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Book 1, Chapter 21
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
Nicole wakes to an unexpected knock at the door of her hotel room. A police officer tells her that he’s looking for Abe North—whom Nicole believes to have left for America—saying that he booked a room in Paris but is nowhere to be seen. The constable explains that Abe was robbed, filed a complaint with the police, and that they “are convinced we have at last arrested the correct Negro.”
To her surprise, Nicole learns that Abe hasn’t left for America as planned and has instead managed instead to entangle himself in a complicated mess with the police. Through Abe’s dramatic run-in with the police, Fitzgerald reveals the inevitable negative consequences of excessive drinking and pleasure-seeking.
Themes
A call from the hotel lobby informs Nicole that a man—“un nègre”—wishes to speak to her, Dick, or Abe about a great “injustice” involving the false arrest of a black man named Freeman. Nicole hangs up the phone, dismisses the whole affair, and heads out to go shopping instead. She bumps into Rosemary and they have fun “spending money in the sunlight of the foreign city.”
Nicole carelessly dismisses her good friend’s problems and seems unmoved by the news of a false arrest. Her heartless reaction is no doubt symptomatic of the widespread racism of the era. At this point in the text, it is ambiguous as to whether Fitzgerald shares Nicole’s racist views or if he is simply reflecting the mainstream attitudes of the day. When considered, however, with the events about to unfold in this sub-plot, it is impossible for a modern reader not to acknowledge the racism entrenched in this novel.
Themes
Returning to the hotel to find Dick—who looks fresh and bright—Rosemary and Nicole share “a moment of complete childish joy.” Dick tells them of the unintelligible phone call he has just had with Abe and a whole host of strangers. It seems that Abe is responsible for falsely accusing a black man of theft and has subsequently “launched a riot race in Montmartre.”
Rosemary and Nicole are both reduced to children in Dick’s presence, particularly when he is able to summon the charm that they both fell in love with. Dick’s ability to occupy a father figure for both Nicole and Rosemary is somewhat disturbing, especially when considering the power imbalance that it engenders. The reader learns that Abe is to blame for the false incarceration of the innocent black man, but none of the other characters seem too upset by this news.
Themes
Nicole recounts fondly all the fun they used to share with Abe, mourning the change in him. “Why is it just Americans who dissipate?” she asks, but Dick has “become intensely critical of her” and decides not to answer. He knows that Nicole is “the most attractive creature” he has ever seen, and that he gets everything from her that he should need, but he senses some trouble in their relationship looming ahead and feels the need to harden himself in preparation.
It is now clear that Abe has been completely ruined by his excessive drinking habit, and it has led to his downfall. Dick’s prediction, that trouble lies ahead with Nicole, foreshadows her forthcoming breakdown. Fitzgerald’s depiction of Nicole as being is valuable primarily for her appearance reflects the intense sexism of the era.
Themes
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In the hotel restaurant, different groups of American expatriates surround Rosemary, Dick and Nicole. A party of Gold Star Mothers has lunch at a table beside them. While Rosemary weeps for them, Dick sees in them the dignity and “maturity of an older America.” With effort, Dick turns back towards “his two women at the table and faced the whole new world in which he believed.” Dick hears his imaginary conversation once more: “—Do you mind if I pull down the curtain?”
Fitzgerald alludes to a divide between an older generation who lived through the war, and the younger generation who remain pure and unspoiled from its corruption. The Gold Star Mothers—a group of women who lost their soldier sons during World War I—represent the heroism of war. Fitzgerald, like Dick, never saw the war firsthand, and therefore has a deep respect for those who were directly touched by it. In contrast, Nicole and Rosemary symbolize the hope and optimism of the younger generation.
Themes
