A Summary and Analysis of F Scott Fitzgeralds Bernice Bobs Her Hair
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It was all shecould do to keep from clutching her hair with both bands toprotect it from the suddenly hostile world. Yet she did neither.Even the thought of her mother was no deterrent now. This was thetest supreme of her sportsmanship; her right to walkunchallenged in the starry heaven of popular girls. When Marjorie and Bernice reached home at half after midnightthey said good night at the top of the stairs. As a matter of fact Marjorie had nofemale intimates--she considered girls stupid. Bernice on thecontrary all through this parent-arranged visit had rather longedto exchange those confidences flavored with giggles and tearsthat she considered an indispensable factor in all feminineintercourse.
The Danger of Trusting the Wrong People
When the guests strolled in Bernice found herplace-card with a slight feeling of irritation. Butthis feeling of irritation left with the last of the soup-plates,and Marjorie's specific instruction came to her. Swallowing herpride she turned to Charley Paulson and plunged. Warren, who had grown up across the street from Marjorie, hadlong been "crazy about her." Sometimes she seemed to reciprocatehis feeling with a faint gratitude, but she had tried him by herinfallible test and informed him gravely that she did not lovehim. Her test was that when she was away from him she forgot himand had affairs with other boys. Warren found this discouraging,especially as Marjorie had been making little trips all summer,and for the first two or three days after each arrival home hesaw great heaps of mail on the Harveys' hall table addressed toher in various masculine handwritings.
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
She added that she wanted to ask his advice, because shehad heard he was so critical about girls. Rather, he frames the trials leading up to this moment as an inevitable part of a girl’s coming of age. Bernice, like Marjorie and Mrs. Harvey and all the other female characters, must navigate society’s broad expectations of women for the rest of her life, even if she can enjoy the occasional moment of freedom. When Bernice finally agrees to cut her hair, she does so specifically to spite Marjorie and avoid shame.
▶️ Patrick Reynolds and Shelley Duvall in scene from Bernice Bobs Her Hair - imdb
▶️ Patrick Reynolds and Shelley Duvall in scene from Bernice Bobs Her Hair.
Posted: Sat, 07 May 2022 19:45:28 GMT [source]
A Summary and Analysis of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘Bernice Bobs Her Hair’
She “collapse[s] backwards upon the bed” when Marjorie suggests it the first time, and calls it “unmoral” even as she jokes about it. Later, Mrs. Harvey is aghast at the sight of Bernice’s haircut, as her friend Mrs. Deyo has devoted considerable time to a public denouncement of bobbed hair. It is implied that she never expected such a thing from Bernice, who has always conformed to traditional ladylike ways.
"I like bobbed hair," she said hurriedly, as if he had asked hera question, "and I intend to bob mine." All through the bridge party Bernice strove in vain to master arising uneasiness. She had offended Marjorie, the sphinx ofsphinxes. With the most wholesome and innocent intentions in theworld she had stolen Marjorie's property. After the bridge game, when they sat in aninformal circle and the conversation became general, the stormgradually broke. Little Otis Ormonde inadvertently precipitatedit.
Storyline
Marjorie is much more social than Bernice and the newcomer struggles at first to adapt to her cousin's fast-paced, popular girl lifestyle. When she does eventually catch up, Marjorie feels threatened and convinces Bernice to get her hair bobbed, knowing this will turn off the boys in town; though the bob was an increasingly popular hairstyle in the 1920s, it was still edgy. Bernice retaliates by cutting off Marjorie's ponytails before leaving town.
Gender and Femininity ThemeTracker
The advice and knowledge that Marjorie is willing to share with Bernice will always come with a cost. Marjorie will not allow Bernice’s newfound knowledge to overshadow her, and if Bernice’s standing threatens hers, Marjorie has built a trapdoor that will drop out from under Bernice, lowering her back in her place. Because Bernice is in a rather fragile situation, she wants to trust Marjorie, but the story makes it clear that Bernice has no other options. Much as Warren worshipped Marjorie he had to admit that Cousin Bernice was sorta dopeless. She was pretty, with dark hair and high color, but she was no fun on a party.
That evening, Marjorie tells Bernice that she’ll take Bernice to a hairdresser and fix her hair. It is Bernice’s last night at the house, so it won’t even matter in the long run. She says this as she ostentatiously braids her own long blonde hair. Bernice tries to be a good sport, but as she says goodnight and retires to her own room, a plan forms in her head. She packs her things and writes a note to her aunt explaining why she is leaving.
She was by the bedside now, very deliberate and calm. Bernice deftly amputated theother braid, paused for an instant, and then flitted swiftly andsilently back to her own room. She went stealthily to the bureau, picked up an article that laythere, and turning out all the lights stood quietly until hereyes became accustomed to the darkness. Softly she pushed openthe door to Marjorie's room.
She laughedunexpectedly--had to shut her mouth hard to keep from emitting anabsolute peal. She was passing Warren's house now, and on theimpulse she set down her baggage, and swinging the braids likepiece of rope flung them at the wooden porch, where they landedwith a slight thud. As Bernice took down her hair she passed the evening before herin review. Even whenCharley Paulson cut in for the eighth time she had simulateddelight and had apparently been both interested and flattered.She had not talked about the weather or Eau Claire or automobilesor her school, but had confined her conversation to me, you, andus. From sixteen-year-old Otis Ormonde, who has two more years atHill School, to G. But, after all, this critical circle is not close enough to thestage to see the actors' faces and catch the subtler byplay.
People overforty can seldom be permanently convinced of anything. Ateighteen our convictions are hills from which we look; atforty-five they are caves in which we hide. "Go to bed, you silly child," laughed Mrs. Harvey. "I wouldn'thave told you that if I'd thought you were going to remember it.And I think most of your ideas are perfectly idiotic," shefinished sleepily.
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