Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald (1900-1948) must have confounded her father. Staid, formal Supreme Court Justice Anthony Sayre was the scion of an old and prominent Montgomery family. Zelda's mother, on the other hand, had confounded her own father with her unconventional behavior.
Perhaps Minnie Machen gave the youngest of her six children the genes or the rearing -- or both -- that allowed Zelda to become a founder of the Jazz Age. Zelda's antics shocked Montgomery's conventional, conservative society matrons. Of course she pleased society's young men. After all, Zelda's Sidney Lanier High School classmates had identified her as "prettiest and most graceful."
Zelda, however, was unwilling to commit to a lifelong engagement on the local stage, no matter how much the young men adored her. The large number of young men from the Middle West, temporarily in Montgomery for military training at Camp Sheridan, gave Zelda, and hundreds of other Montgomery girls a broadened perspective.
In 1918, Zelda met Lt. F. Scott Fitzgerald, but agreed to marry him only after he published his first novel. They were married in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City in 1920 after the publication of "This Side of Paradise."
Fitzgerald's increasing reputation as a novelist and short story writer led to Hollywood script writing. His income, however, could not support their extravagant living. Consequently, they moved to Europe, but even in Paris, Rome and on the Rivera, they could not live within their means.
More damaging, however, was the psychological strain of their lives. Zelda was extremely talented, but Fitzgerald thwarted her literary expression. She turned to ballet, studying in Paris under Madame Lubov Egorova. Although serious and dedicated, in her 20s she was too old to begin such a physically demanding art form. She also painted.
Although exhibited in New York in 1934, her paintings -- of dancers, fantasies, flowers, city scenes and religious subjects -- were relatively unheralded in her own time, and her mother burned many of the more disturbing ones. Zelda's paintings did not gain critical recognition until the late 20th century.
Zelda did continue with her writing. In the 1920s and early 1930s, she wrote short stories for several New York magazines. Fitzgerald not only discouraged his wife, but he also liberally appropriated her stories, ideas, experiences and used his name only on work that they wrote together. Zelda's "Save Me the Waltz" in 1932, her only novel, preceded Fitzgerald's "Tender is the Night" by two years. Fitzgerald, of course, was jealous since both novels were based on their rocky life together. Artistic rivalry increased the stress.
The Fitzgeralds epitomized the Jazz Age. When it was ended by the Great Depression, neither could adjust. Fitzgerald's subject matter evaporated; Zelda's mental problems resulted in her first breakdown in 1930. To reground themselves, and to rebuild their marriage, they returned to Montgomery from France in 1931.
His continued drinking and absences as he tried to re-establish himself through Hollywood script writing and her bouts with mental illness precluded significant change. Zelda's second breakdown occurred in 1932, following her father's death, and a third breakdown came two years later.
In 1940, Fitzgerald died in compromising circumstances in Hollywood. Zelda continued to suffer from schizophrenia until she was killed in an Asheville sanitarium fire in 1948.
Today Fitzgerald is recognized as one of our greatest American fiction writers, and Zelda is increasingly recognized for her painting, especially for her watercolors, as well as for her contributions to Fitzgerald's literary accomplishments.
Zelda did continue with her writing. In the 1920s and early 1930s, she wrote short stories for several New York magazines. Fitzgerald not only discouraged his wife, but he also liberally appropriated her stories, ideas, experiences and used his name only on work that they wrote together. Zelda's "Save Me the Waltz" in 1932, her only novel, preceded Fitzgerald's "Tender is the Night" by two years. Fitzgerald, of course, was jealous since both novels were based on their rocky life together. Artistic rivalry increased the stress.
The Fitzgeralds epitomized the Jazz Age. When it was ended by the Great Depression, neither could adjust. Fitzgerald's subject matter evaporated; Zelda's mental problems resulted in her first breakdown in 1930. To reground themselves, and to rebuild their marriage, they returned to Montgomery from France in 1931.
His continued drinking and absences as he tried to re-establish himself through Hollywood script writing and her bouts with mental illness precluded significant change. Zelda's second breakdown occurred in 1932, following her father's death, and a third breakdown came two years later.
In 1940, Fitzgerald died in compromising circumstances in Hollywood. Zelda continued to suffer from schizophrenia until she was killed in an Asheville sanitarium fire in 1948.
Today Fitzgerald is recognized as one of our greatest American fiction writers, and Zelda is increasingly recognized for her painting, especially for her watercolors, as well as for her contributions to Fitzgerald's literary accomplishments.