The Rich Boy by F. Scott Fitzgerald
"The Rich Boy" is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald that explores the life of Anson, a wealthy young man whose privileged upbringing shapes his relationships and worldview. The narrative delves into themes of social class, isolation, and the superficiality of Anson's connections. As a child, Anson is raised in seclusion and develops a sense of superiority over those from less affluent backgrounds. His education at Yale and subsequent career in finance further entrench his elitist attitudes, leading to arrogance and a lack of genuine emotional connections.
Anson's relationship with Paula Legendre, a woman of similar social standing, is marked by his inability to recognize her dissatisfaction and his entitlement to her affection. After their engagement ends due to his reckless behavior, Anson continues to assert control over the lives of those around him, including family members. As he approaches thirty, he grapples with loneliness as his friends move on to establish their own lives, leaving him feeling isolated.
The story culminates in a poignant realization of Anson's emptiness when he encounters Paula years later, only to learn that she has found happiness with another man. Despite experiencing moments of vulnerability, Anson ultimately fails to learn from his past, reverting to old habits and relationships. Through Anson's journey, Fitzgerald scrutinizes the moral and emotional vacuity often associated with wealth and privilege.
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The Rich Boy by F. Scott Fitzgerald
First published: 1926
Type of plot: Psychological
Time of work: The 1920's
Locale: New York and Florida
Principal Characters:
Anson Hunter , an attractive, charming, but arrogant young man from a wealthy and prestigious familyPaula Legendre , a beautiful, wealthy young woman who falls in love with Anson but later marries another manDolly Karger , an attractive young woman from new money who is attracted to men who are not attracted to herAunt Edna , Anson's aunt by marriageCary , the young lover of EdnaThe narrator , an unidentified friend of Anson
The Story
Anson Hunter, the rich boy for whom the story is named, aptly portrays F. Scott Fitzgerald's fascination with an analysis of the rich as
different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, . . . [which] makes them soft where we are hard, and cynical where we are trustful. They think, deep in their hearts, that they are better than we are because we had to discover the compensations and refuges of life for ourselves.
As a child, Anson is cared for by a governess and is secluded from contact with his social peers. His fraternizing with the local town children helps instill his feeling of superiority. His education is completed at Yale, where he makes connections in the business and social worlds. He establishes himself in a New York brokerage firm, joins the appropriate clubs, and commences to maintain an extravagant lifestyle, arrogantly frowning on excessive behavior in others that he finds acceptable for himself.
Anson serves in the Navy but is not changed by the experience. While in Florida at a training base, he meets Paula Legendre, a woman of his class and social standing. As he himself admits, their relationship is superficial, based on common upbringing and expectations. Paula and her mother accompany him north, and while there he arrives at their hotel one evening, inebriated. Paula and her mother react negatively to this improper behavior, but Anson never apologizes. Later, when he becomes drunk and fails to keep a date with Paula, she breaks the engagement. Anson, however, continues to believe that he has control over Paula, that she will, in fact, wait for him forever. When he and Paula meet again, his arrogance prevents him from recognizing Paula's weakening attraction and patience toward him: "He need say no more, commit their destinies to no practical enigma. Why should he, when he might hold her so, biding his own time, for another year—forever?" Because of this attitude, Anson loses her. He receives word that she will marry someone else.
His loss of Paula shocks him, but he continues his wild life and becomes involved with Dolly Karger. His relationship with Dolly is gamelike; when she tries to make him jealous, he purposely wins her back, only to show her who is in control, and then promptly rejects her. When she accompanies him to the country for the weekend, he goes to her in her bedroom, but at the last minute, the image of Paula intervening between them, he, close to tears and projecting his anger on Dolly, breaks away from her: "I don't love you a bit, can't you understand?"
Anson prides himself on his ability to control the lives of other people, and when he learns that his Aunt Edna is having an affair, he informs her and her lover that it must end. He states that failure to do so will cause him to inform his uncle and the young man's father. This threat gains the result he desires. He gives his motivations as the prevention of a scandal, which would reflect on him as well as on the rest of the family, and the protection of his uncle. Primarily, however, it is simply a way for him to assert his superiority. The lover dies, either by accident or by suicide, but Anson feels no remorse. He is banned from his uncle's house, an act that Anson believes is unjustified.
As Anson approaches thirty, he becomes more conscious of his position in society; he teaches Sunday school, sponsors young men for various clubs, and, with the deaths of his mother and father, becomes head of the family, assuming responsibility for his brothers and sisters, particularly financially and socially. He continues to give advice to his friends, especially to those recently married. Despite his continued drinking and partying, the older generation considers him reliable and safe because of the air of self-assurance that he exhibits. Finally though, his friends establish their own lives and interests and find him less necessary.
His loneliness becomes evident to him one evening at the beginning of summer when he tries to find someone in New York with whom to spend the evening, and everyone he knows, including people he has not seen since college, is either busy or out of town. The thought of being alone frightens him, and he glimpses the emptiness of his life. On this evening he accidentally meets Paula, recently remarried and pregnant. They travel up to the country for the weekend, and, after a pleasant meal, the husband leaves them alone to catch up on old times. When Anson learns from Paula that she never loved him, that she is now happy with her husband, Anson is devastated. He returns to the city but breaks into tears easily and seems unable to go on with his life. Although Anson is certainly upset about Paula, it is typical of him that he is not upset that Paula is married or pregnant or happy; his pride is wounded because she had not loved him as he assumed she had.
His work suffers, and his colleagues become worried about him. They urge him to take a voyage and, accompanied by a male friend, the narrator, he plans to depart. Several days prior to their departure, Anson learns that Paula has died during childbirth; nevertheless, he departs for Europe as planned. On the voyage, Anson takes up with another young woman, reverting to his old ways, without benefiting from his experiences. The narrator-friend concludes, "I don't think he was ever happy unless someone was in love with him, responding to him like filings to a magnet, helping him to explain himself, promising him something. . . . Perhaps they promised that there would always be women in the world who would spend their brightest, freshest, rarest hours to nurse and protect that superiority he cherished in his heart."
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