The Jazz Age... Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Sara and Gerald Murphy. And Zelda, the wife of Scott Fitzgerald, who was misunderstood her whole life.
Zelda was considered crazy. Jealous. Selfish. Unstable. Unsympathetic.
Sadly, I thought for a long time of her this way also, until I read A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Anne Fowler. I finished it yesterday and thought why a passionate, beautiful woman who had so many talents was judged so harshly by her generation.
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"Be just a wife for Christ sake and enjoy it," - said once Scott to Zelda.
But she couldn't be just a wife. She was incredibly gifted. Zelda was a beautiful dancer. At age of twenty eight she took ballet classes. Zelda was a writer and wrote "Save Me the Waltz". She had many callings in her life and pursued them.
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I never liked Scott Fitzgerald. He made almost all his money writing for the popular magazines and for movie industry. Making money was essential for the lifestyle he wanted to lead. Scott always struggled to impress the critics trying to write the more serious work and couldn't or didn't want to understand his wife.
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Lost generation...Their stakes at gamble tables were so high but they were so empty, so tired secretly hoping that some day they will vanish into the sleep. And they did...
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“I had try to tell the difference between the night and the day and how the night was better unless the day was very clean and cold and I could not tell it; as I cannot tell it now. But if you have had it you know.”
Ernest Hemingway.
Snow has created a magical world in photography.
ReplyDeleteI never cared for F. Scott either as a man or as a writer, Kaya, but his parental home within walking distance of me is sort of a shrine. The biannual conference of the "F. Scott Fitzgerald Society" was held here in 2017, with participants from around the world. The 2019 conference was in Toulouse, France.
ReplyDeleteI recall back in 2011 when you wrote about, "The Paris Wife," a novel centering on Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley. I bought a copy of the book, but have not yet read it .... hmmmm ....
I like your photograph .... it looks remarkably like that right outside my window today ....
A beautiful photo!
ReplyDelete"Their stakes at gamble tables were so high but they were so empty, so tired secretly hoping that some day they will vanish into the sleep. And they did..."
A chilling statement.
Una preciosa imagen ilustra, este interesante texto.
ReplyDeleteMuy buena la apreciación que haces.
Besos
La verdad es que no he leido nada de Scott Fitzgerald... Y su vida me resulta totalmente desconocida... Pero hacer daño a otra persona, sea de una u otra manera, es intolerable...
ReplyDeleteUn abrazo
great pictures- I like so much last quote: “I had try to tell the difference between the night and the day and how the night was better unless the day was very clean and cold and I could not tell it; as I cannot tell it now. But if you have had it you know.” - so true- if you never was hungry you never understand how it is to be hungry etc ...
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely weekend xx
La foto que acompaña tus reflexiones nos presenta precisamente un día limpio por esa nieve virgen, aún no pisada, y frío, muy frío como ese agua que se desliza casi helada entre la nieve.
ReplyDeleteUn abrazo,
I enjoyed reading this.
ReplyDeleteBonita foto con esas nieves cruzadas por un regato, todo un acierto para ilustrar el texto.
ReplyDeleteSaludos.