Do you mind if I pull down the curtain?

"-- Do you mind if I pull down the curtain?
--Please do it's too light in here."

This quote is repeated throughout the novel Tender is the Night. It is first introduced when a man is telling Dick a story about Rosemary. Rosemary was in a train car with a boy she was dating and someone on the train walked in on them together. Rosemary was very upset and yelled at the conductor. This quote is a portion of a conversation that Rosemary and her boyfriend had while inside of the car. Throughout the novel this quote has practically haunted Dick. When he first heard the story Dick became extremely jealous because he was just beginning to fall in love with Rosemary. In the book whenever Dick is with Rosemary or thinking about her this quote is often repeated. It reveals Dick's concealed love that he has for Rosemary. Whenever I read this quote it was a clue that Dick was thinking about Rosemary, possibly hoping that he could be with her.

Nicole Diver Exposed

The last part of Tender is the Night has been extremely interesting. I'm really starting to get into the book. In my last post, I discussed the mystery of Dick and Nicole's relationship, now that mystery has been exposed. Nicole was sexually involved with her father at a young age and because of that driven to insanity. This has caused me to have a completely different outlook on Nicole. She was previously someone I highly respected and felt to be somewhat stable, however now she seems almost scary.
There is one part of the book where Dick is driving the car with Nicole and their two children and Nicole steers the car off a cliff laughing the entire time. She could have killed her entire family and in these states of insanity has no ability to control herself. It is very strange to see the contrast between the Nicole we knew in the beginning of the novel and the Nicole we have gotten to know now.

I was also surprised that the novel is more of a focus on Dick's life than Rosemary's.

Rosemary's growing obsession with Dick Diver

The relationship between Rosemary and Dick Diver is escalating. She has now told him that she loves him from the first time she saw him twice, creating a strange dynamic between the two. She seems to be absolutely infatuated with him and his feelings are slightly unclear as of this time. Earlier in the book he was telling her how much he loved Nicole, his wife, but he also seems to be interested in Rosemary and invited her to Paris with him and Nicole.

Another strange element of this budding relationship is that Rosemary really likes Nicole. She does not despise her or envy her in the same way one may expect her to. On page 33 it says, "Rosemary saw her suddenly in a new way and found her one of the most beautiful people she had ever known." She also describes her as extremely likeable. Someone attempting to sabotage the marriage of two people rarely adores both of the people in the relationship as much as Rosemary does.

I am also very curious to find out what Mrs. McKisco found out about the Divers. She went to the restroom after Nicole and Dick had gone into the house. She came back claiming she had seen something, but commented that , "It's inadvisable to comment on what goes on in this house."

Tender is the Night

So far, I have read the first four chapters of Tender is the Night. There are already many themes similar to The Great Gatsby. Tender is the Night is about a girl named Rosemary, a newly famous actress, who is almost 18. She and her mother seem to live an extravagant life. Fitzgerald's writing glamorizes wealth and class in the same way The Great Gatsby does. Rosemary seems to feel strangely about being famous and doesn't seem to love the attention and recognition. This presents Fitzgerald's reoccuring theme of the relationship between happiness and wealth.

Early on Fitzgerald presents a man named Dick Diver, who I assume will be Rosemary's love interest for the majority of the novel. He is married however she instantly falls in love with him. There are many hints suggesting that their relationship between the two will progress. There are also a few awkward exchanges between Rosemary and Dick's wife. I suspect there will be a similarity Rosemary and Dick will have a similar relationship to Gatsby and Daisy.