Introduction
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald masterfully employs architecture to introduce a broad context to the story and give depth to his characters. In his article “Fitzgerald’s Use of American Architectural Styles in The Great Gatsby,” Curtis Dahl discusses Fitzgerald’s multi-layered use of architectural descriptions to emphasize the individual aspects of his characters (91).
Discussion
Additionally and just as importantly, Fitzgerald’s meticulousness and attention in depicting the American architectural landscape of the 1920s serves as a valuable, deeply personal look at the topic. Through the eyes of Nick, the reader gains impressionistic descriptions of Gatsby’s mansion, described as a “palace on Long Island Sound” and at the same time “an elaborate road-house” (Fitzgerald 49; Fitzgerald 64). These descriptions refer to the lavish, pompous, and simultaneously tasteless nature of Gatsby’s life as perceived by the outsiders, firmly establishing him as a regular bored nouveau riche millionaire in Nick’s view. Considering the architectural excesses of the mansion, anachronistic and vulgar, Nick is still deeply impressed by the grandiose depiction of wealth, reminiscent of the Châteauesque Style, widespread among the late 19th century Long Island elite.
At the same time, the mansion’s design and Nick’s perception serve a symbolic role in a broader philosophical discussion on returning to the past. Dahl presents a view of Nick’s disdain for the mansion as an argument for the impossibility of fully recapturing the glory of the past (93). Referring to the building as “a huge incoherent failure of a house,” the hero dismisses its realness and adequacy to the time and place (Fitzgerald 179).
Conclusion
The desperate attempts of the American millionaire to connect with the spirit and aesthetics of old European nobility through architectural design, in Nick’s assessment, are doomed to fail as non-compliant with the 1922 American reality. From this perspective, the case of Gatsby’s mansion is a symbolic call for leaving behind the anachronistic ideas of aristocracy and embracing American ideals.
Works Cited
Dahl, Curtis. “Fitzgerald’s Use of American Architectural Styles in the Great Gatsby”. American Studies, vol. 25, no. 1, 1984, pp. 91–102.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Simon and Schuster, 2003.