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Book 1, Chapter 16
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Tender Is the Night, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Excess, Destruction, and the Failed American Dream
Gender, Mental Illness, and Psychiatry
The Pursuit of Youth and Innocence
Racism and Otherness
Summary
Analysis
Dick and Rosemary enter a very historical looking house but find it to be very modern inside. Dick has to speak with the hostess about some matter, so Rosemary looks around at the 30 or so people lounging around there. Rosemary tries to make sense of her new surroundings, likening the atmosphere to that of a film set, when she overhears some women gossiping about the Divers. Making her way towards Dick, Rosemary looks towards the “three cobra women” “defiantly,” showing them that she has overheard their unkind remarks as she says her goodbyes. As soon as they are outside the building, Dick apologizes to Rosemary as she bursts into tears.
Fitzgerald captures the extravagance of the expatriate Parisian party scene when describing the fashionable and beautiful people lounging and languishing in this grand house. Rosemary reacts strongly when overhearing the women gossiping about the Divers, becoming protective of them. It seems that, despite Dick’s charm, the Divers have a bad a reputation in certain circles.
Themes
Inside the taxi, they fall “ravenously” into each other’s arms, kissing and murmuring to one another. Dick declares that he loves Rosemary but admits that it’s “not the best thing that could happen.” For a short while they are overcome by the “innocence” of their blossoming love, or at least the illusion of it.
After comforting Rosemary as a parent might to a child, Dick gives into temptation and succumbs to his sexual desires for Rosemary, kissing her passionately. The description of Rosemary as both sexual and innocent reveals the illusory nature of their attraction—it is impossible for her to be both. Dick is attracted to her innocence because it symbolizes youth, hope, and possibility, but he is aware that this will cause problems for him.
Themes
Breaking the spell, Dick announces that “Nicole mustn’t suffer.” When he senses that Rosemary is not convinced about the love between him and Nicole, Dick states that his marriage is “complicated […] it was responsible for that crazy duel.” Dick explains Nicole is weaker than she looks and that he loves her very much. Back at the hotel, Dick and Rosemary kiss as they make their way up five flights of stairs. When they part, Rosemary runs to her room to write to Mrs. Speers, feeling guilty because she doesn’t “miss her mother at all.”
Remembering Nicole, Dick is firm when explaining that his desire for Rosemary doesn’t negate his love for Nicole. The reader learns that the duel between Tommy and McKisco had been related to Nicole, but it is not yet clear how or why. The use of the word “crazy” is significant, however, because it hints that the duel is relate to Nicole’s mental health. Meanwhile, Rosemary is growing more and more independent from her mother.
Themes
