The Last of the Belles (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
- First Published: 1929
- Type of Work: Short story
- Genres: Short fiction
- Subjects: United States or Americans, South or Southerners, Twentieth century, Beauty, Georgia, World War I, Youth
- Locales: Georgia
“The Last of the Belles” combines autobiographical elements of Fitzgerald's courtship of Zelda Sayre and his theme of the lost dreams of youthful promise. Beautiful, blond, and vivacious, Ailie Calhoun captivates all the young officers who meet her in the small Georgia town of Tarleton, where they are in training for World War I. Many pursue her, including the narrator, Andy, and one young man may even have killed himself in a plane crash because of her. Ailie is perversely attracted to—and at the same time repelled by—Earl Schoen, an uncouth Yankee who is alien to everything...
[The entire page is 543 words long]
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