Kayla Callahan
Professor Monica Zaleski
ENGL204- American Literature
Analysis of “Babylon Revisited” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The “Jazz Age”, also known as “the roaring 20’s”, was a time of indulgence and
consumption. Consequently, American author and member of “The Lost Generation”, F.
Scott Fitzgerald focused on the seductive lifestyle of the 1920’s in his literature. His short
story “Babylon Revisited”, follows Charlie Wales, a conflicted protagonist of a post jazz
age world, and recounts his struggle to piece his life back together after years of
alcoholism and irresponsibility. Charlie strives to restore and preserve the remaining
good in his life by regaining custody of his daughter, Honoria. However, he is plagued
and haunted by a booze ridden past and therefore fails to amend his parental relationship
with his daughter. Charlie is described in such a way that the reader is also engulfed in
his conflict between past and present; Does Charlie Wales posses the tools to embrace
sobriety and restore harmony to the remnants of his life?
Fitzgerald’s characterization of Charlie Wales offers conflicting images of who he
is and what he represents. On one hand, Charlie is physically described as “…35 and
good to look at…” (1660). Usually when someone is described as physically attractive, it
is assumed that the core of the character in question is reflected by the physical
appearance. The reader is led to believe that Charlie is a trustworthy and sincere man
devoted to fixing his relationship with his daughter. By revealing this facet of Charlie’s
personality, Fitzgerald appeals to the reader’s sense of ethics, therefore allowing one to
sympathize for Charlie and support his endeavor. However, after Charlie’s interaction
with Duncan Schaffer and Lorraine Quarrles, he is paradoxically described as being liked
by both Lorraine and Duncan “…because he was funny; because he was
serious…because he was stronger than they were now, because they wanted to draw a
certain sustenance from his strength” (1664). Charlie is seen as funny yet serious; this
highlights contrasting elements of his personality as well as the conflict that he faces. He
is now illustrated as conflicted, which may cause reader to question his credibility as a
narrator.
In addition to providing complexity to his character, this description introduces
the theme of lack of control over the past and future. Throughout the story Lorraine and
Duncan, bring out the worst in Charlie, impede his attempts to restore his life, and pop up
at the most inopportune moments. Fitzgerald describes Lorraine and Duncan drawing
“sustenance” from Charlie’s strength; they seem to have a parasitic effect over Charlie
and his attempts at restoring his future. They are the catalysts for Charlie’s lack of
control. Similarly, the scene where Charlie tries to retrieve Honoria from her aunt,
Marion, Lorraine and Duncan drunkenly burst into the house, and sabotage the trust
Charlie established with Marion. Additionally, Charlie lies about how these friends found
him at the house; at the beginning of the story he leaves Marion’s address “…for the
purpose of finding a certain man [Duncan]” (1669), It seems that in doing this Charlie
may not be ready to let go of his erratic past and embrace an adult future with his
daughter. The literal act of Lorraine and Duncan bursting through the door is
representative of how his past mistakes have never really been absolved and will continue
to interrupt his new life. It is almost as if is fated to failure.
Fitzgerald further explores this theme of control through Charlie’s daily drink.
Charlie argues that he has acquired a control over his drinking because he takes the drink
deliberately “…so that the idea of alcohol won’t get too big in [his] imagination…”
(1665). He believes that having this drink daily allows him to control his alcoholism.
Contrastingly, one could deduce that his addiction is constantly in control of him and
prevents him from moving forward; he is unwilling or afraid to fully let go of his past and
embrace responsibility. Additionally, when asked how long he expects to remain sober
Charlie responds, “Permanently, I hope” (1665), without a staunch and dependable
answer. In a sense this daily drink ensures that he is never truly sober, drawing attention
to Charlie’s artificial sobriety and continued dependence on alcohol. Therefore Charlie’s
lack of control reveals the core flaw of his character as well as a rampant theme
throughout the short story: selfishness.
Selfishness is most clearly represented through Charlie’s interaction with his
daughter, Honoria. Firstly, Honoria’s name is extremely symbolic of Charlie’s past
failure (loss of honor) and potential future success (reestablishment of honor). He could
merely be trying to restore his “honor” as a man or father by regaining custody of his
daughter. The first time he enters his in-laws house to see his daughter Fitzgerald writes
that Charlie “… drew confidence from his daughter...”(1664). This dependence on his
daughter sheds light on how addictive Charlie’s personality is; he is unable to flourish as
individual without the support of something external (in this case his daughter for selfimprovement and in the past his consumption of alcohol). Similarly, later on when
Charlie takes Honoria to lunch, Charlie seems to be lacking control of the situation and
depends on Honoria when they order lunch. This scene is peculiar because he does not
enforce any real mature parenting, but rather asks Honoria if she should eat more than
one vegetable for lunch. The interactions they share are an attempt for Charlie “…to put a
little of himself into her before she crystallizes utterly” (1664). This exemplifies his
selfishness.
Additionally, Charlie’s flood of past reminiscences reveals his inherent
selfishness, inability to move forward and lack of control. The first place he visits upon
arriving in Paris is the Ritz bar he spent most of his time during his alcoholic years. These
facets of his personality are most especially highlighted in his initial reaction to
Lorraine’s letter. His first feeling is “… one of awe that he had actually in his mature
years, stolen a tricycle…” (1669). He then questions “How many weeks or months of
dissipation to arrive at that condition of utter irresponsibility…” (1669). It is almost as if
he relishes the wild years blurred by his alcoholism.
There is no single characterization of Fitzgerald’s character Charlie Wales.
However, this character perfectly illustrates the overall dynamic unrest some people,
Fitzgerald included, experienced in the post-jazz age world. The title “Babylon
Revisited” represents the journey of a man who is forced to confront the very genesis of
his demons, while trying to recreate his destroyed individual identity. Although Charlie
Wales is a selfish character with wavering trust and unclear motivation, he is at core a
sincere character on a long road to rectifying a flawed past.