Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2018 - 53

Plagiarism marked their relationship as Scott would take chunks of
her journals and incorporate them
into his own writing. Some of her
short stories were published under
his name, and in others, publishers
added his name to a joint byline to
increase sales.
Zelda was Scott's muse. They
were both creative spirits who were
drawn to each other and loved each
other, but at the same time they really weren't good for each other.
As Scott put it: "Perhaps 50 percent of our friends and relatives
would tell you in all honest conviction that my drinking drove Zelda
insane-the other half would assure
you that her insanity drove me to
drink."
Suffering from a mild case of tuberculosis, Scott retreated to Western North Carolina in the summers
of 1935 and 1936. He spent time in
Tryon and Hendersonville before
holing up at the Grove Park Inn
in rooms 441 and 443. He tried to
write, but housekeepers were carting out bins filled with beer bottles
and wadded-up paper-the evidence that he was writing a bit and
then rejecting his efforts.
Zelda was spending time at a
mental hospital in Baltimore, but he
ultimately moved her to Highland
Hospital in Asheville in 1936.
Even though they did spend some

time together, the cracks and strains
of their marriage were evident. As
Zelda's biographer, Nancy Milford,
wrote about their time at the Grove
Park Inn: "When the Fitzgeralds met
it was usually for lunch. They would
sit in the dining room far away
from the other guests. Scott did not
introduce Zelda to anyone and frequently they would sit through an
entire meal in silence. After lunch,
they walked down the terraced gardens into meadows rimmed with
pines and sat on white wicker settees overlooking the mountains,
Scott smoking constantly, Zelda lost
in silence."
Scott broke his shoulder in a
failed swan dive that summer and

F. Scott Fitzgerald tried to revive his writing
career at Asheville's Grove Park Inn, but he never
reclaimed his previous fame.

had to miss a lunch date with Zelda
on her 36th birthday. He was in a
plaster cast that kept his arm raised,
and he also developed arthritis in
that shoulder, adding to his pain
and depression. That same summer,
a reporter for the New York Post wrote
a critical account of Fitzgerald's life
at 40. It proved devastating for Scott
to read and to realize how far his life
had spiraled down. He drank a small
bottle of morphine in a suicide attempt, but it only made him vomit.
He found it difficult to write and
even harder to make money. The
pressure and bills were mounting
with Zelda's Highland Hospital treatment requiring a consistent flow of
money, as did Scottie's schooling. He
jumped at an offer to move to Hollywood and write scripts for MetroGoldwyn-Meyer for a fee of $1,000 a
month, renewable after six months
if his work was deemed satisfactory
by the studio.
Zelda spent time in and out of
Highland Hospital. She returned to
her parents' home in Montgomery,
Alabama at Christmas 1938, and
in February 1939, she went on a
month-long vacation with friends to
Sarasota, Florida. Scott also took her
on a two-week tour to Cuba in 1939,

But the good life was really an
illusion as the marriage began
cracking with the strains of an
excessive lifestyle, along with
insecurities, mental instability,
and creative competition.

March/April 2018 53

Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2018

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