Thursday, January 22, 2009
On "The Cut-Glass Bowl" by F. Scott Fitzgerald (7400 words) *****
Here's my favorite story from Fitzgerald's Flappers and Philosophers. I've always been curious why a story like "The Offshore Pirate," which I consider pretty ridiculous (i.e., silly, in a bad way), get anthologized so often while this one is ignored. It may not have the easily identifiable characters, types, time, and plot that a classic like "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" has, but what it has is something beyond that. I love how the bowl in this story, a wedding gift, becomes an character in and of itself, taking on an almost malevolent will of its own. And I love how, through the bowl, we get a summary of this couple's entire life together. Read the story here.
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4 comments:
I just finished reading this story in the course of a proofreading job, and had to take a break afterward. I'd only ever read "Gatsby" and "Bernice" before now, and not been affected to the same extent as by this, which has to be the cruelest piece of art I've come across in a while, though brilliantly done.
"Bernice" is of course a great story of its own. But, yeah, "Cut-Glass Bowl" is my favorite story in that first collection of Fitzgerald's and possibly of all of Fitz's stories. It is is malicious, but I love how it all comes from one gift.
I am doing this short story for my English presentation and I have no clue what this story means. The sad part is I have to do an interpretation of the story. Can someone tell me the main idea and the theme of this story?
Yes, strange that this one's not even in the huge colectd short stories in my local library. It has a neat, cyclical rhythm that makes it easy to learn. I'm a storyteller and I've told it a few times to good effect. Makes a contrast with the usual older traditional tales. I'm sorry "Anon" worried about what it meant. I think it's just what it is: a story of a weak woman whose life is shaped by fate. It's a modest piece but utterly itelf, unlike any other story I know and a life-long favourite.
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