Babylon Revisited Quotes

Charlie Wales: Reformed Several individuals believe that “some people never change.” The quote is a relatively common one and though individuals do stay the same in many ways, Fitzgerald’s “Babylon Revisited” challenges the quote. Charlie Wales, the main character in Fitzgerald’s short story, exemplifies the manner in which people can refrain from their old ways. As the story unfolds, the reader finds that for a period of time Charlie lived his life making decisions without pondering the consequences. Charlie spent much of his time going out to lavish parties, carelessly squandering his wealth on doormen and orchestras and drinking too much (Churchwell, 2011). Eventually, Charlie’s extravagant and wasteful lifestyle leaves him institutionalized

The American stock market crash was a pivotal point for Charlie. When Charlie is institutionalized, he loses custody of his young daughter, Honoria. It becomes increasingly evident that Charlie has recognized the error of his old ways and shows great promise in proving his reformation. He is no longer institutionalized and he has successfully limited his alcohol consumption for some time. Charlie limits himself to one drink per day to make sure that his behavior remains decent. In addition, When Charlie encounters his old friends, Lorraine and Duncan, he is very cautious about his decisions. During his visit to London, Charlie reconnects with his former brother and sister in-law. They allow him to spend some time with his daughter but Marion is adamant about blaming her sister’s death on Charlie. She is also somewhat reluctant towards allowing Honoria to be with her father. Fitzgerald created Marion to be cold and mean-spirited which allows the reader to feel sympathetic towards Charlie. Despite all his efforts to regain custody of his daughter, Charlie ends up in the same place he started: having a drink at the Ritz bar thinking about getting his daughter back (Churchwell,

The reader feels on edge about whether Charlie will resort to his old ways or remain living his life carefully. It is a very slippery slope for those who have made a drastic change in lifestyles, for “old habits die hard.” Prior to 1929, during the roaring 20’s, Americans like Charlie had loads of money to spend on what they pleased. Before the crash, Charlie lived haphazardly. He lived with no worries and worldly pleasures. Charlie would enjoy parties with Duncan and Lorraine in London. “Again the memory of those days swept over him like a nightmare … The men who locked their wives out in the snow, because the snow of twenty-nine wasn’t real snow. If you didn’t want it to be snow, you just paid some money” (Fitzgerald, 519). When Charlie looks back at his life a sense of resentment comes through though there is a touch of reminiscence towards the fact that people like him lived their lives as though they were royalty. After 1929, Charlie put forth much effort to rebuild his life. He was able to steady his financial situation and move forward with his change in