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Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald


A novel that is as heartbreaking as it is mesmerizing.
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Why did Scott insist on hiring strict nannies to care for Scottie?

Created: 03/08/13

Replies: 13

Posted Mar. 08, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert

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Why did Scott insist on hiring strict nannies to care for Scottie?

Why did Scott insist on hiring strict nannies to care for Scottie? What did this say about the kind of father he was?


Posted Mar. 25, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
rosannes's Gravatar
rosannes

Join Date: 01/29/13

Posts: 45

RE: Why did Scott insist on hiring strict nannies to care for Scottie?

I think he was a control freak. I think it was probably a better idea to have a nanny than for the child to have been under the guidance of his parents. I don't believe either one of them was capable of good parenting. F Scott was too involved in his life, trying to keep up and Zelda was equally involved with trying to keep up with him.


Posted Mar. 25, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
janeh

Join Date: 06/15/11

Posts: 222

RE: Why did Scott insist on hiring strict nannies to care for Scottie?

I do think he was a control freak, but I HOPE it was a little because he recognized neither he nor Zelda had the emotional capacity to take care of the child and he hoped to make that up by being strict with the child.


Posted Mar. 25, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
cherylk

Join Date: 05/16/11

Posts: 17

RE: Why did Scott insist on hiring strict nannies to care for Scottie?

I think janeh and rosannes both touched on why strict nannies were hired for Scottie. Scott did love her, but was definitely not fit emotionally to parent her, let alone be a stay-at-home Dad. One cannot be as self-absorbed as Scott Fitzgerald was and raise a daughter properly. Recognizing that Zelda was unable to effectively parent either, it seemed easier for him to hire a nanny to make certain there would be structure in Scottie's life.


Posted Mar. 27, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
joycew

Join Date: 06/13/11

Posts: 107

RE: Why did Scott insist on hiring strict nannies to care for Scottie?

Since I am a grandmother who is loving letting the kids smudge the rules, I think Scott and Z took the easy way out and decided to let the nanny be strict and then they could spoil the child and become the good guy in the picture.


Posted Mar. 29, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
bonnieclyde

Join Date: 03/07/13

Posts: 16

RE: Why did Scott insist on hiring strict nannies to care for Scottie?

My husband was wild as a teenager and you would not believe how strict he is with our children. He knows everything they can get into!Possibly Scott thought this was a good way to protect her.


Posted Apr. 01, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Navy Mom

Join Date: 04/12/12

Posts: 294

RE: Why did Scott insist on hiring strict nannies to care for Scottie?

I kept wondering why Scott did that. I think he was a control freak but saw himself out of control and so he controlled what he could. The easiest thing to control was Zelda's relationship with their daughter. He didn't want the daughter taking Zelda's time away from him but he also wanted a strong nanny so that nanny wouldn't let Zelda really have a good relationship with her daughter. Another angle is that he was from Minnesota and people there were the type to hold feelings in and be stoic.


Posted Apr. 02, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
dianac

Join Date: 04/02/13

Posts: 91

RE: Why did Scott insist on hiring strict nannies to care for Scottie?

Could be because deep down he knew he and his wife could not properly discipline and/or raise a child with their lifestyle.


Posted Apr. 04, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Beth350

Join Date: 04/15/11

Posts: 89

RE: Why did Scott insist on hiring strict nannies to care for Scottie?

I suppose because he realized that he was not going to be a "responsible" parent and that he was encouraging Zelda to party with him - leaving no one for Scottie. Also, he likely knew all along that Zelda didn't really have a strong "mothering" instinct and was happier with her art, her dance and her writing - all of which are best done without the constant presence of an infant or small child.


Posted Apr. 06, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
barbarab

Join Date: 04/15/11

Posts: 39

RE: Why did Scott insist on hiring strict nannies to care for Scottie?

Scott knew he wasn't going to be Involved in the raising of Scottie & he wanted the "beautiful", Zelda with him. A strict nanny would raise Scottie to be a proper young woman & one who would fit into the wealthy society, which he so admired.


Posted Apr. 10, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
carmen s

Join Date: 04/27/11

Posts: 33

RE: Why did Scott insist on hiring strict nannies to care for Scottie?

I think he knew that neither one of them were parent material. He knew Scottie needed more than he or Zelda could give, it also allowed them more freedom to do what they wanted.


Posted Apr. 10, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
MarieA

Join Date: 10/12/11

Posts: 256

RE: Why did Scott insist on hiring strict nannies to care for Scottie?

I believe he understood the importance of being raised in a stable, strict environment which would enable Scottie to make good judgments later in life. Perhaps he realized that neither he nor Zelda could enforce strict behavior in their daughter since they were not good role models and did not abide by a strict moral compass.


Posted Apr. 17, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
jorie

Join Date: 04/19/12

Posts: 14

At first I wasn't sure, but I do agree with what is being said....

At first I wasn't sure how I felt about the Fitzgerald's having a strict Nanny to raise their daughter, but I do agree with everyone here, who was lamenting that it could be because it was the one area of Scott's life that he needed to control and should control, if to be a proper father. I think he might have realised their short-comings as parents ahead of Zelda, and rather than hiring a strict Nanny to restrict their access to their child {as I think Zelda did feel, especially whilst in France & Italy},... I think the harder issue at hand might be that motherhood didn't at first come naturally to Zelda, but it grew in time.

She wanted to impart her strengths and gifts to her child: her natural ability to see the creative side of life, whether in how she related what she witnessed or how colour and texture inspired her artistic pursuits. She had a very captivating eye, and she loved stories and the innocent nature of childhood. I think, in some ways, having the strict Nannies was a bit too controlling in the sense, that I don't believe Scottie was able to see her Mom in a way that Zelda had hoped.

Maybe this is what Scott feared the most?! That Scottie might grow up to be just like them!? As to where they threw too much caution to the wind, and lived a bit too carefree, struggling to hold down regular lives and entertain on a regular budget!? They saw a different side of life in the Murphy's, and I would nearly guess to think, that they each had hoped that perhaps they could have been more like them, and a bit less of the persona they had forged together whilst in New York originally!?

I thought perhaps it might have been out of spite as well, as he seemed to be deeply attached to Zelda's shortcomings in child bearing issues, and maybe he thought if he could distance Zelda from Scottie he could gain more control over her and thus, be in a position to influence her in other matters, not only in bearing more children. I sensed he was a very controlling husband overall, and I felt for Zelda many times throughout the passages that reflected her desire to inspire her child. I was shocked that he even mentioned that her accent would hinder Scottie's appreciation of the French language, as everyone with an accent only enhances a new language, as each person who speaks the words of another country, brings their own incantations and inflections.

I am not sure if he thought too far afield of what being a father would mean to his personal life, past the fact that it would his legacy in carrying forward his name. The essence of fatherhood appealed to him, but I am not sure if the day-to-day moments of fatherhood came to him naturally or at all. It's hard to say... as the book is more from Zelda's point of reference, of her emotional mind and inner wisdom as she lived life through,... sometimes you cannot speculate on another person's willpower or intentions, without first knowing a piece of their inner world too.


Posted May. 12, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
rebeccar

Join Date: 03/13/12

Posts: 548

RE: Why did Scott insist on hiring strict nannies to care for Scottie?

I think Scott always wanted control, and having a strict nanny was also a way for him to control Zelda. If a nanny felt in charge and acted as if the Zelda were the intruder or visitor, then Zelda's attentions were less likely to be focused on the child. I don't think he would have had great parenting skills if a nanny had not been in the picture, and Zelda's seemed to waver as well.


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