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Book 1, Chapter 23
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 leaves a note for Maria Wallis signed “Dicole”—a nickname he and Nicole had used “in the first days of love.” Walking through the streets of Paris that dark, stormy afternoon, Dick feels “demoniac and frightened, the passions of many men inside him and nothing simple that he could see.”
Fitzgerald contrasts the loving bliss of Dick and Nicole’s early relationship with the darkness of his current situation. His decline and deterioration are now well under way as he struggles to come to terms with his desire for Rosemary and the sense that Nicole is on the verge of a relapse. The stormy weather mirrors Dick’s troubled mood, further emphasizing the seriousness of Dick’s troubles.
Themes
Rosemary—now a “little wild thing—is also full of intense emotions. She is “absorbed in playing around with the chaos” about her. When Dick arrives at her hotel door, she finds him “fixed and godlike as he had always been.” Dick, on the other hand, is disappointed at the sight of Rosemary, who has carefully calculated her body language to appear both appealing and innocent at the same time.
While Dick unravels and loses his composure, Rosemary delights in the power she seems to possess over her grown-up lover. Dick is dissatisfied, however, with the realization that Rosemary has been carefully curating her performance all this time. With disappointment, Dick sees that Rosemary’s innocence is an illusion.
Themes
Nonetheless, Dick invites Rosemary to sit on his lap on the bed. As they kiss, her “dazzling” skin astounds him. Just then, they hear a “persistent” knock at the door. Quickly straightening the sheets on the bed, they open the door to find Abe and a “frightened, concerned, colored man” called Mr. Peterson.
Dick’s invitation for Rosemary to sit on his lap is troubling, as it reinforces the image of him as a paternal figure, and her as a child. It seems that Dick welcomes—and is attracted to—this dynamic.
Themes
Once in Dick’s hotel room, the new arrivals explain that Abe has created quite the scandal in the French Latin Quarter, entangling four innocent black men in a criminal case. Fearing that the other men—who have suffered “betrayal” due to Abe’s actions—might come after him, Mr. Peterson now hopes that Abe will offer him protection. Peterson is desperate and scared and, leaving his fate in their hands, offers to wait outside while Dick and Abe decide what to do with him.
Peterson puts his trust in Abe and Dick. He hopes that they’ll understand his predicament and offer to help him, especially considering the whole scandal is Abe’s fault in the first place. Peterson is polite and respectful, and not wanting to be a burden, steps outside. His trust turns out to be misplaced, because neither Dick nor Abe really give him a second thought, probably because they barely recognize Peterson’s humanity and consider him inferior.
Themes
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Rosemary finds the whole affair distasteful. Abe is so drunk he’s “walking in a slow dream,” and Dick insists he goes back to his room to sleep. Rosemary feels sorry for Abe when she notices his dirty hands—“there is something awe-inspiring in one who has lost all inhibitions.” When Abe finally leaves, he is relieved to see that Peterson is no longer waiting in the corridor for him.
Rosemary is able to feel empathy for Abe, despite his self-inflicted stupor, but is unable to feel sorry for Peterson, who is faultless and vulnerable. Abe, meanwhile, is so careless that he’s actually glad to see that Peterson has disappeared, and thinks of it no further.
Themes
