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| Plot Summary of Tender is the Night |
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"Set in the 1920s on the French Riviera this book starts optimistically with the Divers Dick and Nicole being the charming wealthy expatriate Americans who are at the centre of the social scene. Onto the beach scene walks 18 year old ‘Daddy's Girl' starlet Rosemary Hoyt who is introduced to Dick and finds him the most charming handsome man she has ever met. The innocent falls in love with him. Dick is a psychiatrist who is writing an important medical paper. Nicole is a diagnosed schizophrenic with vast family wealth who is supported and loved by Dick. However as the book progresses Dick does the manly thing and has an affair with Rosemary and slowly degenerates into heavy drinking. His character starting the book so sunnily glorious is by the end a shell of his former self shunned by polite society. The book wonderfully captures the mood of the wealthy expatriates as they flit about France hedonistically. It is also a tragic love story with Nicole leaving Dick for another man. It speaks of the jazz generation and the high life of rich Americans and Europeans of the 1920s. It is also a story of the darkness of a marriage and the relief of affairs. "
John Marcel, Resident Scholar
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"Dick and Nicole Diver live pleasant, idyllic lives on the French Riviera as American expatriates. Rosemary Hoyt, a young rising actress joins them for the summer, falling "in love" with the Divers and their way of life. Piningly attached to Dick, Rosemary coaxes Dick into a casual affair, then seperates from the couple as she witnesses Nicole in a state of mental illness. The next part dives back into time, explaining the Divers' history; Dick was a psychiatrist to Nicole (once sexually abused by her father), and is essentially "bought" into marriage to care for her. Though Nicole's recovery is successful, her strength comes from Dick, no longer working, and no longer independent. In a series of angry outbursts and Dick's drinking into depression, Nicole breaks away from her broken husband, whose life was spent serving her."
Angela Allan, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Tender is the Night |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- depressed
Time/era of story
- 1930's-1950's
Romance/Romance Problems
Yes
Kind of romance:
- playing footsy while inconveniently married
- marriage/relationship going to pieces
Family, caring for ill
Yes
Who is sick?
- wife
because he/she is
- mentally ill
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- doctor
- psychiatrist
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
- society
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- wealthy
Eccentric/Smart/Dumb:
Yes
Eccentric:
- mentally ill
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- throughout most of the book.
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 6 ()
Europe
Yes
European country:
- France
- Italy
- Switzerland
Misc setting
- resort/hotel
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
Unusual Style:
- No single main character?
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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