Transcending the Ages

In the novella Bernice Bobs Her Hair, F. Scott Fitzgerald creates an elegant and often times entertaining portrait of the roaring twenties through the eyes of three fictitious teenagers who lived them, all the while conveying the full complexity of coming of age in one of the periods in which the generation gap was at its widest.

The plot was riddled with symbolism and allegory, with just about every aspect of the story serving a duel purpose in its greater meaning. The bobbed hair, a fashionable but risky statement for women in this time frame, could have indeed represented the conflict between old fashioned probity and youthful levity, as well as the dwindling morality of the previous generation. In a sense, Bernice and Marjorie are of the old and the new, the traditional and the modern, respectively. Bernice, once as pure and wholesome as virgin snow, is seemingly corrupted by the promiscuous Marjorie, which may symbolize the changing of times and the author’s obvious disdain for this new flapper culture. Consequently, this depravity causes Bernice (or the values of old) to convert to near insanity, severing her cousin’s hair and maybe destroying her family relations as a result. In the end, no one can really claim victory as both wear the repercussions of their divergence from status quo, something which seems to me a subtle yet firm warning from a disapproving author.

Although it is true that the underlying messages in this story are very interesting, what struck me most was the fact that I could so easily relate to a story written almost a century before I was even born. Themes of peer pressure, the need for acceptance, the problems of self image versus public persona, self confidence and integrity that the story is very much concerned with seems to be able to transcend the ages, as they are very much alive and well today. I could easily see both Marjorie and Bernice being girls in one of my classes, and can trace some of their traits to myself.

This is a gift not often found in authors, the ability to create a world with eloquence and incredible detail, characters with depth and realism, and themes and messages that are relevant centuries after it is published. It is these traits that make Fitzgerald an excellent writer, and qualities that make this a timeless and enthralling classic.