" I want to love first and live incidentally." Zelda Fitzgerald

I am thinking of researching Zelda Fitzgerald for our paper. I read her biography a few years ago, and thought her life was very interestin.g. She was the wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald; their life is described as "beautiful and damned." (There is a musical about them called "The Beautiful and Damned.") She met F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1918, but refused to marry him until he became successful. She was officially engaged to him one week after the release of his first novel, This Side of Paradise. She was by all means a modern woman- she was a postergirl for the flappers, and wrote about her lifestyle in women's magazines. Her life with F. Scott resembled Paris Hilton's- they partied continously, and were both heavy drinkers. Friends of theirs included: Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, and Cole Porter.

Although Zelda never wrote an autobiography, she wrote a novel, 11 short stories, and 12 articles. Her novel is entitled "Save me the Waltz." The novel is based on a relationship Zelda had with a French aviator named Edouard Jozan while F.Scott and her were in France. Although it is unclear if they had an affair, F. Scott was quite upset by the relationship. He also wrote about their relationship in The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night, which both have strong themes of betrayal. I think it would be interesting to compare how F. Scott portrayed her in his work (Daisy from The Great Gatsby is loosely based on Zelda) to how Zelda portrays herself in her own work. Furthermore, Zelda was a painter, so it may be interesting to examine her art to reveal more about her self expression.

When Zelda was 28, she decided she wanted to become a professional ballerina. She danced 10 hours a day, 7 days a week. She eventually danced herself to exhaustion, and was admitted into a mental health clinic in 1930. She spent the rest of her life in and out of mental hospitals, and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. F. Scott wrote about her breakdown and his descent into alcoholism in Tender is the Night. The last time F. Scott saw Zelda, he took her on a trip outside the hospital, and proceeded to get drunk and start a bar fight. F. Scott died in 1940 of a heart attack, and Zelda died 7 years later, when a fire broke out on the floor of the hospital she was staying in.

I think Zelda is a fascinating woman- she was independent, modern, and ruthless. She never equaled the artistic success of F. Scott, but was an artist in her own right.

*Information taken from zeldafitzgerald. com, and what I remember from reading her biography.

My Autobiography

My name is Teresa (Tracy) Rose Sakon. I was named after my grandmother who is one of the most admirable people I know.

My family is like any family- seemingly normal from the outside, and incredibly annoying otherwise. My father is a lovable hypochondriac who watches the science fiction channel. He is very protective and has a “no one is allowed to mess with my daughter accept me” parenting philosophy. My mother is very practical, loving, and focused. The last time I saw her cry was when her computer crashed. She is very easy to talk to about anything. My brother and I are five years and some odd months apart in age, because my mother assumed the age gap would prevent us from fighting too much. She was very wrong in her assumption. However, we get along better now that we are older. And there is my dog, Vera, who I swear is the most loved member of my family, probably because she never says anything.

Ever since I was three years old, I have lived in the same house in Avon, Connecticut, a truly uneventful small suburban town. It was actually named the third safest town in the nation. My high school was intense-a constant focus on APS, SATS, and college admissions. I am not very good under pressure, and so I never performed as well as I could have, to the dismay of my parents. However, I have always noticed that things seem to work out for me in the end.

I guess where I am right now is kind of at a crossroads. I have left my small town to attend college in Washington, DC. It has been the first time I have had to truly rely on myself, which has not been as bad as I thought it would be. I am really anxious to see the world. I am not the type of person who plans everything out: I have many things I want to accomplish and places I want to see, but the when and why doesn’t particularly interest me. I want to own my own restaurant or boutique, teach English, travel and work abroad, join the Peace Corps, and publish my own book. I don’t think accomplishing these things is as important to me as dreaming that I will.

That is the autobiography I wrote for our assignment, I think I should add "Leisure technologist" to my list of things to accomplish. :-)

This is the blog I am going to track for the semester: http://blog.gwhatchet.com/index.php?cat=5. It is the blog of the sex columnist for The Hatchet. I thought it might be interesting, since it is written by a GW student.