Skeletons in the Closet

Skeletons in the Closet

Everyone has skeletons in their closets – something they have done which they are not proud. In “Babylon Revisited” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Charlie’s plans go awry because of his past life which he had left behind. Fitzgerald brings the reader the feelings which Charlie experiences throughout his writing. The reader experiences Charlie’s anxiety over approaching Marion about his daughter’s residency, joy over Marion’s decision to allow Honoria to reside with him, and his despair when Marion rescinded her decision regarding Honoria’s residency.

When the story opens, Charlie returns to Paris after deciding that he wants his daughter, Honoria, to live with him. Honoria has been residing in the home of Charlie’s sister in law and her family. Charlie’s a widower and feels responsible for his wife’s death. He is very anxious because he does not think that his sister in law, Marion will concede to Honoria residing with him. Marion also believes that Charlie is responsible for her sister’s death. Charlie had to convince Marian that he had changed his meandering ways and no longer went out drinking. The meeting with Marion was extremely tense; however, she did agree to consider the proposition.

Marion’s decision to allow Honoria to live with Charlie brought great joy to him and Honoria. They were both bubbling over with excitement. Unfortunately, the excitement was short-lived. Charlie’s former drinking buddies paid a visit to him while at Marion’s home. His friends had not reformed their lifestyle, as Charlie had. They were trying to convince Charlie to go out with them. Because of their intrusion, Marion rescinded her decision to allow Honoria to live with him. This left Charlie in deep despair. Although in his mind he still wanted to attempt to move Honoria into his home, he returned to his past watering holes.

Fitzgerald captured this roller coaster ride of emotions as Charlie experienced them. The reader could easily feel apathy for his gain and loss. The past has a way of catching up with everyone at some point no matter how fast they run from it. Once a person travels in unsavory circles, their peers try to keep them at their level. They view improvement as insult to their own lifestyles. People should guard their reputations as well as their actions in order to avoid it catching up with them.

References

Sipiora, Phillip. “Babylon Revisited.” Reading and Writing about Literature. Pearson
Education, Inc, 2002. 6-19.