论文总字数：51721字

摘 要

飞女郎形象诞生于二十世纪二十年代的美国，成为当时最为流行的人物形象。20世纪20年代也被称为“喧嚣的二十年代”或“爵士乐年代”， 当时人们过分强调年轻和美貌，倡导炫耀型消费和纸醉金迷的生活方式。菲茨杰拉德作为爵士时代最有名的作家之一，在其小说中花费大量篇幅，为读者描绘了数个极具时代特色的飞女郎形象，呈现了蔚为壮观的爵士时代场面。菲茨杰拉德的短篇小说结构迥异，字里行间带着一丝戏谑和讽喻，不乏喜剧结尾；相比之下，其长篇小说则更为严肃，取而代之的是对人物的层层剖析，直至最后以人物的崩溃告终。

虽然菲茨杰拉德的长短篇小说基调差别分明，但是小说中的飞女郎角色无论是在外貌、行为、还是心智三个方面都大同小异。美貌是飞女郎特质的核心；她们依靠美貌获取资源和财富，仗着美貌肆意骄纵、无所顾忌，借着美貌逃避应有的责任。也正是因此，她们得以依靠男性提供经济支持和社会地位，从而保存自我。

飞女郎的心智形成与当时的文化和历史背景密不可分。禁酒令法案的颁布在一定程度上抑制了个人的欲望和需求，人们需要一个新的突破口来发泄这些情绪； “爵士时代”追捧的个人主义和炫耀性消费便成为了一个突破口。

论文主题部分重点从三个方面深入探讨菲茨杰拉德笔下的飞女郎形象。第一章具体解析二十世纪二十年代对飞女郎外貌和生活方式的影响；第二章具体分析爵士乐年代与飞女郎的行为举止之间的关系；第三章重点关注飞女郎的生活准则和价值观。最后结语部分进一步归纳总结飞女郎的形象特点及其成因。

关键词：弗朗西斯·司各特·菲茨杰拉德；《了不起的盖茨比》 ；《夜色温柔》 ；《飞女郎与哲学家》

Abbreviations

TN Tender is the Night

Famp;P Flappers and Philosophers

GG The Great Gatsby

Bamp;D The Beautiful and Damned

TJA Tales of the Jazz Age

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements i

Abstract ii

摘要 iii

Abbreviations iv

Introduction 1

Chapter One Consumerism: On the Appearance and Lifestyle 5

1.1 The Modern Age Beauty 5

1.2 Conspicuous Consumers 7

Chapter Two Individualism: Laissez-faire Conduct and Behavior 10

2.1 Non-Conformists 10

2.2 Dissipation in the Roaring Years 12

Chapter Three Egoism: Principles and Instincts to Live By 16

3.1 Desire-governed Subconscious 16

3.2 Awakening Self 18

Conclusion 21

Works Cited 22

Introduction

The flourishing image of flappers in the 1920s marks the beginning of a new era where the once bold statements and outrageous behaviors become, to some degree, acceptable. These flappers wear heavy makeup, bob their hair, dance to jazz, and demonstrate almost defiance towards traditional ethic and moral standards. It is indeed hard to tell whether it is the Jazz Age that makes the flappers or vice versa, but what we can be sure about is that the tide of industrialization, the prevailing consumerism, the tremendous change in the lifestyle, the further progress in the rights of women, all have but promoted and intensified the formation and development of the flapper image. Even though the 1929 Great Depression finally drew an end to this transience, the “flapper” image has already been well-informed by that time – it is no longer a mere image that numerous young women hope to imitate; it is “a caricature – one part fiction, one part reality, with a splash of melodrama for good measure” ( Zeitz 123)

As “chronicler of the 1920s” (Sanderson 143), Fitzgerald has depicted and explored in his fictions the typical pompous and presumptuous experience of the time, and has popularized the image of flappers as one of the most representative figures in the mind of the readers. In his first collection of short stories Flappers and Philosophers (1920), through the humorous tone and unexpected plot, he unveils before the readers various seemingly different yet characteristically speaking almost identical images of his first flappers. Despite his explaining to Hemingway in his letters in 1925 that writing those short stories was merely “whoring” (Hemingway 153) to make money for the preparation and writing of more decent books, and that in his own opinion, these commercial and financially profitable stories were written merely as an entertainment and amusement to the readers, these images are quickly well-received as one of the emblematic figures of young beautiful outrageous women. Later in his subsequent works, the image of flappers is further exemplified through characters such as Gloria from The Beautiful and Damned (1922) and Daisy from The Great Gatsby (1925). During the intervals of the two major works mentioned above, the second collection of short stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tales of the Jazz Age (1922), is published. In this collection, the Southern flappers still occasionally come into existence but not as frequently as they are in Flappers and Philosophers, and the theme of these short stories are trending towards cynicism and disillusions – there is still some sense of surprise and humor in the stories of Flappers and Philosophers, whether it is Bernice who is lured into bobbing her hair and eventually avenges it on her cousin, or Sally Carrol Happer who, having realized after a serious of incidents in the North that her value diverges from that of her would-be fiancé’s, cancels the marriage and returned home. Yet in Tales of the Jazz Age, the surprising and humorous undertone has shifted towards an intensified exaggeration of the melodramatic plot – such an exaggeration is reflected in many of the stories including The Jelly-Bean, a story that pictures how Nancy Lamar, “a wild baby” in the words of Clark, marries a man who possessed almost none of the characters she would wish for in a husband when she is drunk, and eventually regrets and becomes frightened at the decision after she sobers up. The contradiction between the fastidious attitude and the impetuous decision leads to the climax, and beneath the hilarity and absurdness of the story lays the mockery and satire on the inevitable and unavoidable pathway of life.

Fitzgerald’s work becomes more profound as he aged, and his struggling from alcohol as well as his wife Zelda’s mental breakdown is reflected in his last completed novel Tender is the Night (1934), a work later on commented by many critics and Fitzgerald researchers that it can be seen as a form of biography of his remaining years. Revealed in the novel is more than mere indifference and willfulness in Nicole and Rosemary; it is an unveiling of the epitome of snobbishness and egoism in the bourgeoisie lifestyle of the time. The resemblance between Rosemary and Nicole, the two representative flappers, is that their individuality is preserved not by opposition to men but rather through men. (TN 57). Throughout Fitzgerald’s works, the image of flappers is further enlivened as they evolved from the ostensible carefree, indulgent and harmless beauty to the manipulative egoists who have already mastered the art, the taking, acting on their subconscious to safeguard their personal interest.

Researches and study on Fitzgerald’s work continue even in the present time. The film adaptation of Fitzgerald’s works in recent years – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in 2008, and the latest version of The Great Gatsby in 2013 – has again brought this once popular Jazz Age novelist into the sight of readers worldwide.

Even in the twenty-first century, researches on Fitzgerald’s works continue as there are publications such as The F. Scott Fitzgerald Review (2002-2012), The Cambridge Companion to F. Scott Fitzgerald (Prigozy 2002), The Cambridge Introduction to F. Scott Fitzgerald (Curnutt 2007), and F. S. Fitzgerald in Context (Mangum 2013). Apart from these essay collections that focus on the overall work on Fitzgerald, essays on specific works of Fitzgerald have also been published including the book F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby/Tender is the Night (Tredell 2011). Critics hold various opinions towards Fitzgerald’s flappers. Curnutt points out that the character’s behavior should be attributed to their age, and it is reflected in both Nicole Diver and Gloria Patch, “who staves off her fear of growing old by acting like a teenager, until at twenty-nine she realizes she looks older than her age.” Curnutt believes that Fitzgerald uses theses depictions as inverts towards the advice that women shall behave as youthful as possible, and that unmasking oneself as old and decrepit is always imminent (45). Cheng holds the opinion that Gloria Patch was a typical figure representing the prevailing consumerism in American society, consuming not only her wealth, but also her youth (80). Sanderson puts forward the idea that his large number of depictions of flappers have, in a great sense, undermined and oversimplified the complexity in the molding of his female characters (143).

This thesis attempts to analyze and examine the image of flappers in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s fiction as they make up most of the female characters in his short stories and novels. Analysis on the flappers is conducted in three different aspects: Chapter One focuses on the appearance of the flappers as well as their conspicuous consumptions; Chapter Two examines the conduct and behaviors of the flappers and the intention that lies beneath; Chapter Three further analyzes the motivation and the values the flappers hold. Through comparing and concluding the similarity and differences between these flappers in Fitzgerald’s fiction as well as combining the social and economic background of the era with the given settings and plots, this thesis hopes to provide references for women in China who are experiencing similar changes in the society.

Chapter One Consumerism: On the Appearance and Lifestyle

The beauty and superfluous dresses of the flappers as well as their extravagant and ostentatious display of their house decorations has been extremely distinguishing in Fitzgerald’s fiction It is obvious that these depictions come not from the mere imagination of Fitzgerald, but rather draw inspiration from the “life-as-extravaganza” (Prigozy 8) of the Fitzgeralds as both Scott and Zelda have been notoriously known for their lavish illustrations and photos in gossip columns and popular magazines (Prigozy 5). From Gloria Patch in The Beautiful and Damned, Ardita in “The Offshore Pirate” (Famp;P), Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker in the Great Gatsby, to Nicole Diver and Rosemary in Tender is the Night, these flappers, despite the subtle differences, similarly bob their hair and live an extravagant and willful life.

As Malcolm Barnard puts it, fashion and clothing are “weapons” and “defenses” that “express the ideologies held by social groups” (44). Identifying the code and norms in the appearance and lifestyle of the flappers through the vast descriptions of clothing and decorations in Fitzgerald’s fiction is crucial for further illustration of their personalities and their role in the society.

1.1 The Modern Age Beauty

In both novels and collections of short stories, the idea of beauty is given great emphasis in Fitzgerald’s works. Fitzgerald has deplored, in numerous scenes, various methods to highlight the beauty of his flappers, the exquisiteness of their clothes and house decorations. These depictions are explored from a number of perspectives – the narration given in a third person perspective, the self-awareness of the flapper herself, the dialogues among and reaction given by other characters, all but reflects their beauty.

At the very beginning of Fitzgerald’s career as a writer, he quickly acquires his fortune through his collection of short stories Flappers and Philosophers, writing to cater to the emotions and concerns of his readers in the column and cashes in on the popularization of the flapper image – Bernice is “pretty, with dark hair and high color” (Famp;P 5); Ardita is nineteen, “slender and supple, with a spoiled alluring mouth and quick gray eyes full of a radiant curiosity” (Famp;P 173); Sally Carrol is the “foremost” (Famp;P 27) among the crowd of beautifully grown little girls. In his other collection of short stories Tales of the Jazz Age, he portrays similar flappers – girls in their teens who are beautiful and in addition, dress elaborately – Sally Carrol Hopper “blonde and lazy-eyed, wearing pink and blinking like an awakened rose” and Nancy Lamar, dressed in “yellow organdie”, shed “a sort of phosphorescent luster” (TJA 53).

Despite the differences in age, hairstyle, clothes and other aspects that people would normally take into evaluation on the definition of beauty, for these young flappers created in the stories, youth is the equivalent of beauty, the endowment these flappers could count on to exculpate themselves from their petulance and frivolity, the very substance they could capitalize on in the limited years as long as it lasts. Reflected is the fetishzation of youth, the endemic of the twentieth-century popular culture (Curnutt 29).

The flappers in Fitzgerald’s novels share similar characteristics; the idea of beauty is still preserved yet the definition has shifted and exceeded mere youth – it is associated with glamour, packaged with wealth. Unlike the vague brief of backgrounds in the short stories, a detailed and elaborate description of glamour and wealth is usually deployed in the molding of characters in Fitzgerald’s novels. In The Beautiful and Damned, Fitzgerald creates the flapper Gloria Patch whose beauty captures so large a number of suitors that by the time she marries, the wedding presents come “pouring in” as if there has been an “avalanche”. The wedding gifts Gloria has received from her friends include an elaborate silver drinking set and a tea-set from Tiffany’s (Bamp;D 118), a world-renowned luxury brand famous for its pricy silver goods and jewelries. Beauty here is associated with elaborateness and exquisiteness, and cannot be singled out as an isolated concept; pervaded in the lines is the aesthetics of the bourgeoisie, the beauty that shall remain unabated regardless the passing of time. Such aesthetics can also be identified in Tender is the Night where the appearance of Nicole is described as promising, a true growing face that would be handsome not only during youth, but in middle age years and old age – “the essential structure and the economy were there” (151).

Besides the packaged glamour and wealth, there is also an increasing self-awareness of one’s beauty in the characters of Fitzgerald’s novels than in his short stories. It is more explicitly stated in the novels that these flappers have been well-aware of their beauty and whatever this beauty is capable of bringing them. This is proven as Gloria is already well-aware of her beauty even before her marriage – she knows that the world would be hers as long as she is young, and beautiful (Bamp;D 54). Men hang for her beauty, the pervading reminiscent white face that includes the quintessential romance. It is her beauty that makes the brutal tender, the negligible astonishingly loyal and lovable, the honorable anything but honorable (Bamp;D 148-9). And apart from Gloria there is Nicole Diver, who writes in the love letters to her then psychiatrist Dick that she has known for a long time that she is pretty and has received compliments long before his comes (TN 130).

The prettiness and beauty of these flappers has served as a fundamental element in Fitzgerald’s fictions for their petulance, evasiveness, and their living their life willfully and wantonly. Although Fitzgerald insists that his heroines are not stereotypical flappers, but complicated women who shall be regarded as individuals, not auxiliaries, he does feed on the public perception of his flappers to sell The Beautiful and Damned (Bruccoli 167-8). And the concept of glamour, which Fitzgerald has always been comfortable with (Mangum 65), becomes a lasting theme in his works.

1.2 Conspicuous Consumers

Prior to the Jazz Age where consumerism prevails, the Victorian era places more emphasis on piety, purity, domesticity, and submissiveness. In the 1890s, troubles brought forth by economic depression still haunted the society with violence, poverty and disease. Yet as the economy improves, introducing new technologies as well as numerous affordable goods, American values have transformed (Sanderson 144-5). Along with economic prosperity comes the outlet of repressed desires – consumerism and conspicuous consumptions, which is fully illustrated in the appearance and lifestyle of Fitzgerald’s flappers.

Of all the characters in Fitzgerald’s works, the most direct and distinguishing one is probably Nicole Diver, who takes on a casual attitude towards money. During one purchase Nicole buys from “a great list that ran two pages”, including gold and ivory chess set and burning brush from Hermès. She purchases everything she likes and if she could not use it, she would give it to a friend as a gift, which in general is not a bit for professional equipment or insurance (TN 59), but for a sense of self satisfaction and a flaunt of wealth and taste since the material used to made the chess set and the brand of the burning brush places more emphasis on aspiration, not function. They have far surpassed the basic demands and requirements of the goods to the idea of display and showing off. The purchase being a habit, not an act on impulse or coincidence, has once again proved itself as Nicole purchases a whole army of toy soldiers costing more than a thousand francs while she helps Rosemary choose presents for her mother and associates in America (TN 104).

Nicole is not the only character that lives an extravagant life in Fitzgerald’s novels. There is also Daisy Buchanan, the notorious and controversial flapper who has a voice “full of money” (GG 92). Unlike Nicole whose wealth and fortune comes from the inheritance of her family, a large proportion of Daisy’s income is acquired from her husband Tom, the man who buys her a string of pearls estimated at three hundred and thirty five thousand dollars one day before their wedding (GG 56). The comparison can be easily made since the rent Nick has to pay for his own house was only eighty dollars a month (GG 4). It is obvious that Tom is capable of supporting Daisy’s ostentatious lifestyle whereas their elaborate cheerful red-and-white mansion with a view of the bay is a match with their wealth (GG 5).

The extravagant lifestyle and spending serve as supplement of the flappers’ glamour and beauty, serving as nonverbal communication to the readers stating that these flappers wish to further distinguish themselves from the crowd. Purchasing more than the basic demands has been a way of reiterating and reaffirming their social and economical well-being as well as a demonstration of their refined and exquisite taste. Beauty, in the eyes of these flappers, is never a mere sense of perfection in the physical building; it is, and it shall always be, associated with fine taste, valuable, exquisite ornaments, and uniqueness. And their definition of the concept beauty explains their conspicuous purchases in their lives. Conspicuous consumption is the acquisition of luxurious goods with the idea of publicly demonstrating the purchasing power and economic well-being of oneself, and in the case of the flappers, a way to prove that they are more than ordinary women. To put it in accordance with Maslow’s hierarchy, the enormous wealth they possess in hand allows them to surpass physiological and safety needs, the two most basic and fundamental layers, to pursue happiness, satisfaction, self-esteem and self-actualization.

Chapter Two Individualism: Laissez-Faire Conduct and Behavior

Economic prosperity and the industrialization in manufacturing had soothed the worries of poverty and violence that were once on people’s mind in America during the Jazz Age. Replaced these worries were things of another extremity, the undying parades, parties and carnivals and the excessive use of alcohol.

The revolutionary change in American values started before World War I, and was then deepened by the war and the following prosperity. It undermined the importance of self-denial and celebrates “individual gratification” (Friedman 417). Alongside comes the fresh attitude that is, to some women, a representation of new freedom. Clothing and cosmetics were greatly promoted through mass media while beauty pageants created for the twenties women a freer female ideal. Women therefore embraced the latest fashion in the attitude and behavior as well as the values of individual self-creation. (Sanderson 146)

The rebelliousness against conventional social norms is fully reflected on Fitzgerald’s flappers. Nancy Lamar is a “wild baby” in the eyes of Clark (Famp;P 54); Ardita demonstrates her rebelliousness through her revolt against the arranged marriage and reading the so-called abominable book Revolt of the Angels (Famp;P 173); Rosemary has been encouraged to “put whatever happens down to experience” since whatever happens wouldn’t have spoiled her because she is economically independent (TN 44). The wealth that Fitzgerald’s flappers are able to lavishly spend safeguarded their laissez-faire conduct whereas their beauty justifies their wrongdoing, if any.

2.1 Non-Conformists

Fitzgerald constantly keeps reminding his readers the rebelliousness in his flappers through either the plot of the story or the unconventional conduct of his characters. However, as these attitudes thrived and prospered during the twenties, the seemingly liberation became prescription. Under the mere appearance of freedom is that women are expected to be modern (Sanderson 146). The divergence in the motive of their rebelliousness – whether the flappers are being rebellious because they indeed held opposite opinions towards the conservative values, or are they only rebelling for the sake of rebelliousness – is further exemplified in Fitzgerald’s flappers.

Some, like Bernice, makes an outrageous attempt only to mark themselves as maverick and unorthodox. Bernice charms the other guests at the dinner-dance by asking them whether they approved of her idea of getting her hair bobbed (Famp;P 15). She has the least intention to bob her hair and only asks for advice and appreciation because it is an effective way to draw attention from desirable and distinguished young bachelor and to attain poise and charm. Rebelliousness is further illustrated and exaggerated as the story unfolds – Bernice eventually bobs her hair as she boasts under the temptation and outrageous trap of her cousin Marjorie, and after it is done, she finally realizes that the whole idea of this “bob my hair” drama is to demonstrate, to flaunt, but never to implement. The philosophy of these flappers is that the idea of framing an artificial and pretentious behavior and making an outrageous overstatement has never been to implement it, but to keep boasting it until everyone believes that it is true, that the boaster herself is unusual, unique, anything but ordinary.

Another vivid example of the pseudo-rebellious flapper is Ardita in “The Offshore Pirate”. Judging even from the first sight, it won’t be hard to draw a statement that she is far from conventional.

She was about nineteen, slender and supple, with a spoiled alluring mouth and quick gray eyes full of a radiant curiosity. Her feet, stockingless, and adorned rather than clad in blue-satin slippers which swung nonchalantly from her toes, were perched on the arm of a settee adjoining the one she occupied. And as she read she intermittently regaled herself by a faint application to her tongue of a half-lemon that she held in her hand. The other half, sucked dry, lay on the deck at her feet and rocked very gently to and fro at the almost imperceptible motion of the tide. (Famp;P 173)

The exposition of skin and the stockingless feet are provocations towards the expected social norms of a traditional teenager while the tantalizing application of the tongue onto a half lemon is probably the least of the once-believed decency. Besides, her reclining herself in a settee reading a book called Revolt of the Angels by Anatole France, a winner of Nobel Prize of Literature, a skeptical and ironic writer whose work is pervaded with pessimistic feelings and fustigation towards the society, indicates her iconoclastic heart.

Contradicting established moral standards and beliefs plays an important role in Ardita’s conducts. Otherwise she wouldn’t have fallen in love with the “pirate” who gets on her yacht and “kidnaps” her all the way. Yet as the “pirate” reveals himself as Toby Moreland, the son of Colonel Moreland, the man who Ardita detests and refuses to meet in the beginning, there is a complete upturn in Ardita’s attitude. Instead of giving an outburst or a crash towards this “scam”, she suddenly turns radiant, and with a little laugh and no trace of wrath in her eyes she only asks Toby to swear that it has been entirely the product of his own brain (Famp;P 209). The runaway affair with a high-seas pirate is her fantasy about being rebellious – it is a mere formality that Ardita wishes to feed on. The thing that she detests is neither the real identity of the man she is about to meet nor the deception one creates, but the formality of the conventional and routine process.

To these flappers, rebelliousness derives from boredom, from the grudge held towards the plain, unchanging ritual of everyday life. The essence of being a non-conformist is making a statement, a statement firmly arguing that one is unique and distinct. And to achieve such a goal, they would make do to the utmost of their capacity, even forcing themselves into something they have never initially intended to fulfill. Their rebelliousness has hardly anything to do with feminism, with women’s right, but more of a sheer pursuit of self satisfaction.

2.2 Dissipation in the Roaring Years

When simple statements and willful decisions can no longer easily gratify the flappers, they switch to a much more intense and forceful form of rebelliousness – dissipation, a wild and common choice in the Roaring Twenties, a cascade that later reinvents itself through consumerism, parties and laid-back attitudes towards almost everything. The Roaring Twenties became the time of full indulgence of self, putting a stress on willful and irresponsible responds. Such values have been incorporated in the literary depictions of Fitzgerald’s flappers, who, in a great sense, had acted upon their instant judgments without giving any further thoughts.

Of all these flappers, we have Daisy, the notoriously-known flapper who acts willfully, hesitates back and forth between her husband and Gatsby, giving only an innocent and somewhat naive look when Gatsby finally confronts Tom about his affair with her.

Gatsby walked over and stood beside her.

“Daisy, that’s all over now,” he said earnestly. “It doesn’t matter any more. Just tell him the truth – that you never loved him – and it’s all wiped out forever.”

She looked at him blindly. “Why – how could I love him – possibly?”

“You never loved him.”

She hesitated. Her eyes fell on Jordan and me with a sort of appeal, as though she realized at last what she was doing – and as though she had never, all along, intended doing anything at all. But it was done now. It was too late.

“I never loved him,” she said, with perceptible reluctance. (GG 101)

And when Tom confronts her again with the warm details of their time once spent together, questioning her if she really loves Gatsby, she vacillates.

“Oh, you want too much!” she cried to Gatsby. “I love you now – isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past.” She began to sob helplessly. “I did love him once – but I loved you too.” (GG 101)

For Daisy, time spent with Gatsby can be compared to as a runaway from the gradually tedious and routine life of a wife who has just given birth to a baby and is in possession of a considerable amount of disposable fortune. By contrast, life with Gatsby, the affair with Gatsby, could offer more than a reminisce of the past; it would be a life of excitement, a new adventure with unexpected novelties, an experience that would provide long-lasting aftertaste to paralyze oneself in the forthcoming boredom even after they break up. Unlike those who have to trade their time and youth for fortune, Daisy has enough fortune, and sufficient time to wander around in her life. Life, to Daisy, is no different from a game; it is a game she could, at any time, retreat if she had ever sensed anything wrong.

It is interesting and important to note, however, as depicted in The Great Gatsby (Gatsby gained his fortune by being a bootlegger), that as people’s expectations and cravings towards dissipation bloated, National Prohibition, a ban on liquor that gained public support “as a righteous effort to deal with the serious social problem of alcoholic over-indulgence” (Kyvig 3), was implemented in 1920. Yet the repression and inhibition of one’s desire may, in turn, further irritate one’s will to disobey and violate social conventions, or to provoke and challenge them. These provocations and challenges would not be restricted in exactly the boundaries of liquor but might search for an alternative outburst in other areas such as the outlet of emotions or self. At the mean time, the once preserved and conservative attitude may shift to an unequivocal and wanton expression of one’s innermost will.

Of all Fitzgerald’s flappers, the one who holds the most explicit and direct attitude towards love is probably Rosemary in Tender is the Night, the young beautiful fearless actress who takes on mixed and complicated feelings towards the Divers. Compared with Daisy, she has been even more straight forward consider that she tells Dick about her affection for him shortly after they befriend each other. On the one hand she is deeply in love with Dick, considering him “the most wonderful person” (TN 41) she has ever met except her mother while on the other hand; she admires Nicole for how beautiful and wise she is (TN 72). If Rosemary had been a girl brought up in the Victorian era, she would probably be hiding her feelings from the Divers and wish them all the best in her heart. Yet on the contrary, she is brought up with the idea that economically, she is no different from any other boys. The financial independence allows her to experience her life not the way people expect, but rather the way she herself wishes. Her secret liaison with Dick Diver has gone past the once-called decent behavior while their intimacy grows as day passed. At the mean time, Rosemary still remains friends with Nicole and kept everything a secret from her.

The dissipation revealed in Rosemary is again, a dissipation of youth and time, and the difference that draws the line between her and Daisy was probably her marital status and the way she acquires her fortune. Being someone available is an advantage for Rosemary, for she would be free to pursue anyone she deems appropriate, anyone she loves without strained bondage or condemn from the public. Nevertheless, she falls in love with Dick, an unavailable man who has to take care of his schizophrenia wife simultaneously. Rosemary’s love is still, to some degree, a runaway, and shares some resemblance with that of Daisy’s. While she makes the decision to pursue her love and affection, she couldn’t care less about the collateral damage that comes along, let alone how it might deteriorate her relationship with Nicole if the secret liaison were exposed in broad daylight.

When one is suppressed of their desires and needs on one thing, they would eventually have to vent it out on others; that is the case in Rosemary and Daisy, and can be applied to Fitzgerald’s other flappers. The love that Daisy and Gatsby have once shared, the love that vanishes into thin air without any results or any conclusions they could reminisce in the future, is what reignited their affection as they met. Likewise, the strict limitations and rules that Rosemary’s mother has set for her to guarantee her success in her career as an actress has driven her to behave in the exactly opposite manners in other aspects of life. Falling in love is one thing, while acting wantonly in the name of love is another. The acquaintance after years of separation between Daisy and Gatsby and the fireworks between Rosemary and Dick, serve as catalysts for their emotional outburst, the outburst that takes the form of behavioral dissipation, resulting in a lack of responsibility and liability in the conduct. Behavioral dissipation, in the case of the flappers, is only a mere fact shielding the poor psychological well-being of them while external factors, such as the National Prohibition, reinforce such dissipations by adding more burdens to their already-tightened nerves. The eventual outcome of these factors accumulated altogether facilitates the ultimate guidance and philosophy of the conduct and behavior of these flappers – carpe diem – to enjoy oneself and live life as it is since one has no idea what tomorrow would be like. It is to stay young, to act recklessly, regardless the social norms and morality.Chapter Three Egoism: Principles and Instincts to Live By

Be it appearance or behavior, the ultimate answer of what exactly are Fitzgerald’s flappers are like lies in their minds. With further research on Fitzgerald, the vague and opaque image of his flappers becomes more apparent; they are indeed, sophisticated egoists, calculating to the last minute with their life principles and act on their pungent instincts.

It is believed that Fitzgerald creates his flappers due to the inspiration from his wife Zelda. At least, in the word of Scott Donaldson, Fitzgerald has the “histrionic” (190) personality that matches the self-dramatization Zelda longs for throughout her life; therefore, as a couple, the Fitzgeralds hold the first-hand information they could utilize in their fictions. Furthermore, it is widely regarded by Fitzgerald critics that Tender is the Night is, in some sense, a biography of the Fitzgeralds even though the author himself had been ambiguous towards the statement. If true, Fitzgerald’s work would be more than Jazz Age in the microprints; it would be a ground of clues and traces that could be used to decipher a huge puzzle.

Even if we set aside the gossips that lies within, the minds and thoughts of these flappers, the essence that guided their instincts and set the bars of their life principles were still subjects that were more than intriguing. Deciphering the components of their thoughts would be tremendously helpful in analyzing the cause that hides underneath.

3.1 Desire-governed Subconscious

Fitzgerald has stated more than once in his works, either through narratives or the own words of his characters, the seemingly obscure yet unwavering stand of his flappers. And in his last complete novel Tender is the Night, he has specifically and clearly pointed out their motivations and thoughts.

Their point of resemblance to each other and their difference from so many American women, lay in the fact that they were all happy to exist in a man’s world—they preserved their individuality through men and not by opposition to them. They would all three have made alternatively good courtesans or good wives not by the accident of birth but through the greater accident of finding their man or not finding him. (TN 57)

This premise, that they preserve their individuality through men, can be adapted to almost all of Fitzgerald’s flappers who, with their intelligence, strong personality and carefully constructed thoughts, safeguard themselves in a male-dominated society. When questioned whether the kisses from past lovers had ever left any mark or any taint of promiscuity on herself, Gloria laughs and steers past the question, explaining through a metaphor that she should be thought of not as a public drinking-glass but as a loving-cup that went from hand to hand but still valued none the less (Bamp;D 150). It was a very smart move to avoid direct confrontation through the use of a metaphor to substitute whatever stereotype people have placed on her.

Nevertheless, however ignorant or benighted these flappers might seem, deep inside they are well-aware of what suits them most and what not, what they aspire in life and what they don’t. After Sally Carrol Happer arrives at the Northern town where her fiancé grew up, she immediately senses the malaise sprawling in the air for most talking is done by men while girls could only sit in “a haughty and expensive aloofness”. The flattery and compliments that a southern girl would expect even after she is engaged or married seems all but banned in the cold, icy town (Famp;P 35-6). And as the divergence between Sally Carrol, a Southerner and her fiancé, a Northerner, is further exposed, her rejection towards the marriage increases and reaches a climax after the incident at the ice palace – how she is left in an unfamiliar darkness by her fiancé and experiences an icy breath of death. The instincts that Sally Carrol has in mind is what leads her to the eventual breaking-up with her fiancé, and the days she spent together with him in that Northern town serves as experiences that verify her thoughts. Compared with Sally Carrol, Gloria is even more mature and sophisticated – it is unnecessary to prove her assumptions with relevant experience since her theoretical analysis on the given situations is already as good. While she comments on a man who demands a girl never been kissed, likes to sew, would “sit home and pay tribute to his self-esteem”, she calls this whole idea a “naive conception” and claims that the woman who would marry the man would be such “an ass” if she had not realized it before the marriage. In Gloria’s words,

He’s the sort whose idea of honoring and respecting a woman would be never to give her any excitement. With the best intentions, he was deep in the Dark Ages. (Bamp;D 149)

The examples of how Fitzgerald’s flappers have been sophisticated egoists are easy to find in his works. Normally, they would give roundabout answers that would never hurt the self-esteem of any men and subconsciously magnetize those men around while creating a false perception that it is those men, not the flappers, who are actually making decisions. They are amply clear about the advantages they themselves possess and the preponderance they could capitalize on (their beauty, their youth, and their wealth) as well as the disadvantages and confinements society has imposed on them. They fully understand that man is their shortcut to achieve their goal; they have been the epitome of snobbishness of that era.

The idea of snobbishness, in the case of Fitzgerald’s flappers, exceeds the mere idea of showing an attitude of regarding oneself as someone better. It is about to capitalize to the greatest extent what they had in hand to gain whatever they desired in the years of dissipation, to not have responsibility or a lot of children to take care of (Bamp;D 52-4), to do nothing and while away time through ceaseless gatherings and parties, to be the one that “has style” (TJA 57), to be frequently “cut in” during dances (Famp;P 17), and to be “a beautiful little fool” (GG 13). It is to live their lives the easiest and most convenient way they could ever imagine, in alignment with the envision to live as extravagant and luxurious as possible. These flappers fully understand how society works and are mostly brought up or greatly influenced by those who either establish the rules and regulations of the game or occupy a large proportion of the existing resources – in other words – the upper class and the bourgeoisie. The snobbish instinct has been more of a built-in since birth rather than postnatal acquisition.

3.2 Awakening Self

One important element in comprehending the image of Fitzgerald’s flappers is to figure out whether they do realize that they are greatly dependent on men and their dissipation and preserved-self might wound others, especially those who pursue them but was never loved by them, whether they know which kind of life they wish to lead after numerous attempts in their laissez-faire conducts. To answer these questions we would have to get back to the text itself.

For Bernice, the experiences of transforming from a girl of “crazy Indian blood” (Famp;P 9) to a girl of significant success (Famp;P 18) and finally bobbing her hair to “ugly as sin”, are all stirred up and inflamed by her cousin Marjorie. Bernice’s behavior can be explained as an action under the pressure of external compliance and obedience (Franzoi 279), the exercising of social power by her cousin to change the attitudes or behavior of her in a particular direction. Marjorie starts off from a good intention, yet as the crowd grows increasingly fond of Bernice and leaves her behind little by little, the vamp in her has cause her to lure Bernice into the big trap of getting an “ugly as sin” haircut. The coldly-served revenge that Bernice makes to Marjorie – to deliberately and calmly sever Marjorie’s hair braids with the shears while Marjorie is asleep – proves that she is aware of her desires and cravings, and is finally stroke awake.

If Bernice’s experience can be compared to as fathoming an incident in life, then the experience of Nicole shall be regarded as a more profound epiphany. Throughout her marriage with Dick, their unequal relationship – she being a mental patient more than a wife while Dick, a psychiatrist more than a husband – results in her diminutive and flagged spirits.

She had somehow given over the thinking to him, and in his absences her every action seemed automatically governed by what he would like, so that now she felt inadequate to match her intentions against his. Yet think she must; she knew at last the number on the dreadful door of fantasy, the threshold to the escape that was no escape; she knew that for her the greatest sin now and in the future was to delude herself. It had been a long lesson but she had learned it. Either you think—or else others have to think for you and take power from you, pervert and discipline your natural tastes, civilize and sterilize you (TN 305).

Dick seems to be her babysitter, takes care of her while she is in her hard times and treats her like a child; whereas Tommy worships her like any men would have worshipped a pretty girl in her great arrogant years in life (TN 306). With all these combined and compared, she realizes that she longs for a change in life and needs a runaway from Dick’s way of doing that sterilized her. What Dick values is her intactness, her being mentally stable, which contradicts what she values in life – not the intactness, but the power, the desirous and content attitude towards life. Therefore, having realized what she really wants after years of tantalizing with life, she finally takes on the opportunity to start afresh.

The similarity in personality is also revealed in Daisy, who, after all Gatsby has done – taking on the murder charges that is supposedly Daisy’s – abandons Gatsby and stands aside her husband Tom. It is as if she has suddenly become aware that the stability and shelter that Tom could offer has never been within Gatsby’s reach for Gatsby is a man whose life is filled with risks, adventures and ambiguities. Gatsby is alone, and would always remain alone, and once he collapses, everything would only come tumbling down like the dominoes – they would be unstoppable.

In the world of these flappers there is no absolute right or wrong; neither do they care about the judgments people pose on them based on conventional social norms. To them, the thing that matters is whichever kind of time they are comfortable with; it is to choose to live the kind of life they want – the glamour, and whoever could afford and provide the glamour is where they would eventually belong to. The reason why they hardly make choices in life is not because they are not capable, but rather they choose not to – they bury their heads deep in the sand to avoid being reminded of the facts that would lead to the awakening self – they would wait until the final moment when they are forced to the edge of a dichotomous situation.

The awakening self can be compared to the process of sobering up, a procedure in which one withdraws oneself from the hallucinations of happiness and content to the stone-cold reality however harsh it would be. The process is bound to be painful, and to survive the pain, to accept the truth, is much more complicated than making a few determined statements. While some flappers, such as Nicole, withdraws from the illusion and starts afresh, others, such as Daisy, after realizing that a life of dissipation and extravagance in the safe harbor provided by her husband is all she needed, retrieves the voluptuous indulgence.

Conclusion

Despite the small differences in the personality of Fitzgerald’s flappers, conclusions can be drawn that the overall image of his flappers was always associated with the concept of beauty, wealth, and egos. It is typical of a Fitzgerald’s flapper to never let out any one of these three elements, for they were complimentary to each other in every sense – wealth ensures the everlasting beauty and glamour in life, beauty justifies their egos, while ego is the thing through which they preserved their wealth and social status. Through the detailed and careful examination of Fitzgerald’s flappers, unveiled before us is the unique insight into the Jazz Age bourgeoisie, the flaunting and superfluous life and its underlying motivations.

The Jazz Age is an era where the United States had just overcome its previous economic depression and profited from the First World War. Revolution and industrialization further promoted the mass introduction of goods to the home of average American citizens. As a result of these succeeding events, women were given more chances to participate in external affairs and less restricted to housework. It was the time when the enlightenment of feminism had just started.

The limitation of the time for many women, however, was that despite the opportunities provided, there remained a glass ceiling – the jobs that earned the most were still in the hands of men. This eventually led to the controversial question about whether women shall be financially independent or rely on men – being financially independent at that time is almost equivalent to earning a salary only enough to cover daily expenses. If a woman ever wished to maintain or improve her living standard, the best and the possibly only way was to find a wealthy husband she could ever count on.

With all these factors combined, the emergence of flappers was never a coincident, and their choice to rely on men was not only out of the mere will of heart, but a careful decision after deep and comprehensive consideration. Their philosophy is complicated, for they took every aspect of life into review, or it can be concluded in one simple sentence – they wish to live happily, willfully and glamorously.

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