Tender Is the Night

Escapism is a dominant feature of many of the characters’ lives. What forms of escapism exist in the novel? How do they relate to one another? Is escapism ever successful for any of the characters? Why or why not?

Consider the novel’s title and its Epigraph, which comes from a poem by John Keats, a famous Romantic poet. How does the Epigraph relate to some of the novel’s key themes? How does Romanticism provide context or contrast for the novel’s treatment of post-war disillusionment and idealism? 

Both Nicole and Rosemary are powerful in some ways and dependent upon others in other ways. Rosemary is a Hollywood celebrity dedicated to her mother; Nicole is a wealthy woman whose mental illness leaves her vulnerable to her husband’s influence and control. What roles do power and agency play in gender dynamics in the novel? To what extent, if any, do characters like Nicole and Rosemary assert agency over the men?

World War I is over by the novel’s opening, yet the characters constantly encounter reminders of the war and occasionally allude to it themselves. How is World War I’s influence depicted in the novel? Why is it significant? How does it tie into the novel’s key themes?

Rosemary is a rising star in the early days of Hollywood. What does Hollywood, and Rosemary's own career, represent in the novel? How does Rosemary’s successful career as an actress compare with Dick’s failed career as a psychiatrist?

Different characters conceive of love in different ways. What are these different forms of love? How do these different conceptions of love illustrate or challenge the characters’ ideas about success, power, control, and/or personal fulfillment?

Trauma appears in multiple forms in the novel: the trauma of childhood abuse, wartime trauma, the trauma of addiction. How does the novel depict the connections or differences between these forms of trauma? How does trauma function thematically and in terms of characterization?

Compare and contrast the characters of Dick and Abe North. What role do they play in one another’s life? How does each serve as a mirror or foil of the other? In what ways are their fates similar or different?