Tender Is the Night: Analysis of Major Characters
"Tender Is the Night: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the intricate relationships and personal struggles of key figures in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel. Central to the narrative is Dick Diver, a talented psychiatrist whose dedication to his wife, Nicole Warren, leads to his personal decline. Nicole, a wealthy woman who endured a traumatic childhood, initially relies on Dick for support but eventually asserts her independence, culminating in their divorce. The character of Rosemary Hoyt, a young actress enamored with Dick, highlights themes of youthful devotion and the challenges of maturity as she grapples with his deterioration. Other significant figures include Tommy Barban, a callous war hero who becomes Nicole's lover, and Beth Warren, Nicole's sister, whose elitism complicates her understanding of her sister's struggles. Additionally, the narrative features characters such as Abe North and his wife Mary, along with Franz Gregorovious, a Swiss psychiatrist, adding layers to the exploration of ambition, privilege, and the impact of personal relationships on identity. This analysis offers a profound look at the characters' complexities and their interwoven lives against the backdrop of 1920s expatriate society.
Tender Is the Night: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
First published: 1934
Genre: Novel
Locale: Europe
Plot: Social realism
Time: The 1920's
Dick Diver, a brilliant young psychiatrist who inspires confidence in everyone. As a young man, he met a woman who became a patient and whom he married. He devoted most of his time during the next several years to helping her regain a certain normality. In the process of helping his wife, he loses his own self-respect, alienates most of his friends, and drowns his brilliance in alcohol. His professional position deteriorates to that of a general practitioner in successively smaller towns across the United States.
Nicole Warren Diver, Dick's wife, a fabulously rich American. As a young girl, she had an incestuous relationship with her father and subsequently suffered a mental breakdown. She marries Dick while still a patient and is content to let him guide her in all things for several years. When he begins to drink heavily and make scenes in public, she tries to stop him; in doing so, she begins to gain some moral strength of her own. In a short time, she no longer needs Dick, has a brief affair, and divorces Dick to marry her lover. Apparently aware of her part in Dick's downfall, she continues to be somewhat concerned for him.
Rosemary Hoyt, a beautiful young American film actress. Having fallen in love with Dick, who is several years her senior, on their first meeting, she later has a brief affair with him. When she finally recognizes the decline in him, she is powerless to do anything about it. Although she retains her devotion to both of the Divers, she has never really grown up herself and is incapable of acting positively without direction.
Tommy Barban, a war hero and professional soldier. Typically cold and unfeeling where most people are concerned, he spends much of his time fighting in various wars. He eventually becomes Nicole's lover and then her second husband.
Beth Evan (Baby) Warren, Nicole's older sister. Knowing nothing of the real nature of Nicole's illness, she feels that the family should buy a doctor to marry and care for her. She never fully approves of Dick because her snobbery makes her feel superior to him. After a succession of quiet, well-mannered affairs, she remains without roots or direction in her life.
Mrs. Elsie Speers, Rosemary Hoyt's mother. She devotes her life to making Rosemary a successful actress. She also tries to make her an individual but fails to achieve this goal.
Abe North, an unambitious musician, an early friend of the Divers. He goes consistently downhill and is finally murdered.
Mary North, Abe's wife. She is an ineffectual person while married to Abe; later, she makes a more advantageous marriage and fancies herself one of the queens of the international set.
Collis Clay, a young American friend of Rosemary. Fresh from Yale, he is now studying architecture in Europe and despairs of ever having to go back to Georgia to take over the family business.
Franz Gregorovious, a Swiss psychiatrist who becomes Dick Diver's partner in a clinic they establish with Nicole's money.
Kaethe, his wife, a tactless woman who is envious of Americans and their money.
Gausse, the proprietor of a small hotel on the Riviera where the Divers and their friends often spend their summers.
Mr. and Mrs. McKisco, an American novelist and his wife who, after achieving financial success, lose their sense of inferiority and acquire the superiority and snobbishness typical of the moneyed Americans in the Diver set.
Lady Caroline Sibly-Biers,anEnglishfriendofMaryNorth after her second marriage. She typifies the overbearing attitude of her class.