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Book 2, Chapter 2
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
One day, a man called Mr. Devereux Warren had arrived at the clinic with his 16-year-old daughter, Nicole. He was “tall” and “handsome”—“a fine American type.” He had told Doctor Dohmler, “my daughter isn’t right in the head” and described how she had recently developed a fear of men attacking her. Since Nicole had been a charming and happy child, this change was a big shock to Mr. Warren and the family. He shed tears as he told this story, and asserted, “money is no object.” His breath smelled of whiskey. Dohmler had sensed that Mr. Warren was lying about something. Franz and Dohmler diagnosed Nicole with schizophrenia, or “Divided Personality,” but concluded that her fear of men was a symptom, rather than the cause, of her problems.
Franz tells Dick Dohmler’s story about when Nicole first arrived at the clinic. This account is therefore not first-hand, and perhaps not reliable either. The reader learns that when Nicole’s father brought her to the clinic, claiming that she was in need of treatment, he had seemed like a real American gentleman. In English, however, the French word véreux means “wormy,” and therefore Mr. Warren’s first name—“Devereux”—suggests that he is dirty or dishonest. Indeed, Dohmler recognized that there was something corrupt about him from their first meeting.
Themes
Having left his daughter at the clinic, Mr. Warren avoided returning to visit Nicole, saying, “But look here, Doctor, that’s what you’re for.” When he did eventually return, Mr. Warren broke down within thirty minutes of arriving at the clinic. He recounted how he and Nicole had been very close after her mother had died, and how “all at once they were lovers.” Mr. Warren had described how Nicole “seemed to freeze up right away,” saying “never mind, Daddy. It doesn’t matter. Never mind.”
Dohmler quickly determined, upon meeting Mr. Warren a second time, that he had initially been deceitful about the cause of Nicole’s mental illness. Mr. Warren confesses that he sexually abused Nicole as a child after Nicole’s mother died, and this violation was the actual cause of Nicole’s trauma and ill health. Mr. Warren used Nicole’s madness as an opportunity to cover up his crimes, hoping that nobody would find out what he did.
Themes
At the time, Dohmler had indulged in a rare moment of judgment towards his client, inwardly calling Mr. Warren a “peasant,” before suggesting that he move back to Chicago.
Dohmler is so disgusted with Mr. Warren and his deceitful performance that he finds himself internally insulting him. In many ways, it is Mr. Warren who really needs treatment, but his wealth and social standing offer him protection, while Nicole is admitted.
Themes
