“A great social success is a pretty girl who plays her cards as carefully as if she were plain.”
–Letter (undated) to his daughter, Frances
Fitzgerald's quote to his daughter reminds me of the character Daisy Buchanan, in "The Great Gatsby". The quote seems to be saying that a great social success is a pretty girl who acts as if she were a "plain" girl. (I'm assuming that by plain, Fitzgerald means ordianry looking, or average.) By doing this, the "pretty girl" seems to look less selfish and lazy, and look more caring and giving.
The quote reminds me of Daisy because she seems to always "play her cards" the right way, and is able to get herself out of any type of trouble. She comes off as sweet and caring, but in reality is a selfish, spoiled brat. Daisy is respectful and kind to people's faces, but when they're gone shows her true colors and thoughts. By doing this, Daisy is able to make people like her. This helps her to get herself out of trouble, or simply ask favors of others.
This quote poses many questions for me. I wonder if Fitzgerald was trying to tell his daughter to act like that of the character of Daisy. I'm sure he wasn't telling his daughter to become a selfish, or using, person, but I wonder what the purpose of his saying this to his daughter was. I also wonder if that is the type of girl Fitzgerald liked. Daisy was supposedly based partly on his wife, Zelda, so some of their characteristics must have been the same. So did Fitzgerald like a "fake" women? Also did Fitzgerald believe that women should be manipulative, or using, and that that was the only way for a women to become a "social success"? Hopefully in future readings of Fitzgerald I'll find some answers for my questions.
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I really enjoyed reading this, your interpretation of the quote was well thought of. Maybe by using some quotes from the book you can better help the reader connect with your interpretation. Overall, good job bubby =]
ReplyDeleteI love the questions you ask about Fitzgerald's motives for writing and the possible connections you draw between his writing and his personal life. I don't know much about Fitzgerald's life with Zelda, other than that her mental illness was a major struggle for the two. When I read this quote, I feel as though he is speaking with a judgmental tone, as though he is calling into question the label of 'social success' so as to show just what socially successful persons are really successful at doing (i.e. being careful, clever, and possibly deceitful).
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