Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Tender Is the Night, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Excess, Destruction, and the Failed American Dream
Gender, Mental Illness, and Psychiatry
The Pursuit of Youth and Innocence
Racism and Otherness
Summary
Analysis
With the dinner party in full swing, the guests prattle away merrily about various nonsenses. Unable to contribute anything interesting, Mr. McKisco devotes himself to drinking champagne, while the others enjoy themselves and the friendly atmosphere. Enchanted by Dick and Nicole’s warm glow, Rosemary senses their whole table rise “a little toward the sky,” like magic.
Champagne, an expensive French wine, flows freely at the Divers’ party, symbolizing their decadent lifestyle. With nothing to serious to contribute, McKisco drinks indulgently and Rosemary witnesses serious men dissolve into nonsenses under the influence of alcohol.
Themes
Rosemary notices that Nicole and Dick have disappeared. In that moment, Violet McKisco accosts Rosemary to accompany her to the bathroom. Rosemary refuses, busy longing for Dick to return as she listens to McKisco and Tommy argue about socialism. When Violet appears again, it is clear that she is eager to share some gossip. Just before she divulges what she’s seen upstairs, however, Tommy interrupts her, saying, “it’s inadvisable to comment on what goes on in this house.”
Both Tommy and Rosemary, out of loyalty to Dick and Nicole, choose not to indulge Violet’s gossiping. Violet’s secret—about what she has seen in the Divers’ bathroom—is the first indication that Nicole is unwell. It is some months before Rosemary realizes what really happened at the dinner party that night, but this event foreshadows Nicole’s future struggles with mental health.
Themes
