Amory Face (Un)Sobering Reality

Hmmm. Book II, Chapter 2 seems a hard one to write about. A slump into alcoholism, halted only by the onset of Prohibition. A few frustrating consultations with his friends, and then an interesting, if late, letter from Monsignor Darcy.

In a way it feels like another moment in Amory's life where he's faced with a decision. In this case, the decision of whetehr and how to go on with life without Rosalind. However, Amory really doesn't decide anything in this chapter. About the only decisions he makes are the decisions not to go home with the drunk girl in the bar and the decision at the end to visit Darcy in Maryland.

I found Darcy's letter the most interesting part of the chapter. First, I'm glad he's still alive. Second, it's interesting to get his take on Amory's relationship with Rosalind. Obviously, Amory and Rosalind's runaway-train relationship was getting a bit frantic near the end, and perhaps that's why Darcy was able to pick up that there was something potentially destructive going on. But I think it might go beyond that. Although I don't think I've experienced it personally, the idea that outsiders can see problems with a relationship even when the two inside the relationship think the union is a once in a lifetime love affair sounds very familiar. It rings true to me.

That said, there have seemed to be hints that Rosalind really is the love of Amory's life -- that perhaps he'll never find another love like that. If that's the case, I wouldn't have expected Fitzgerald to include a letter from Amory's mentor warning him about Rosalind. So I guess what I'm saying is it will be interesting to see what happens with this new Eleanor in the next chapter.

The fact that there is an Eleanor in the next chapter (which I haven't read yet) makes me a bit dissatisfied with Fitzgerald's treatment of female characters in this book. I mentioned something about this in my last post - that the women seem to be there only to facilitate Amory's character development. But I feel like it's perhaps getting to be a bit much. Going back to Amory's childhood, I can count nearly a half dozen women who have floated in and out of Amory's life, whom he pretended to care about or actually cared about, but who have faded in his mind and seem to carry no lasting significance. I'm just saying this book isn't very feminist.

Do you think we'll see Rosalind again in this book? And what about Darcy. I still have an ominous feeling about him. Yes, both he and Amory survived the war, but I'm wondering if something bad is going to happen to Darcy. But it's just a feeling. Might not be anything to it.