout point fviewand aboutform ndunity."4HenryDan Piperwent venfurthernarguingCather'snfluenceonFitzgeraldwhenhecontended hat hewas "almost s importantas" Conradin contributingnspirationo Fitzgerald's evelopingliteraryraftsmanship.ndhe additionallypeculatedhat heyoungauthormay haverespondedo EdmundWilson'sreview fA LostLady in January,924, in theDial. There,Wilsonhad arguedthatthatnovelachieved tsdramaticntensityhrough heskillfulman-agement f itsfirst-personoint of view.This review, ipersug-gested,mayeven have had somethingodo withFitzgerald's e-cisionthreemonthsater o abandonthethird-personpproach o

3 The Last of the Provincials:The AmericanNovel, I9I5-1925 (Boston:HoughtonMifflin o., I943), p. i66.4 James . MillerJr., he Fictional echnique fScottFitzgerald The Hague: MartinusNijhoff, 957), p. 78; rev.ed. as F. ScottFitzgerald:His Art and His Technique NewYork: New York Univ. Press, I964).


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578 Americaniteraturehis story."5 ut I would argue thatCather's nfluencepon Fitz-geraldwas not restrictedo matters f technique loneand thathisaffinityithherwas evenmore xtensivehanGeismar,Miller, ndPiperhave uggested.There is no doubt thatFitzgerald houghthighlyof Cather'sachievementshe identifiedimselfn a letter oher as oneofher"greatest dmirers"), nd herworkwas in his mindduring ndafter hecompositionfThe GreatGatsby. e was familiarnoughwithA Lost Lady (thoughhe consistentlyisrememberedhe titleas "The Lost Lady") torecognize hathe had written paragraphin Gatsby hat strangelyaralleled" paragraphn thatbookandconscientiousnough owriteCather irectly efore hepublicationof his novel and inform er of thisaccidental lagiarism.6 ddi-tionally,n a letter oCharlesC. Baldwin, gain before hecomple-tionof Gatsby, e proudly nnounced hathis bookwould be an"attempt t form," n attemptto convey he feelof scenes, lacesand people directly-asConraddoes, as few AmericansnotablyWillaCather)are already ryingo do."7After hepublication fhisnovel,however, espitehis conscious mbitions owrite novel ofform ather hana rambling hronicle f the azz age, Fitzgeraldconfessedo H. L. Mencken hathisbook was a "failure" omparedtoMyAntonia nd a Lost Lady.8Thismayormaynot havebeenfalsemodesty n Fitzgerald's art;he had often ragged bouthisaccomplishmentn Gatsbyndfelt his ook madehima novelistobereckoned ith. n fact,implyntermsfwhathehadattempted,a novel of form, e was probablyorrectn thecomparison. rtis-tically, Lost Ladyisno doubt hebetter ook-it isquiet ndsure;itstone s steadier;tsnarrative ersonamore onsistentlyrawn; tseldomyields oexcitable ariationsfmoodandtempo.But,be that s it may,we know as well thatFitzgerald,whileherecognizedCatheras a fellow artist, qually recognizedher as afellowmid-Westerner.omewhatmistakenly,owever, e thoughtof heras a mid-Westernovelistwhose pioneerswere exclusively

5HenryDan Piper,F. ScottFitzgerald:A Critical ortraitNew York: Holt,Rinehart,and Winston,965), pp. I33-34.6 The Letters fF. Scott itzgerald, ndrew urnbull, d. (New York:Charles cribner'sSons, 963), p. 507. Hereafterited s Letters.7 Quoted n Miller, p. 73-74.8 Letter o H. L. Mencken, May 925. Letters,p. 480-8I.


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The GreatGatsby 579"Swedes."9He may havehad Cathern mind, n fact, ndwas dis-tinguishing is experienceromhers,when he had Nick recallhisreturn ripswithfellow tudents rom astern chools t Christmas-time.When they aw andbreathed nce again thesnow n the air,Nick recalls,we became unutterablywareof our dentity ith hiscountry or ne strange our, efore e melted ndistinguishablyntoitagain.""That's myMiddleWest-," saysNick,"notthewheat rtheprairies r the ost wede towns, ut he hrillingeturningrainsof myyouth, nd the treetamps nd sleigh ells n thefrostyarkandthe hadows f hollywreaths hrown y ightedwindows nthesnow. ampart f that."t is this everien thefinal hapterwhichtriggersherecognitionhathis story as been a mid-Westernne:"I see now that hishas been storyf theWest, fter ll-Tom andGatsby, aisy, Jordannd I were all Westerners,nd perhapswepossessed ome deficiencyn commonwhich made us subtly n-adaptable o Eastern ife."'0And it is the "El Greco-like"distor-tions" pp. I77-78) he perceives n Eastern ifewhich ustify isreturn ome afterGatsby's eath.

AlthoughMy14ntoniand A LostLadyare the nlyCather ovelsFitzgeraldmentionsnhis etters,e showed special espector neofher hort tories,Paul'sCase,"whenhewrote hat hat torylonewas worthmore han nything orothy anfield ad tosay n herfictionnd hadclaimednhis etter oCatherherself hat t wasoneof his favorites." is mention f this torys suggestiveecauseofcertain imilaritiest hasto Gatsby nd itsthematicimilarityo oneofFitzgerald'swnstories,Absolution," hichhadbeenoriginallyintended s a prologue oThe GreatGatsbynd whichwould fill ndetails bout Gatsby's arly ife.Cather's tory, s its subtitle, AStudynTemperament,"uggests,s clearly casestudy.It is the toryfa youngman iving nPittsburghholeadstwolives-a cramped, onventionalne symbolized y thepictures f

9Letter o Perkins,. I June925. Letters, p. I83-88. Fitzgerald rovided erkinswitha "History f theSimple narticulatearmer nd His Hired Man Christy"n this etter.nhis entry or 9I8, he wrote:"Willa Cather urnshim [thesimplefarmer] wede." I9I8is the year f publication f My Antonia,whichdoesnotdeal withSwedesbutBohemians.Fitzgeraldwas probably hinkingf 0 Pioneers 19I3), which does deal withSwedishfarmers.10The Great Gatsby (New York: Scribner'sons, 925), p. I77. Hereafteritedparen-theticallyn the text.1: Letter o DaytonKohler, March1938.Letters,p. 571-72.


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580 AmericaniteratureGeorgeWashingtonnd JohnCalvinand themotto Feed theLambs"whichhangabovehisbed, nd the ifeof hisromanticimaginationhich hriveshenhe isatwork s an ushertCar-negieHall. Paultakes is courageodealwith hefirst rom isromanticonvictionsbout he econd. e dresseslamboyantlyndis disdainfulf the onventionalxpectationslaceduponhimbyhisfathernd hisschool.n oneepisode,aulfollowshetheaterperformersotheir otelfterhe erformancend llows is magi-nation oplayuponthe xotic ossibilitieshat aywithin. s hestoodnthegravel riventherain, e looked p at "theorangeglowof thewindowsbovehim.There t was,whathewanted-tangiblyeforeim,ike fairy orld fa Christmasantomime";butmockingpiritstood uardtthe oors,nd, s the ain eat nhisface,Paulwonderedhetherewere estinedlwaysoshiverin the lacknightutside,ookingpat t."12In a boldgesture,esteals hreehousandollarsndtravel-soNewYork nd ivesn romanticplendoror fortnight.is re-sourcesepletedndaware hat isfathers in NewYork ookingforhim, eopts o endhis ife atherhan eturnohis home nCordeliatreet.aulcommitsuicide ythrowingimselfnfrontof nonrushingrain,ndhedrops ack nto he immense esignofthings." eminiscents "Paul'sCase" s of certain lementsnGatsby-Gatsby'slamboyantress, isromanticmagination,ndhis acred,atenight igilnChapter II standingna gravel rivein a pink agofa suit,ooking p at lighted indows-themo-tionalomplexfboyhood,hemaginedifewhich ives aulcour-age, s closeroFitzgerald'storyfRudolphMiller, hich ecalled"Absolution."13"Absolution,"oo,dealswith youngman caught etweenheconventionalxpectationsfhim ndhis wn omanticmagination,representedyhisundauntedouble, honeitherbservesonven-

12 "Paul's Case," in Youthand theBrightMedusa (New York:RandomHouse, 975),p. I89. "Paul's Case" was first ublishedn McClure'sand latercollected n The TrollGarden I905) and Youth nd the BrightMeduisaI920). SinceFitzgeraldmentionsPaul'sCase" and "Seduction," othof which re includedn Youth nd theBrightMedusa, n hisletter o Cather s beinghisfavoritetories y her, t is likely hathe readthestoryn thislastcollection.

13 "Absolution" as first ublishedn the AmericanMercurynJune,924, pp. I36-5I;it is reprintedn Fitzgerald's he GreatGatsby:The Novel,the Critics,heBackground,HenryDan Piper, d. (New York:Charles cribner'sons, 970), pp. 83-92.


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The GreatGatsby 58Itionnor sfearfulf the onsequencesfhis disregard.orRudolphMiller, he magined oublehas a name,Blatchfordarnemington.Blatchfordives in "great, weepingtriumphs," ut Rudolph isgnawedbyconscience. ndwhenhe goesto hispriest o admit hathe had lied in confession,e is takenabackby FatherSchwartz'srhapsodicpeech bout he eductivettractionsf a gay world.Thepriest dvisesRudolphto go to an amusementark,where every-thingwilltwinkle." orFather chwartz,ikeRudolph,s attractedtotheromanticworldwhere things o glimmering."He eventuallyemoved hisepisodefromhis noveland sold itseparatelys a short tory,nd in the novelhe changedRudolph'snameto Jimmie atzand hisalter go'stoJay atsby,ut hedoublelife f his newlynamed haracterersisted. orethan Paul'sCase,"however, ather's irst ovel,Alexander's ridge, eems ohave ex-erted hemost uggestivenfluenceponFitzgerald. he novelwasserializedn McClure'sunderthetitleAlexander'sMasquerade nI9I2 and published s a bookbyHoughtonMifflinaterthesameyear. twas wellreceivednd was reissuedwith n author's refacein I922, at a timewhenFitzgeraldwas contemplatinghenovelwhichwouldbecomeThe GreatGaisby.As a first ovel,Alexander's ridge s understandablyn appren-tice piecein manyways-Catherherselfwas to claim her secondnovel,0 Pioneers 19I3), herfirstpirituallynd toconfess hat tthe ime fwriting lexander'sBridge shewastoofascinatedytheunfamiliarnd unmindful f therichness f the subjectmatterclosest oher-her nativeNebraska.14

In anyevent,Alexander's Bridge s the story f a middle-agedengineer amedBartley lexanderwhoseworldlyuccess ndmari-talhappinessrevaguelynsufficientorhim.Living n Boston, issupervisionf the constructionf a cantilever ridge n Canadarequires imtotravel oLondonperiodicallyoreacquaint imselfwithBritish uilding odes. t is in London thathe attends playinwhichHilda Burgoyne,is firstoveofseveral ears efore,tars.He re-kindlesheflame gainsthisbetterudgment, ll thewhilerecognizinghathismarriages themorevaluable nd durable ela-

14 "My FirstNovels:There WereTwo," Part6 ofThe Colophon, 93I; rpt. n WillaCather n Writing: ritical tudieson Writings an Art (New York: AlfredA. Knopf,I949), pp. 89-97.


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582 AmericanLiteraturetionship. utBartleysnot ctuallyn lovewithHilda so much sheis in lovewith moreyouthfulndvital mageofhimself hichheperceivesobe slipping wayfromhimand whichhe seeksto re-capture hrough er.Repeatedly e resolves o put an end to theaffair,utheis so obsessedwith his deaofhimselfhathisresolu-tionweakens ndhe travelsoLondonto be withher.Towardtheendof thenovel,Hilda's troupe ravelsoNew Yorkand theymeetn an apartmenthichhekeeps orbusiness urposes.It is thedistractionf Hilda whichprevents lexander rom ttend-ing toa telegramrom anadaconcerningstructuralroblemwiththebridge.A second elegrameaches imandherushes o the on-structionite.The lowerbeams reshowing train,nd Bartleym-mediatelyrdersheworkersff hebridge. uthiscommandsometoo late; thebridgecollapses nd Alexanderdrownsalong withdozens ofworkers.The novel s principallynterestingn that t reveals ather's er-sistentoncernwiththedoublenessfpersonality,houghwiththeCatherian echnique s yetunrefined.n particular,ersymbolismis too obvious nd heavy-handed.he cantilever ridge s a con-spicuous naloguefor Bartley'smental tate-justas Bartley's er-sonalitys described s possessing "weak spot"wheresomedaystrainwould tell,15 so is there structuralefectn thebridgehe isbuilding. he strains tested,fcourse,n hismaintenancef twolives, he ecure omesticne withhiswife nd theyouthful,oman-ticonewithHilda. Bartleyongsfor hedayswhenhe had a "singlepurpose nda singleheart" p. ioi), but npursuinghatdream nmiddle gehedevelops "another ature,"s if "a secondmanhasbeengraftedntome,"and "he is fightingorhis life t thecostofmine" p. I02). The cantileverridge,tretchedalf-waycross heriver,s explicitlydentifieds symbolicf Alexander's assion, ndtheriver eneath s "death, heonlyother hing s strong s love.Under hemoon, nder he old, plendidtars,herewere nly hosetwothingswakeandsleepless; eath nd ove, herushingiverndhisburning eart"p. II8).

The angles fthis ovetrianglereroughlyongruent iththoseinGatsby,ut hemost uggestiveimilaritiesxistna single assage15 Alexander's ridge Lincoln:Univ. ofNebraskaPress, 982), p. I2. Hereafteritedparentheticallynthetext.


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The GreatGatsby 583which dentifies lexander's ackgroundnd his developing esireto retrieveimself rom he pastthrough ispassionforHilda. Herecognizeshathe is afraid f the"dead calmof middle ifewhichconfrontedim" p. 38) and longs or hedayswhenhe felt is own"wild ight-heartedness":Suchhourswere he nly nes n which e could eel isown ontinuousidentity-feelhe oyhe hadbeen nthe ough ays fthe ldWest, eeltheyouth hohad worked isway cross he cean n a cattle-shipndgone o tudyn Pariswithout dollarn hispocket.he manwho at nhisofficesn Bostonwasonly powerful achine.nder he ctivitiesfthatmachineheperson ho, n suchmomentss this, e felt o behim-self, asfadingnddying. e rememberedow,when e was little oyand hisfatheralledhim n themorning,e usedto leapfrom is bedinto he ull onsciousnessfhimself.hat consciousnessasLife tself.Whateverook ts place, ction, eflection,hepowerof concentratedthought,ere nly unctionsf mechanismsefulo ociety;hingshatcouldbeboughtn themarket. herewas only ne thing hathad anabsolutealuefor ach ndividual,nd t was ust hat riginalmpulse,that nternaleat, hat eelingfone's elf n one's wnbreast.WhenAlexanderalked ack ohishotel,he ed ndgreenights ereblinkinglong he ocksn the artherhore,ndthe oftwhitetars ereshiningnthewide sky bove heriver. (pp. 39-40)

The parallels etween he ivesof Gatsby nd Alexander s theyarerevealedn thispassage rerather bvious. othcharactersomefromprovincialWestern r mid-Westernomesand had workedaboard ships.Both studied broad-Alexandern Paris,Gatsby ora few months t Oxford.And bothobserve reen ights cross hewater,whichserve s emblems f that mageof themselves hichthey ttempto retrievehrough eviving lost ove.This astparallelis the most significantecause t is the green ightat the end ofDaisy'sdockin East Egg which becomes he dominant ymbol fGatsby's motional omplex.At theconclusion f Chapter , Nickreturns ome n theevening nd observes is mysteriouseighbor"regardinghe ilver epper fthestars."He decides o call tohim,butcheckshimselfwhenhe realizesGatsbys content o be alone-"he stretcheduthisarms oward he darkwater n a curiousway,and,faras I was fromhim, couldhave swornhe was trembling.Involuntarilyglanced eaward-and distinguishedothing xcept


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584 American Literaturea singlegreen ight" pp. 2I-22). And Fitzgerald eturnso thisimage n the yrical onclusionfthebookwhenhehas Nick umup Gatsby'smotivation:Gatsby elievedn the green ight, heorgiasticuturehatyear yyear ecedes efore s" (p. I82).The greenight id not lways ccupyo centralpositionn thenovel. riginallyhere ere wo ightstthe nd fDaisy's ock ndweremeant implyo convey certainomanticntimacy,or heywere ntroducedn Chapter whenDaisy and Gatsbywerere-united.16hrough evision,itzgerald ade he mage entralohisnovel. e made tthe ominantmage f he oncludingaragraphsand ntroducedt nto hefinal aragraphf Chapter. It becamea symbolo whichGatsby evoted he astounce fhis "romanticreadiness,"his xtraordinaryift orhope." itzgerald'sppropria-tion fthis mage nd histransformationf t nto forcefulym-bol nvitesurtherpeculationbout owextensivehe nfluencefAlexander'sridge asupon he uthor.Gatsbynacts isownmasqueradend, ikeAlexander,t oddmomentshe trainfhisdual-lifeells. espite is resourcefulnessofmovement,"ick noticeshatGatsbywas "never uite till; herewasalways tappingoot omewherer thempatientpeningndclosing fa hand" p. 64). There s alsoa fascinatingivisione-tweenGatsby's ublicpersonalitynd his private,inister usinessdealingswhichFitzgeraldwiselydecided to keep mysterious. ayGatsby,sopposedoJimmieatz,san nventionhichNick ays,"sprang rom isPlatonic onceptionfhimself"p. 99), and tothisimmutable onception, e aretold,Gatsbywas faithfulo the end.His extravagantnd obsessive esigns o recapture aisy'slove arevain attemptso "repeat hepast,"an ambition o whichGatsbydevotes ll hisenergies.Like Bartley lexander, atsby ursueshis own lostvitalityndyouth;Alexanders in hismid-forties,utGatsbys muchyounger.He is, according oNick,an "elegantyoungroughneck, yearortwo overthirty"p. 48). Yet whenMaxwellPerkins, itzgerald'seditor,wrote heauthor fter eading hemanuscript,hatGatsby

16 Informationoncerninghecompositionf The GreatGatsbys primarilyased onKenneth ble's"The Craft f Revision: he GreatGatsby," mericaniterature,6 (AutumnI964), 3I5-26; and supplementedy Piper,pp. I38-54, and Matthew rucolli's ome SortofEpic Grandeur: he Life ofF. ScottFitzgeraldNew York:Harcourt raceJovanovich,I98I), pp. I95-2I9.


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The GreatGatsby 585seemed o be a much "olderman,"Fitzgerald eplied: It seems falmostmysticalignificanceo me thatyou thought ewas older-the man I had in mind,half-unconsciously,as older."'7This dis-crepancys notone ofdetail-whatweknowof Gatsby's ackgroundnumericallyallieswithhis actual ge-; it is rather matter ftheemotionaluality f Gatsby's haracter. e is not o old as topossessMeyerWolfsheim'sired entimentality,ho excuses imself t therestaurantecausehe belongs o "another eneration"p. 73). ButGatsby s well nto hat menacing" ecadewhichNick imagines orhimself n histhirtiethirthday:Thirty-the romise f a decadeof oneliness,thinningist f singlemento know, thinningrief-case of enthusiasm,hinning air" (p. 136). Gatsby's nthusiasmsalready avethinned o one,hisenthusiasmorDaisy.Gatsby's bsessionsre,as Nick speculates, ith"some idea ofhimself": He talked lotaboutthepast, nd I gathered hathewanted o recoveromething,ome dea ofhimselferhaps,hathadgone nto ovingDaisy. His lifehad been confusednd disorderedsince hen, ut fhecouldoncereturno a certaintartinglaceandgo over t all slowly, e could findoutwhat that hingwas" (pp.III-I2). That"thing,"nfact, robably ever xisted orGatsby orforJimmie atz for hatmatter). or Nickrenders atsby'secollec-tionsof his love forDaisy fiveyearsbeforen suchromanticnddistorted etail that we immediatelyecognize he futilityf hisdreams. he moonlit blocks f thesidewalk" nDaisy'shometownreally ormed ladder o a "secret laceabove he rees"where, nceclimbed,Gatsby ould "gulp down the ncomparablemilk ofwon-der" p. II2). As he kissedDaisy that utumn vening nLouisville,he listenedfor moment onger othe tuning-forkhathad beenstruck pona star.Then he kissedher.At his lips' touch heblos-somedforhim like a flower nd the incarnation as complete"(p. 112).The "incarnation"fwhichNick speaks, nd which s unbeliev-able preciselyo thedegree hat t is poetic, s thatparticularizedmoment,s it s sustained ymemory, henGatsby elieved isownPlatonic elfhad foran instant ouched heearth;and it is thatidentity, hich never ctually xisted, hathe seeksand which ssymbolized ythegreen ight cross hewater. t is Gatsby's utile

17 Letter to Maxwell Perkins,c. 20 Dec. I924. Letters,p. I7I-75.


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586 AmericanLiteraturedreamwhichFitzgerald xplicitlydentifies iththe AmericanDream n the conclusionf thenovel nd which husmakesmythicaligurefhis haracter:I became ware f he ld sland ere hat lowerednce or utch ailors'eyes-afresh,reen reastf thenewworld.ts vanishedrees,he reesthat ad madewayforGatsby's ouse, adoncepanderednwhispersothe astand greatestf all humandreams; or transitorynchantedmoment anmust aveheldhisbreathnthepresencefthis ontinent,compelledntoan aestheticontemplatione neither nderstoodordesired, aceto facefor he asttime n history ith omethingom-mensurateohiscapacityorwonder. p. I82)This s the ge-oldream atsbyeeks,ut t sa vain triving:Hehad come longwayto this lue awn, nd hisdreammust aveseemedoclose hat e could ardlyail ograspt.He didnotknowthattwas lreadyehind im,omewhereacknthe ast bscuritybeyondhe ity, here he ark ieldsf he epublicolledn underthe ight"p. 82).Thesefamous oncluding assages fThe GreatGatsby otonlybear heweight f thenovel nd, n fact,ransportatsby'storyntothe ealm fmyth,ut hey ad nformedt as well.The final ara-graphsgrewoutofa single yrical entencewhich Fitzgeraldhadoriginallysedtoconclude hefirsthapter. e crossedhat entenceout,workedup theparagraphs,nd placedthem t the conclusion.In doing so,he introduced hegreen ightwhich had before eenconfinedo Chapter , and thenworkedt nto he oncluding ara-graph fChapter aswell.Thus,he gaveGatsby's earningssingleand dramatic ocus, orthisgreen ight, s symbol,s inextricablywed toGatsby's onsciousnessf t. Throughrevision, e madehissmall townboyfromNorthDakota a jaded andmysteriouslyinis-terfigure, orwhomtheworldat largedoesnot go "glimmering,"as ithad in "Absolution,"utforwhoma single nd resolute ur-pose, xistingn thefree olution fhisownimaginedmemory,fa possessioniveyears ast, s palpablyocated ndsymbolizednthegreenight t the nd ofDaisy'sdock.Fitzgerald's reativemagination,s ArthurMizenerhas pointedout,was an instinctiveather hana calculating ne. Despitehisclaims hathewasattemptingowrite novelofform,heauthor'srelation ohis materialn Gatsbywas probably elt ather handis-


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The GreatGatsby 587cerned. urelyMaxwellPerkinsmusthave beendismayed y thereplyhe receivedfter e had writtenitzgerald ommending imon hisachievement iththisnoveland making fewsuggestions:"You once toldme youwerenota naturalwriter,"e wrote, -myGod You haveplainlymasteredhe raft, fcourse;butyouneededfarmore thancraftsmanshipor this."18 itzgerald's esponse n-cluded a curious emark: My firstnstinctfter our etterwas tolet [Gatsby]go and have Tom Buchanandominate hebook . . .butGatsby ticksn my heart."'9f we imaginewhata smallandtrivial ook hisnovel might avebeen withTom Buchanan s thedominantharacter, e mustrealizehow much we have to thankfor itzgerald'sheart." utmore han hat,wecanunderstandow,in hismeticulousttentiono individual entences,is "craftsman-ship,"he was somehowblindto thelarger uccesses f his novelexcept n themost nstinctiveay.This mayhelpto explainwhyhe might ecognize paragraph hat strangelyaralleled" ne ofCather'sn A Lost Lady and, at thesame time, o have failed torememberhe itle f thatnovelor torecognize heultimatelyargerinfluences hich Paul's Case" andAlexander's ridgehad exerteduponhim.

IIWilla Catherhadwrittenitzgerald fher admiration fGatsbyinthe pring f 925; thenext all hewouldbegin owritewhat heultimatelyonsidered erfinest ovel,Death ComesfortheArch-

bishopI927). Itwouldbewritten,hewouldrecall fewyearsater,in"the tyle f egend," he ssence fwhich s to ightly touch ndpasson." Such a creativemethodwouldbe a "kindofdiscipline,"hewrote, in thesedays whenthe situation's made to countforsomuch in writing."20t was this sortof artistic etachment hichCatherhad cultivatedincethebeginning f her career nd whichgaveriseto someofherfinestwork. n part,herdisparagementfAlexander's ridgentheprefaceo the 922 edition fthenovelpro-18 Letter o Fitzgerald, 0 Nov. I924, Editor to Author:The Letters f Maxwell E.Perkins, ohnHall Wheelock, d. (New York: CharlesScribner'sons, 950), pp. 38-4I.19 Letter o Perkins, . 20 Dec. I924. Letters, p. 7I-75.20 "On Death ComesfortheArchbishop,"n open etter o the editor f The Common-weal, 23 Nov. I927; rpt. n Willa Cather on Writing,pp. 3-I3.


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588 AmericanLiteratureceeded rom erbelated ecognitionhat hehadrelied oo muchupon interesting"aterialndhadtried ocapitalizepona sit-uation.But,unlikeCather,he maginativeoherenceitzgeraldachievedn TheGreatGatsbyppearsohavederived otfrom isdetachmentrom uthis nvolvementithhis material. owevermuch itzgerald ayhave earnedrom atherbout hewriter'scraft,owever uchAlexander'sridgemay r maynothave on-tributedohisplot, ne uspectshat he eal chievementfGatsbyhad ts ourcesnan intensemotionaldentificationith othhismain haracterndhisnarratorna way hatwasbuthalf-conscious.If FitzgeraldespondedoMyAntoniandA LostLadyprofession-ally, eprobablyespondedoAlexander'sridge ersonally,or tidentifiednemotionalomplex efoundympathetic,ne ndeedthatmay ave allied ith is wn.In the peninghapterfTheGreatGatsby,ickCarrawayon-fessesohisburgeoningxpectationsorhisnew areern theEast:I wasgoing o"becomegain hatmostimitedf llspecialists,he'well-roundedan.'This sn'tust n epigram-lifesmuchmoresuccessfullyooked t from singlewindow,fterll" (p. 4). Hissinglewindowmbitionsrove ntenable,owever;oon fter isarrivaln NewYorkhis ifebecomesntangled ith hecareless,careeningives fothers.raggedoa NewYorkCitypartmentyTom Buchanan, ick,Tom,MyrtleWilson, nd therestdrink,argue,nd amenthroughhe fternoonnd nto wilight,ndNickreflectsponhisunwillingssociationith his rowd: Yethighover he ityur ine fyellow indowsmust ave ontributedheirshare fhumanecrecyo he asualwatchernthe arkeningtreets,and washimtoo, ooking p andwondering.waswithinndwithout,imultaneouslynchantedndrepelledy henexhaustiblevarietyf ife"p.36).Casualobserverndreluctantarticipant,ick brings doublevision othe toryetells,toncediffusendexact.t is a simul-taneousision hich,muchike stereopticon,iftstsfiguresromthe agepreciselyecausehemageson't uiteibe, ut re,nstead,flat nd lifeless ithouthisdiscrepancy.ow closethis ort fdouble onsciousnesss toFitzgerald'sery ane ssessmentfhisown crackp" nanessayy he ame ame.Thetestf first-rateintelligence,"ewrote decade fter hepublicationfGatsby,is


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The Great Gatsby 589the bility o holdtwo opposed deas n themind at the sametime,and still etain he bility o function."21itzgerald's uietand lucidself-diagnosiss a complaint ot of the ossof his ntelligenceut ofhis bility ofunction,is rtisticdge.While he was writing he GreatGatsby, owever, e retainedheability o functionhoughhe dividedhimself y identifyingithboth the jaded and obsessiveGatsby nd thedazzled Nick, fullof"interiorules"yet westruck y thevarietyf ife.Thus divided,hewould dividehis sympathies.itzgerald ad of course dentifiedwithGatsby;he wroteJohn eale Bishop hat hat haracterstartedoutas one man knew nd then hangedntomyself-the malgamwas never ompleten mymind."22 uthe wasNickCarraway,oo.For he could wellremember is own firsteactions oNew York asbeingone "up from he country apingat the trained ears . . Ihad comeonlytostare t the show . . . I tookthe style ndglitterof New York evenabove ts own valuation."23In nearly very ineof thebook theres a certain ivided uality,not yet "crackup" but a slight issurehatyields pervasivemo-tional ension, tensionwhere omedaytrainwould tell. I hadnogirl whose disembodied ace floated long the dark cornices ndblinding igns" p. 8i), saysNick; and lackingGatsby's bsession,heis left implywithdarkcornices ndblinding igns orwhichhis"interior ules" resorry quipment. he worldgoes "glimmering"forNick,but t acksfocus. his paragraphsrepresentativefsucha tension, think: Again at eight 'clock,whenthedark anesofthe Fortieswerefivedeepwiththrobbingaxicabs oundforthetheater istrict,felt sinkingn myheart. orms eanedtogetherin thetaxis s theywaited, nd voices ang, nd therewas laughterfromunheard okes,and lighted igarettesutlinedunintelligiblegesturesnside. magining hat , too,was hurryingowardgayetyand sharing heirntimatexcitement,wished hemwell" (p. 57-58). Nick'sdespair nd provincialmagnanimityunctuate is de-scriptionfthishaunted ceneof faceless orms-irregularlyighted

21 "The Crack-Up," n The Crack-Up, dmundWilson,ed. (New York: New Direc-tionsPublishing orp., 945), p. 69; this rticle riginallyppeared n EsquireFeb., I936.22 Letter o John ealeBishop, Aug. 925. Letters, . 358.23 "MyLost City,"n The Crack-Up,. 24.


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590 AmericanLiteratureandhalfheard-throbbingith xcitementut talledn traffic.This s typicalf theEl Greco-likeistortionhat ermeateshenovel, at once onventionalndgrotesque"p. I78). And we finditeverywheren thebook. n thephotographfMyrtleWilson'smotherhathoveredike n ectoplasmn thewall" p. 30); in theinvisiblebject ordan aker alances ponher hin; nNick's i-multaneousascinationndrepulsiony he dea hat neman ouldfix heWorld eries; n the ramp ho ells ogs n the treetndyet ooks ll theworld ikeJohn . Rockefeller;n the ragic yesandshort pperips f asternuropean aces na funeralrain; nthe ity tself,rising p acrossherivern white eaps nd sugarlumps ll builtwith wish" p. 69). Andwe find t in Nick'sreactiono Gatsbyimself,t once gorgeous"ndrepresentativef"everythingorwhich have nunaffectedcorn"p. 2).How muchf hiswas he esultf heercraftsmanship"ndhowmuch epresentedheavynvestmentf the uthor imselfnhismaterials unknown.utwedo know hat itzgeraldontinuedisinventoryf ossesn a sequel o"TheCrack-Up" hich ooks acktothat ime:For check-upfmy piritualiabilitiesndicatedhatI had no particularead o be bowed runbowed. nce had hada heart ut hatwas all I wassure f."24 isperceptionf thegro-tesqueriesf ife adonce een emperedy ympathynd ustainedby nenormousitality.utthese ualities adplayed ut;he haddeveloped"sadattitudeoward adness, melancholyttitudeo-wardmelancholynd a tragicttitudeowardragedy."25e hadbecomedentifiedith he bjectsfhis"horrorndcompassion,"and hewasparalyzedyhisownperceptions.Life, enyears go,"hewrote,was argely personal atter.must old n balancehesense f he utilityf ffortndthe ense f henecessityo truggle.. . . IfI coulddo this hroughhe ommonlls-domestic,rofes-sional ndpersonal-thenhe gowould ontinues an arrow hotfrom othingnesso nothingnessith uch orce hat nly ravitywould ringttoearth t ast."26hispassage asthe ing ftruth,but t standss a statementfphilosophicalonvictionatherhana felt eactiono ife. ut hereeemsohave een timewhenife,

24 "Pasting t Together,"n The Crack-Up, . 8o; thisarticleoriginallyppeared nEsquireApril,936.25 Ibid, p. 8o-8I.26 "TheCrack-Up," . 70.


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The GreatGatsby 591indeed, as a "personal atter"or itzgerald,henGatsby, henallvain umantriving,stucknhisheart."

Thesearch or lost italitynd lost elfwhich haracterizedhestrivingsfBartley lexanderndJayGatsby astoofamiliaroFitzgeraldythe ime e came owrite The Crack-Up."fatonetimehe hadsympathizedith heirmiddle-agedream f youth,nowhe sharedt. nthe nd, itzgeraldufferedrom hat ery on-dition e hadhimselfnce ocompassionatelyramatized:Itwasback nto hemind f heyoungmanwith ardboardoleswhohadwalked he treetsfNew York. washim gain-for n instant hadthegoodfortuneoshare isdreams,whohad no more reams f myown.And there restill imes creep p on him, urpriseim on anautumnmorningnNew Yorkor a spring ightn Carolinawhen t ssoquiet hatyoucanhear dog barkingn thenext ounty. utneveragain s during hat ll too hort eriodwhenhe and were ne person,when hefulfilleduturend thewistfulastweremingledn a singlegorgeous oment-whenifewas iterallydream.27

27 "EarlySuccess," n The Crack-Up, . go; this rticle riginallyppeared n AmericanCavalcadeOct., 937.

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