This Side of Paradise

by

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Lake Geneva Estate Symbol Analysis

Lake Geneva Estate Symbol Icon

The Lake Geneva estate symbolizes the values of inheritance and lineage in modern America—and the distinction between these values. The estate, which is in Wisconsin and originally belonged to Beatrice Blaine’s father, becomes Amory’s sole inheritance after Beatrice dies. Mr. Barton, the family’s lawyer, reveals to Amory that Amory will not be able to make any money from the estate: any rent he collects will barely cover the costs of maintaining the house. Therefore, while Amory comes from a family with a good background, he has no money to show for it. This phenomenon—of having good lineage but no substantial inheritance—is especially possible in modern, capitalist America, where fortunes are (somewhat) easily made and lost within generations—as evidenced by characters such as Dick Humbird.

The Lake Geneva estate also reflects the Blaine family’s ties to the Midwest. Early in the novel, the narrator claims that the Blaine family was “attached to no city” and were instead “the Blaines of Lake Geneva.” But despite Amory’s Midwestern origins, he later moves to the East Coast, literally and symbolically distancing himself from his family. Such mobility reflects the increasingly possible feat of upward mobility in modern American society. However, though a person can reinvent themselves to a degree, they can never truly leave their past behind. Though Amory moves to the East Coast and tries to make a new life for himself there, the insubstantial inheritance of the Lake Geneva estate prevents Amory from leaving his past behind: he is tied to his family’s legacy and place of origin, though he’s lost all that makes it luxurious. 

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Lake Geneva Estate Symbol Timeline in This Side of Paradise

The timeline below shows where the symbol Lake Geneva Estate appears in This Side of Paradise. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 1, Chapter 1: Amory, Son of Beatrice
Youth, Innocence, and Coming of Age Theme Icon
Friendship and Masculinity Theme Icon
Money and Class Theme Icon
At age 15, after two years in Minneapolis, Amory visits his parents at Beatrice’s father’s estate in Lake Geneva , Wisconsin. Seeing his mother again, he both admires her and feels distant from her,... (full context)
Book 2, Chapter 2: Experiments in Convalescence
Youth, Innocence, and Coming of Age Theme Icon
Money and Class Theme Icon
...life and feels ambitionless. He receives news from his family’s lawyer, Mr. Barton, that the estate in Lake Geneva , which Amory inherited, will not make him any money. (full context)