How Did Ginevra King Influence The Great Gatsby

Ginevra King

Ginevra King was a beautiful and wealthy debutante from Lake Forest, with whom Fitzgerald had a romantic relationship from 1915 to 1917. Fitzgerald’s first encounter with King was during his Christmas vacation in St. Paul Minnesota, January 1915. At the time, she was a student at the Westover women's preparatory school in Middlebury, Connecticut.

Weekly letters between the couple show significant influences in Fitzgerald’s works. King wrote in her diary: "Scott came in afternoon. It was so wonderful to see him again. I am madly in love with him. He is so wonderful… Marvelous time." (King) as well as "Oh Scott why aren't we somewhere else tonight? Why aren't we at a dance in summer now with a full moon, a big lovely garden and

soft music in the distance?" (King) on March 12, 1915.

King is said to of been Fitzgerald’s “central image of the American dream and women” (Skemer). Fitzgerald's first biographer Arthur Mizener, a 1930 Princeton graduate, noted in "The Far Side of Paradise" (1951) that King was "the extraordinary 'nice' girl, the beautiful, magnetic girl who was always effortlessly at ease.... The other men were part of her charm, for though she conquered everywhere quite deliberately, she remained essentially untouched, free. This was the girl he was, without much conscious intention, to make the ideal girl of his generation, the wise, even hard-boiled, virgin who for all her daring and unconventionality was essentially far more elusive than her mother -- and, in her own way, far more romantic."

Readers may acquire a view of King through Fitzgerald’s writing; however a seven-page untitled short story and letters by King present a different portrait. "In her letters, we hear Ginevra King's authentic voice, unfiltered by Fitzgerald in prose fiction," (Skemer) The detailed information gives a more complex and precise idea of the relationship between the two.

Despite her marriage to William H.

Mitchell, King continued to be a quintessence for luring, powerful and upper-class women, unobtainable by individuals of a lower social class like Fitzgerald. This lasted even after Fitzgerald met Zelda Sayre, a Jazz Age Flapper who later became his wife. "Arguably, Ginevra was a model for Daisy Buchanan in 'The Great Gatsby' and is recognizable in many other characters." (Skemer)

The final letter exchanged by the two had to do with King’s marriage to Mitchell on July 21, 1918. It was sent from Camp Sheridan, near Montgomery, Alabama. Fitzgerald wrote: "This is to congratulate you -- I don't know Billy Mitchell, but from all I've heard of him he must be one of the best ever. Doesn't it make you sigh with relief to be settled and think of all the men you escaped marrying?"

Prior to discovering the letters, we had to rely on Fitzgerald’s interpretation, pictures or characters based on King in his fiction. Nevertheless, she proves to be more of an intelligent person than described. Furthermore, their relationship perceived as one-sided was very affectionate and passionate.

Fitzgerald had all the letters transcribed. It is thought that he potentially wanting them for dialogue. He had a habit keeping notebooks, prayers, sayings and journals, which he used in his writing.

Zelda

Sayre

Fitzgerald was a second lieutenant, stationed at Camp Sheridan, in Montgomery, Alabama.
At the camp, he met and fell in love with Zelda Sayre, a riotous seventeen year old belle. Sayre agreed to marry Fitzgerald so long as he could prove a success. Her strong desire for pleasure, leisure and riches caused her to postpone their wedding. With the announcement of The Side of Paradise being published in 1920, Fitzgerald became a literary icon. Earning a high income and prominence, he finally convinced Sayre to marry him.

Several of these events from Fitzgerald's early life present themselves in his most famous novel, The Great Gatsby, published in 1925. Similarly to Fitzgerald, Nick Carraway is a pensive man from Minnesota, an Ivy League school graduate and a new resident to New York. We also see traits of Fitzgerald in Jay Gatsby, a tactful man who idolizes the upper class lifestyle and who falls in love with a prepossessing younger woman while at a southern military camp.

Due to his success, Fitzgerald adapted to a wild and reckless life style of parties and luxury. Comparably, Gatsby collected extraordinary wealth at a young age, and allocates himself exceptional belongings and hosting parties. Moreover, both men devote themselves to wining younger married women; Zelda and Daisy.

Similarly to Nick in, Fitzgerald found his new lifestyle alluring and exhilarating, and always idolized the wealthy like Gatsby. He was in a period that judged materialism highly, especially in cities of the East. However, like Nick, Fitzgerald wasn’t fooled by the glamour of the Jazz Age, and had morality. Fitzgerald was rejected by the women who had everything he wanted, even if she led him to madness.