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''Tender Is the Night'' is a novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was his fourth and final completed novel, and was first published in ''Scribner's Magazine'' between January and April 1934 in four issues. The title is taken from the poem "Ode to a Nightingale" by John Keats. In 1932, Fitzgerald's wife Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald was hospitalized for schizophrenia in Baltimore, Maryland. The author rented the ''La Paix'' estate in the suburb of Towson to work on this book, the story of the rise and fall of Dick Diver, a promising young psychoanalyst, and his wife, Nicole, who is also one of his patients. It was Fitzgerald's first novel in nine years, and the last that he would complete. The book reveals the detrimental days of Fitzgerald's past as he lives out his last remaining years with his wife, Zelda. The novel almost mirrors the events that take places as characters are pulled and put back into mental care, and the male figure, Dick Diver, starts his descent into alcoholism. While working on the book, several times he ran out of cash and had to borrow from his editor and agent and write short stories for commercial magazines. The early 1930s, when Fitzgerald was conceiving and working on the book, were the darkest years of his life and, accordingly, the novel has its very bleak elements that he experienced himself. Two versions of this novel are in print. The first version, published in 1934, uses flashbacks; the second, revised version, prepared by Fitzgerald's friend and noted critic Malcolm Cowley on the basis of notes for a revision left by Fitzgerald, is ordered chronologically and was first published posthumously in 1948. Critics have suggested that Cowley's revision was undertaken due to negative reviews of the temporal structure of the first version of the book. Fitzgerald considered ''Tender Is the Night'' to be his greatest work. Although it received a tepid response upon release, it has grown in acclaim over the years and is widely regarded as among Fitzgerald's best work. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked the novel 28th on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. ==Plot summary== Dick and Nicole Diver are a glamorous couple who take a villa in the South of France and surround themselves with a circle of friends, mainly Americans. Also staying at the resort are Rosemary Hoyt, a young actress, and her mother. Rosemary is sucked into the circle of the Divers; she becomes infatuated with Dick and is also adopted as a close friend by Nicole. Dick toys with, and later acts upon, the idea of an affair with Rosemary. Rosemary senses something is wrong with the couple, which is brought to light when one of the guests at a party reports having seen something strange in the bathroom. Tommy Barban, another guest, comes loyally to the defense of the Divers. The action involves various other friends, including the Norths, where a frequent occurrence is the drunken behavior of Abe North. The story becomes complicated when Jules Peterson, a black man, is murdered and ends up in Rosemary's bed, in a situation which could destroy Rosemary's career. Dick moves the blood-soaked body to cover up any implied relationship between Rosemary and Peterson. It is revealed through flashback that as a promising young doctor and psychoanalyst, Dick took on a patient with an especially complex case of neuroses. This patient was Nicole, whose complicated, incestuous relationship with her father is suggested as the cause of her breakdown. As her treatments progress, she becomes infatuated with Dick, who in turn develops Florence Nightingale syndrome. He eventually determines to marry Nicole, in part, as a means of providing her with lasting emotional stability. Strong objections are raised by Nicole's sister who believes Dick is wedding her due to her status as an heiress. As newlyweds, they travel to Europe where Nicole pays for Dick's partnership in a Swiss clinic and their extravagant lifestyle. Dick gradually develops a drinking problem. He gets into an altercation with the police and is bought out of the clinic by his partner. The narrative returns to the present and chronicles Dick and Nicole's crumbling marriage as he becomes increasingly infatuated with Rosemary, who is now a successful Hollywood star. Both Rosemary and Nicole becoming increasingly aware of their independence and distance themselves from Dick as his facade of confidence gives way to his inner insecurities. He becomes increasingly embarrassing in social and familial situations and Nicole enters into an affair with Tommy Barban. Rosemary eventually cuts all ties with Dick, and Nicole divorces him and marries Barban. The novel concludes with Dick drifting into ever-diminishing circumstances. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tender Is the Night」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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