Babylon Revisited by Francis Scott Fitzgerald

''Babylon Revisited'' is widely considered to be the apex of F.

Scott Fitzgerald’s short stories, of which there are more than a hundred. Like many of his works, ''Babylon Revisited'' was loosely based on Fitzgerald’s own life.Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896 in Saint Paul Minnesota. He was named Francis Scott Key, after a distant relative, and the writer of the American national anthem. Fitzgerald spent his childhood years in the United States—Buffalo, New York, Saint Paul, Minnesota, and Hackensack, New Jersey.

In 1913, he entered Princeton University, although his performance by all accounts was mediocre. In 1917, he dropped out of school in order to enlist in the United States Army, which had recently entered World War I. While in officer training in Alabama, Fitzgerald wrote his first novel. Soon after, Fitzgerald met Zelda Sayre, a flamboyant flapper and the daughter of an Alabama Supreme Court justice. The two quickly became engaged, but in 1919 Zelda broke their engagement due to concerns about her future husband’s ability to support her financially.

This spurred Fitzgerald to advance his writing career and revise the novel he wrote while in the Army, which was accepted for publication and resulted in the resumption of his engagement with Zelda.The two were married in March of 1920 in New York City soon after the publication of This Side of Paradise, and they quickly emerged as the poster children of the wild, extravagant lifestyle that defines much of the 1920’s. The couple had their first and only child in October, 1921, Frances ''Scottie'' Fitzgerald, a daughter. Parenthood did little to slow the Fitzgerald’s tumultuous lifestyle, or their drinking. Fitzgerald and his family spent much of the 1920’s in Europe, primarily in Paris, during which time Fitzgerald wrote what may be his most acclaimed work, The Great Gatsby as well as dozens of short stories for magazines.

Simultaneously, Zelda pursued her interest in ballet, developing what many considered to be an unhealthy obsession. In addition to the literary fame that Fitzgerald experienced, the 1920’s were also filled with periods of financial instability for the Fitzgerald household, and the deterioration of Zelda’s mental health.Fitzgerald was a member of the ''lost generation,'' a term that Gertrude Stein used to describe the group of American authors, including Fitzgerald, that lived in Paris during the 1920’s and early 1930’s. The era, which Fitzgerald called the ''jazz age,'' was known for debauchery and excess and largely ended with the stock market crash of 1929. In 1930, Zelda Fitzgerald was diagnosed with schizophrenia when she suffered the first of many mental breakdowns. This, in conjunction with his own depression and numerous financial problems, marked a particularly low point in Fitzgerald’s life, and was when he wrote ''Babylon Revisited.

'' The story was published in the Saturday Evening Post on February 21, 1931, and had many parallels to Fitzgerald’s own life, both personal and historical. Like Charlie Wales in ''Babylon Revisited,'' both Fitzgerald and his wife struggled with alcohol abuse, and he was a binge-drinker and an alcoholic. At the time, Fitzgerald, like his protagonist, was the father of a 9-year-old girl, and struggling to cope with the dissipation and waste of the 1920’s boom.The 1930’s saw the decline of Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald. In 1932, Zelda had another breakdown, and was subsequently hospitalized for her schizophrenia.

Although she later became an author in her own right, Zelda remained confined to institutions for the rest of her life. In 1934 Fitzgerald published his novel Tender is the Night. The next year, when his daughter Scottie was fourteen, Fitzgerald sent her to boarding school. In a significant parallel to Charlie Wales’ daughter Honoria in ''Babylon Revisited,'' the functionally motherless Scottie found a surrogate family in the home of Fitzgerald’s literary agent, while Fitzgerald himself maintained contact with her primarily through letters.

During this period, Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood and began working for MGM as a screenwriter in order to salvage his financial debts. Although he was making a large amount of money for the time, he was unable to save or maintain financial stability. He also began working on a novel set in Hollywood.Fitzgerald is often said to have been the spokesperson for his generation and helped to define American culture post World War I. However, Fitzgerald never received the literary acclaim that he would later receive posthumously.

His reputation for debauchery overshadowed his literary work, and he died in 1940 at the age of 44, with his last novel left unfinished. It was only after his death that Fitzgerald was recognized as one of the greatest American authors."Babylon Revisited" Plot Overview''Babylon Revisited'' tells the story of Charlie Wales, who after enduring the death of his wife and his own battle with alcoholism, returns to Paris, the setting of his dissolution in order to try and regain custody of his daughter from his sister-in-law.The opening scene of ''Babylon Revisited'' takes place in Paris, in the Ritz bar.

It is after the stock market crash of 1929, and that the world is in the midst of the depression. Charlie Wales, a thirty-five-year-old American, speaks to Alix the bartender, and we learn that Charlie previously lived in Paris, but is now in Prague on business. He is returning to Paris after a year and a half in order to try and regain custody of his nine-year-old daughter, Honoria. We learn from Charlie’s conversation with the barman that Charlie has struggled with alcohol in the past, and may, in many ways, be struggling still.Charlie leaves his address with the barman to give to his old friend Duncan Schaeffer, and he leaves to go to his sister-in-law’s house, for it is she who has custody of his daughter.

Marion and Lincoln Peters are Americans living in Paris, raising Charlie’s daughter Honoria as well as their own children, Richard and Elsie. Helen, Charlie’s deceased wife, had given Marion guardianship over Honoria before her death while Charlie was in a sanitarium trying to recover from alcoholism.Honoria and Charlie have an enthusiastic reunion, but Marion’s reception of Charlie is tepid at best. Marion is cold and angry towards Charlie, and her dislike for him is evident in every word that she speaks.

Charlie leaves to explore Paris, wanting to see how it seems now that he is sober. He recalls his drinking and the large sums of money that he wasted. Charlie is disgusted by his old haunts, and starts to recognize the dissipation that both he and Paris experienced during the boom.The next day he takes Honoria to lunch, where they have a conversation in which they pretend to be strangers, and Honoria is a grown-up woman. On the way out of the restaurant, they run into Lorraine Quarrles and Duncan Schaeffer, two of Charlie’s old drinking buddies.

They enthusiastically try and make plans with him, but Charlie brushes them off and takes his daughter to a vaudeville show. There, Honoria tells Charlie that she would like to live with him.Charlie returns to Marion and Lincoln’s house, and tells them that the purpose of his trip is to regain custody of Honoria. Marion questions Charlie about his alcoholism, and he explains that he only has one drink each afternoon now, although Marion appears skeptical.

Marion recalls a time during which Charlie was drinking and he locked his wife Helen outside in the snow. Charlie continues to enumerate the advantages he can provide Honoria with, and finally Marion angrily confesses that she blames Charlie for her sister Helen’s death. Marion finally relents, although with reservations, and Charlie’s reunion with his daughter seems certain. Charlie leaves to go home and dreams of Helen.The next day, Charlie prepares to take Honoria back to Prague with him. He has lunch with Lincoln Peter, and they reminisce about the old days before the stock market crashed.

Lincoln admits that he and his wife found it difficult to watch Charlie waste so much money during the boom, because they themselves had never been able to profit off the stock market.When he returns to his hotel, Charlie finds a note forward from the Ritz bar from Lorraine. In it, she reminds him of a time that the two of them stole a tricycle, and asks if they could get together. However, instead of meeting Lorraine at the Ritz as she requested, he goes to buy presents for the Peters family, and returns to their apartment. Charlie attempts to make amends with Marion, but she cannot forget what she views as his poor treatment of her sister.

Suddenly, Lorraine and Duncan show up at the door of the Peters’ apartment, inebriated and boisterous. Charlie is shocked, and does not remember that he left the address at the Ritz bar for Duncan when he first arrived in Paris. Charlie finally gets them to leave, but not before their drunken debauchery horrifies Marion. Marion storms out of the room and Lincoln cancels the dinner they had planned.

Charlie leaves, knowing that he will now not be able to take Honoria. In his anger, he goes directly to the Ritz bar where he hopes to find Lorraine and Duncan, but when he sees that they are not there, he sits at the bar to have a drink.Charlie is again overcome with memories of the time before the stock market crashed, when his wife was alive and they were members of the gay party-going crowd of Americans in Paris in the 1920’s. He can only remember the horrors of this time, however.

He calls the Peters’ apartment and speaks to Lincoln. Lincoln tells Charlie that Marion is sick, and that she will not be able to discuss the guardianship of Honoria for at least another six months.Charlie refuses another drink, and plans for the future when he will be able to finally get his daughter back. He thinks that Helen never would have wanted him to be so alone."Babylon Revisited" Character ListCharlie Wales – A thirty-five year old American, and the protagonist of ''Babylon Revisited.

'' We see the events of the story through Charlie’s eyes, and although troubled, he is ultimately a sympathetic character. Charlie is attempting to right the wrongs of his past, namely, his alcoholism and perceived mistreatment of his now-deceased wife in an attempt to regain custody of his daughter. Charlie’s struggle with alcoholism and the challenge of having to deal with his past in order to rebuild his future is the crux of the story. Charlie’s love for Honoria is palpable, and his willingness to remodel his life in order to be with her sparks the reader’s compassion.Alix –The barman at the Hotel Ritz bar in Paris. Alix is Charlie’s first contact with his old, wild life in Paris.

Alix serves as a reminder to Charlie of days past, and fills him in on the fates and fortunes of all of his old acquaintances.Paul – The head barman at the Hotel Ritz bar. During the boom before the stock market crash, Paul arrived at work in a custom-built car. Paul serves to show the extreme wealth that even an ordinary man could attain during the boom. He also acts as a sympathetic ear for Charlie when he returns to the Ritz bar.

Honoria Wales – Charlie Wales’ nine-year-old daughter. Honoria is a loving little girl who, although happy with her foster parents, wants to be back with her father. She is depicted as beautiful and intelligent, being near the top of her class in school (and far ahead of her cousins). She is mature and serious, and at times, shows flashes of remarkable insight.

Marion Peters – The sister of Charlie’s deceased wife, Helen, and his foil in this story. Marion was granted custody of Honoria while Charlie was in a sanitarium, so it is she that he must battle for his daughter’s custody. Marion has an ''unalterable distrust'' towards Charlie, and cannot forgive him for the death of her sister, for which she blames him. Marion is Charlie’s nemesis, and has an angry, critical personality, and behaves coldly towards Charlie is such a way that her dislike for him is obvious.

Lincoln Peters – Charlie’s brother-in-law, and Marion’s wife. Lincoln represents the kind of man that Charlie perhaps would have been had it not been for the stock market boom and subsequent crash. Lincoln did not invest in the stock market, and therefore is living quite moderately; his small income in comparison with Charlie’s fortune may be cause for Marion’s resentment. Lincoln is kind and loving, and has created a warm, American home in Paris for his wife and children.

He is sympathetic to Charlie’s plight, and it is almost certainly only because of his influence that Marion even considers releasing her guardianship of Honoria.Elsie Peters – Marion and Lincoln’s daughter. Elsie and Richard are barely shown in the story, but serve to show the warm, American home that the Peters have created for themselves in Paris.Richard Peters - Marion and Lincoln’s son. Richard Peters is Honoria’s favorite of the Peters children, and at the bottom of their class in school.

Duncan Schaeffer – An old college friend of Charlie’s who has stayed in Paris and is still living the high life that Charlie has left behind. Duncan’s behavior gives us a sense of what Charlie was like when he was drinking, Lorraine Quarrles – An old friend of Charlie’s from his alcoholic days in Paris. Lorraine is a ''lovely, pale blond of thirty,'' who is living without her husband, who is still in America. She is escorted by Duncan, who she refers to as ‘Dunc,’ and the reader can infer that they are having an affair. She is capricious, perhaps due to her excessive drinking, and vacillates between being gay and ebullient and angry and unpleasant.

It is due to Lorraine and Duncan’s appearance at the Peters’ house that Charlie ultimately loses his chance to regain custody of his daughter.Helen Wales – The deceased wife of Charlie Wales, and younger sister of Marion Peters. Although Helen has been deceased for more than a year and a half at the time that this story takes place, she has a central role in the story. Charlie often remembers how intensely he and Helen loved one another, until their alcoholism fueled fights and abusive behavior. After speaking to Marion and Lincoln, Charlie has a dream of Helen, wherein she tells him that she believes that she believes that he is right, and that he should have custody of their daughter.