Why do you think Zelda refused to marry Scott until he'd made a name for himself?

Why do you think Zelda refused to marry Scott until he'd made a name for himself? Was she manipulating him?

I think this question and the one following are tied together. She knew herself pretty well and knew she had no intention of changing, so she needed for the man she married to be able to fill her needs. Some people marry for love, she put money first, love a close second .... and ended up getting neither.

I think part of her decision may have been her southern upbringing.

Actually, I took a different spin on this section of the novel, because what it felt like to me, is that she was encouraging Scott to pursue his God given gift {writing} by which she knew he wouldn't be wholly satisfied if he hadn't given it everything that he could before even entertaining the notion of another industry! Yes, I do believe she did dip into manipulation a wee bit, as you can see how the events unfolded, as she wrote him the letter penning it as though she were writing another fellow and even went so far to enclose another man's ring! Back then, a ring was as good as a promise of marriage. I felt she was in a bit of turmoil whether or not to yield to her heart or to allow her mind to guide her to what would be best for the greater good.

I sincerely believe Zelda acted on behalf of Scott's inability to believe in himself once the rejection notices kept coming in. He felt deflated and humiliated after spending time in revision and perhaps even, needed another guiding light whose optimism endeared him to carry on. To strive to obtain the one thing he needed in order to secure his future with Zelda, a woman of whom he fell in love with at first sight. She was his equal, in both body and mind, as much as in the ability to see the creative lens cast through the arts. Sometimes I think people need a bit of a helpful nudge,... a motivation to get them past a blockage they've either created for themselves or have stumbled across due to circumstance.

In this way, I think she held off marrying Fitzgerald until he could become the man he was always meant to be. I spoke a bit about this last night when I posted my own question that parlays on a similiar theme...

I didn't concur it was her Southern upbringing, because had it been true that she acted on how she was raised, she never would have married Scott in the first place, because he broke the cardinal rule: security of job, stability of home, and an inrefutable reputation. If anything, I found Zelda nearly blissful that each step she took towards a life with Scott, was a footing away from her conventional upbringing! She was re-defining herself and the way that women lived in an era that was still deciding how they felt about women's liberation.

Nor did I think it was entirely due to money either, as there are passages where she is lamenting to her sister about how unfair it is that she has to be stuck in Montgomery whilst Scott tackles New York City without her. She was aware that ahead of making repetitive sales in publishing they would be living a humble life, but she was questioning if whether a life of humble means was better than a life that might not be lived at all if the quest to gain the means overtook the time they could have together.

She was a Southern Belle who wanted to maintain a certain lifestyle. She was intrigued by fame.

I think Z was looking at reality and realizing she did not want to live in poverty. Love is all well and good, but it can be destroyed by a life of drudgery, scrimping, fighting over money. Scott needed to have some success before she stepped in and encouraged him OR he could have become an alcoholic living on the street in which case, she did not want to go through living that life with him.

Actually, I didn't feel it was Zelda that wouldn't marry Scott until he was successful. I thought it was her father and Scott himself who kept Zelda from getting married. Scott had to prove to himself he could do it, and Zelda took her cue from him. She also had the pressure from her upbringing and family that a man had to be a provider. I think Zelda would have married Scott no matter what his circumstances.

If he could provide for the two of them, then she could feel secure in their future together.

I completely agree with you, on the level, that your bringing to light the same passage of exchanged dialogue and narrative that I highlighted in my reply! :) I very much thought that it was Mr. Sayre and Scott who worked against each other with the same goal in mind: to prevent Zelda from joining Scott in matrimony! The father didn't approve of her heart's choice, and her fiancee didn't have the confidence in himself to warrant marriage without the proof of success.

I think, like some others that it was a family upbringing decision. Remember too that she was young and having a good time